Longing for the Eucharist in Its Absence
I stumbled across a beautiful quote that really struck me in these days of being deprived of the Holy Eucharist. "How can one be capable of enjoying and finding delight in the presence of things for which one had not longing when they were absent?"
These are the words of St. Nicholas Cabasilas in The Life in Christ, and he is primarily speaking of our salvation and of life eternal, and I am taking it somewhat out of context...but not totally. Our life in Christ, our union with him, is the beginning of eternal life. We commune with him here and now, that is, we are daily coming into union with him, through our efforts and through his grace. With that in mind, here is a little more context to St. Nicholas's quote:
"The kingdom and vision of God and union with Christ are privileges which depend on willingness. They are thus possible only for those who have been willing to receive them and have loved them and longed for them. … How can one be capable of enjoying and finding delight in the presence of things for which one had not longing when they were absent?"
It speaks to so much of what we are going through right now. Not only should we be longing for the Holy Eucharist in its absence, but also union with him through his Holy Mysteries are "possible only for those who have been willing to receive them and have loved them and longed for them" in their absence. Meaning, even when we return to our parishes and partake of the Eucharist, we could not be partaking.
My mind goes instantly to a wonderful article that was recently shared with me about a group of nuns who did not have a priest to come and serve the Liturgy for them, except quite rarely, but certainly not on Sundays or feast days. Yet, their longing to partake of the Eucharist led them to prepare for Communion as if it were going to be served, to serve the service with all fervency, and instead of partaking of the Eucharist, to distribute a piece of blessed bread and take a drink of holy water. On these days that they supposedly "communed", they said, "We would feel the presence of the Holy Communion, even though we had not received it."
Let us continue to prepare for Holy Communion at home, serve the Typica on every Sunday and every important feast day, and, if we have it available, partake of blessed bread and holy water. And give thanks to the Lord for his gracious gifts to us. Let us offer a song of thanksgiving.
These are the words of St. Nicholas Cabasilas in The Life in Christ, and he is primarily speaking of our salvation and of life eternal, and I am taking it somewhat out of context...but not totally. Our life in Christ, our union with him, is the beginning of eternal life. We commune with him here and now, that is, we are daily coming into union with him, through our efforts and through his grace. With that in mind, here is a little more context to St. Nicholas's quote:
"The kingdom and vision of God and union with Christ are privileges which depend on willingness. They are thus possible only for those who have been willing to receive them and have loved them and longed for them. … How can one be capable of enjoying and finding delight in the presence of things for which one had not longing when they were absent?"
It speaks to so much of what we are going through right now. Not only should we be longing for the Holy Eucharist in its absence, but also union with him through his Holy Mysteries are "possible only for those who have been willing to receive them and have loved them and longed for them" in their absence. Meaning, even when we return to our parishes and partake of the Eucharist, we could not be partaking.
My mind goes instantly to a wonderful article that was recently shared with me about a group of nuns who did not have a priest to come and serve the Liturgy for them, except quite rarely, but certainly not on Sundays or feast days. Yet, their longing to partake of the Eucharist led them to prepare for Communion as if it were going to be served, to serve the service with all fervency, and instead of partaking of the Eucharist, to distribute a piece of blessed bread and take a drink of holy water. On these days that they supposedly "communed", they said, "We would feel the presence of the Holy Communion, even though we had not received it."
Let us continue to prepare for Holy Communion at home, serve the Typica on every Sunday and every important feast day, and, if we have it available, partake of blessed bread and holy water. And give thanks to the Lord for his gracious gifts to us. Let us offer a song of thanksgiving.
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