Ground coffee, the Eucharist and me
I have always loved coffee. For years I used to drink instant coffee and I really enjoyed it! But the moment you taste 100% Arabica coffee your eyes are opened and you realise you’ve been deceived. There is something more. More aromatic, with a much better taste, simply more real (no hard feelings to all you instant coffee lovers!). It sounds funny but it is true. Instant coffee is just a drink derived from brewed coffee beans (says Wikipedia). Moreover, what makes it so popular is the fact that it is very easy to make and needs no special coffee makers, kettles, or filters. Not to mention the preparation time which is short and fits our busy schedules perfectly.
You could say our lives can look like instant coffee: easy and fast-paced. But at the end of the day, this should not be the entire reality. At least it is not the reality God would like us to live. We strive for ‘doing great things’ in our jobs, studies and hobbies which is, of course, admirable but somehow our self-discovery, our need for love, our priorities and relationship can suffer, including our relationship with God. We often get lost in this ‘instant coffee life’ and it can be difficult to find our way and discover the deeper reality God has in store for us.
What then is God’s reality for us?... It is Himself.
HIS LOVE IS REAL
If only I could say I always live in the reality of God's love. It's sad but we all forget at times that God's love is real and unconditional. And it is. It is more real than anything else in our lives. Just because we don’t always see it, does not mean it is not true. As we approach Christmas, the most beautiful time of the year, we need to keep in mind what makes it so special. Jesus Christ, the Lord of heaven and earth became one of us. On that glorious night, the love of God became tangible, breathing, crying and hungry.
THE EUCHARIST IS REAL
Even today, two thousand years later, we see his Love in the Eucharist, a tangible reality for everyone to come close. Jesus and His love are as real as they were in the stable in Bethlehem. The Eucharist is baby Jesus, fragile and vulnerable, and yet He is still trusting us to hold Him and protect Him. Yes, He trusts you so that He may rest in the manger of your heart.
Over the last few months, we have been receiving the Holy Eucharist in our hands. With this, have you ever looked at the tiny Host and thought: “God of the universe is in my hands!?” In my little undeserving hands... It sounds unbelievable yet this is the truth. He is resting in my hands like a little baby calling me to love Him.
Bishop Barron said: “The Eucharist is the means by which we are Christified.”
When receiving the real Jesus we unite ourselves with the greatest reality of all history – the love of God.
HE CALLS US TO BE REAL
What do we say? Will we leave Him without any answer? How can I reflect on God's love in the Eucharist this Christmas? The answer is simple. Be real. Let us not be satisfied with ‘instant’ lives. Let God awaken our souls to the reality of His love and the fullness of life. It is worth giving up being satisfied with mediocrity and ask for more: more of life, more of love, more of God. When we ask for more, we receive more and thus we are able to give more and so become a gift for those around us.
Calling out for more is not always easy. C.S.Lewis writes:
“One can imagine a sentient picture, after being rubbed and scraped and recommenced for the tenth time, wishing that it were only a thumbnail sketch whose making was over in a minute. In the same way, it is natural for us to wish that God has designed for us a less arduous destiny; but then we are wishing not for more love but for less.”
Many of us will spend Christmas with our families, however, some of us will not get the chance to go home. Either way, whoever sits around the Christmas table with you this year, let them know the real you, who Jesus Himself is living in and loving through. We are called to give more...more of our presence, more of our attention, more of our time, more of our love, more of our life. We are called to become a gift to others as to live the reality of Bethlehem, the reality of God's eternal love.