Do This In Memory Of Me:

TAKE, BLESS, BREAK & GIVE

Living the Eucharist
Rev. Gerard Theraviam

Then he (Jesus) took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you;

do this in memory of me."

And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.
Luke 22:19-20

Do this in memory of me. Catholics certainly take this call by the Lord to heart as we gather on the Day of the Lord (and some more often, even daily) to celebrate the Eucharist. Recent changes in the translation of the liturgy have attempted to make us more conscious of the mysteries we celebrate. Nevertheless, the question remains: How conscious are we of what we actually celebrate? The danger is that we can become over-familiar with it all and the force of its meaning is watered down . St Augustine says, Become what you eat! In this, he invites us to go beyond merely partaking of the Eucharist in the material sense. We are instead called to be and become the Body of Christ - to be fully aware of our call to belong to Christ and our sisters and brothers who make up the Body. If this is to be so, then surely it is not just bread and wine that are transformed at the Eucharist. So are we who partake of it! At the Offertory, we offer not just bread and wine but also our selves - inviting the Lord to also take, bless, break and give us to a hungry world. Thus the Eucharist is not just a ritual that we celebrate at church but rather a reality that is lived out in the marketplace in our lives. The Eucharist is thus not something that we do on Sundays but rather what we are, every single moment of each day. The following reflections are offered in the hope that this might become more and more a reality in all of our lives:

TAKE

Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."

"Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

Luke 23:46

Lord, take me as I am with my warts and imperfections my hesitancies and fears.. my vulnerability and poverty of spirit as well as the gifts and goodness you have endowed me with. But sometimes I would rather stay snug in my comfort zone than be thrust out into the unknown. Lord, push me then to the deep and make me swim! Maybe its the fear of the unknown I fail to see opportunities -only obstacles and difficulties May I then not merely see but also feel Your hand enveloping mine, leading me on as You have always done. But in reality, its also the unwillingness to get my hands dirty Why bother? Mind your own business! Dont look for trouble!

Its also inertia because I do not want to give myself completely over to Your will wanting instead to retain some control and autonomy over my life and destiny. Help me thus abandon myself completely into your hands. that I might let go and let You catch me as I freefall into the embrace of Your love and Your will

PRAYER OF ABANDONMENT Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures. I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my soul: I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself to you, to surrender myself into your hands, without reserve and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father. Amen
Blessed Charles de Foucauld

BLESS

Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."

The Lord said to Abram, I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
Gen 12:2

O God You are the source of all blessings. My very own life is testimony to this! Blessing upon blessing you shower and I bask in your bountiful love! May I not be content to remain with open hands waiting for the dew, drizzle and showers that You send so graciously

May my hands also reach out to touch the lives of all that I might be and become a blessing unto others - not just in what I can give or do for them but more importantly what I can be to them! May I be a prism of Your love allowing Your light to enter into my life and then be diffused far and wide into the lives of others. May I be an instrument of your grace Your blessing unto Your people

BREAK

Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."

Sacrifice gives you no pleasure, burnt offering you do not desire. Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn.

Psalm 51:16-17

It is not easy, Lord to be broken Yet I know that unless I allow myself to be broken, -my sin and my negativity -my pride and prejudice -my selfish desires and harmful habits. All these will continue to fetter me Excess baggage that I am encumbered with Help me instead to experience the bitter-sweetness, the joy and the freedom of having being pruned by You

that I might become more pliable and malleable more open to Your Spirits movement in my life that I might learn humility of heart For when I am pruned I am able to bear more fruit fruit that will last! In my brokenness, may I rise from the ashes - a new person May I break free from me and instead abide in You

GIVE

Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me."

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back."

Luke 6:38

Lord, you are the Giver of all gifts and You are the ultimate gift for you have given of Your very own self ! You could have reigned from the heavens, looking down at us from afar. But you chose to be one like us and in giving of yourself we have been gifted with grace upon grace You are the ultimate Giver and Gift! Lord help me to be generous in my giving that I might not be calculative, but instead give freely, generously, cheerfully, without worrying about the returns, - what or when I might get back what I have given. Often, instead of giving, I want to acquire more and more My greed exceeds my need! I want to have enough and more. for that proverbial rainy day that never really comes because your gifts are truly timely and abundant! Instead let me give gratuitously, for all I have is truly gift from you. You have given all to me now I return it! All is on loan to me - not to be jealously guarded but to be shared freely

May I give to all - not just those whom I like - or who like me - or whom I think deserve my gifts But may I also give with good grace to those who have wronged, maligned and hurt me. In giving to my enemies may I recognize that I am giving to You! Help me realise that it is in giving that we receive that in some mysterious way I also receive -particularly from the last, lost and leastsomething intangible and beautiful that exceeds my gift to them. The giver is transformed into recipient! Help me to be more, rather than to have more. for in your eyes who and what I am are infinitely more important than what I have and own.

The blessing-cup, which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ; and the loaf of bread which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 10:16

Fr Gerard Steve Theraviam, Published in CANews June 2011