About the Eucharist

For as long as I can remember, I have been fascinated by the Eucharist. I have always been interested in what was happening on the altar. I liked watching the priest and listening to the words he said. When I was 10 years old, I became an altar boy. It allowed me to be right in the middle of the action.

At home, I also “celebrated” masses, took the service booklet, and rode all parts of the mass one by one. He made a Christmas wafer for bread, and grape juice for wine. The only faithful participant in these “masses” was my aunt Ela. As my aunt could play and sing, the “mass” also had a musical setting! It is true on the accordion, but always! It is true that there were always the same readings, the psalm, the same gospel, but I always tried to say a “sermon”. There were also pastoral announcements announcing a trip to see my grandmother. Or a visit from my aunt from Poznań. Of course, there was also a contribution! Because how should all of this be!

Later I started growing up, so I gave up “saying” mass. Unfortunately, I also gave up the real one. Although I went to church because it was so, because my mother ordered. But it wasn’t the same as it used to be. I was just bored. When I was in one of the junior high school years, the guardian priest threw me and my brother out of service. By the way, I was in the liturgical service twice and I was fired every time! This is the first sign that the spiritual path is not mine. Back to my mind. Holy Mass was a form of spending time and meditating on the nonsense of my life. Sometimes it also happened to take a nap.

After my first major conversion in high school, I started serving again. Again, the Eucharist was something important in my life. I went every day because I just wanted to. I was drawn to something there. Even when it was clear that I would not be a priest, I still felt that I wanted to be there. As close as it gets. Later, I was thanked again for the service. Which was the sealing of the Father’s will regarding my life.

However, certain things, disordered emotions, desires and actions, led me to another dryness. This time there was maybe no rebellion, after all, I still participated in the Holy Mass because I wanted to, not because someone told me to. But I stopped understanding her. I knew there was something there, but I couldn’t see the point of it. I began to pray for her understanding. And the Lord heard my request! The answer came in the third week of the Spiritual Exercises. I would like to share with you how I understand this mystery. Feel free.

Let us dwell on the words spoken by the priest at the consecration:

He took the bread

God is the Father of each of us. He is the Daddy who takes each of us in his hands.

In the book of Hosea we read : I took them on my arms; and they did not understand, that I cared for them. P tied them with human ties, and they were bonds of love. I was like the one who lifts to his cheek baby – bent down to him and fed him (Oz11,3-4) .

Every parent – as long as they have their heads in mind – do not pick up a child to hurt him or her. Anyway, even when I was taking my little goddaughter in my arms, I wouldn’t even think to hurt her. Even when we take a child of our neighbors, acquaintances or friends, we take them tenderly and we want the best for the child. And since: If you, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him (Mt 7 , 11). Let us believe in his paternal love and care!

Nobody like God cares for us. He really watches over us. He takes care of us, dresses us and feeds us. He does it even when we think it’s all our merit. No, it’s not our merit, but His! I experience it every day. Especially when nothing works for me. I have no hope and see no point. However, when I reflect, open my eyes, I can see hope, sense and that I have everything I need for existence. The awareness of God’s paternal love for me gives me hope. Lets believe that it will be fine! Lets go through the desert on a cold night!

Blessing thanks to you

Jesus knew that everything he had came from the Father. He also knew that the Father had given him friends – all people who recognized Him as their Savior! We see God’s gratitude and praise for people in the priestly prayer of Jesus: “ I have revealed your name to the people you gave me from the world. They were yours and you gave them to me, and they kept your word. T now they know that whatever you have given me comes from you. S for the hunting that you entrusted to me, I handed over to them, and they accepted it and truly knew that I came from you and believed that you sent me. J and for them please, do not please for the world , but for these that you have given me because they are yours. For all mine is yours, and yours is mine, and in them I was glorified. J I am no longer in the world, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, that you have given me, so that they are one as we are. As long as I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you gave me and I guarded them, and none of them perished except the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I go to you and say this while still in the world, so that they may have my joy in their fullness. J and I gave them Your word, and the world hated them for not being from the world, just like I am not from the world. N I am asking you to take them out of the world, but to protect them from the evil one. O they are not from the world, like and I am not of the world. Sanctify their in truth. Your word is truth. J as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. A for them I sacrifice myself in sacrifice, that they too may be sanctified in truth (Jn 17: 6-19).

I encourage you to take this passage for a personal prayer and to put yourself in the place of the Apostles. In place of “them”, “his / her” put your name and surname here! Jesus prays and I thank the Father for you! For what the Father made you. Full of advantages but also disadvantages and weaknesses!

Jesus also blesses. To bless means to speak well, to wish well. And He does it! I want to bless you. For what you are! He blesses you, knowing that you will betray Him and fail Him! Your sins and your trampling on His love do not prevent Him from blessing you further. He still wishes you well! He still cares about you! What’s more, he’ll never get bored of it!

Broke

Each of us is broken in some way. Each of us has experienced some unpleasantness, experiences that took something away from us. Each of us is constantly attacked by something. Our life is practically a constant struggle with adversities. There are hardly any people who can sit still, without having to fight or try for anything. Every now and then something uncontrolled happens to us. And that’s loss of job, that’s loss of health. Little successes are interwoven with big losers. Bullish periods and bearish periods. Period of consolation, periods of distress. And so on and on.

God wants to break us. He himself says many times in his Word that whoever loves is experiencing it. It is trying on fire to make the metal we are more valuable.

God, however, unlike the world, wants to break our sin, selfishness, pride, and stupidity. Everything that distances us from Him. He breaks us so that we love Him, ourselves and other people more. He breaks us down so that he can give us to others. I want us to love and want to live seriously! God breaks us very gently. Sometimes, however, it does not painfully infringe our dignity. He does it with parental sensitivity, with almost surgical precision. The world, on the other hand, tramples our dignity. It tears us away from hope, meaning, mission and vocation. God will never take away a person’s vocation and meaning in life. It can at most obscure it, but not take it away. The world takes it. It destroys what is spiritual in us. To the world, we are just a money-making machine. We bring profits, then he loves us, but when we do not bring them he tells us: goodbye. The world is trying to destroy what is spiritual in us. He wants to destroy our joy and happiness by offering an empty laugh and an imitation of happiness.

Let’s be vigilant about this border. Let us entrust ourselves to God. Take courage! He doesn’t want to hurt us. He only wants to teach us love!

Distributing

Jesus distributes broken bread to his disciples. There are crumbs scattered. This piece of bread does not have the same knife cuts. It is even ragged. Something is simply wasted while sharing the bread, but Jesus is fine with it! He doesn’t need ideality. He takes what is. He takes and wants to give us to others as we are. Broken, wounded, losers and imperfect. Actually, only when we are broken can we be given away to other people. Only then can we properly love and serve other people.
These words also remind us that none of us is a lonely island. Nobody lives for themselves. They also remind us that none of us are perfect. And we shouldn’t idealize anyone either. There is no ideal people. Let us not demand ideality from others. Let people be… people. Ordinary, simple people with their advantages and disadvantages. Let us not demand ideality and perfection from anyone! God does not require it from us, so we should not even expect it from ourselves or from another human being. Let us not expect perfection from a candidate for a wife / husband, let us not expect it from priests, pastors, etc. Let them live and be ourselves. If we let them be ourselves, we’ll never really disappoint anyone!

And let me tell you that now every Mass is special to me again! Each is a visible sign of God’s love for me! Wish you guys discover it too!

Your Wojtek

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