Eucharist

“I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharistic Table as often as possible.” (Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati).

Jesus Carrying the Cross (Verska Slika)

Do you remember the dark times of the COVID-19 pandemic?

There were so many opinions about so many things.  Some people believed that we should lock things down further and comply with all government requirements to ensure that we would all stay healthy and safer.  Other people felt that the restrictions were unreasonable and that the impact to the economy and social and spiritual health of the individuals and the community would be profound and irreversible.  And other people did not really know what to think and were instead led along with the wave of hysteria that seemed to follow everything related to that pandemic.

Whatever one might have thought of the restrictions imposed at the time – particularly those imposed in Australia – one thing that is indisputable is that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world…

For the first time in my life the Churches were closed in Australia.  We were not allowed to worship in a community.  We were not allowed to receive the Sacraments with ease.  We were not allowed to minister to each other through physical acts of mercy, by speaking with each other and socialising with each other – particularly the most vulnerable and lonely members of our society.

It was a terrible and truly dark time in the history of the world.  And yet, there were fruits to be gained during that period of strange suffering…

I remember the feeling of longing for the Blessed Eucharist during that time.  Never before had I been denied the Blessed Sacrament, and yet now – with this sudden denial – I was completely overwhelmed by longing for God.  And this was a very valuable lesson to be learned from the ashes of such an experience…  I remember the feeling of being rejected by God because He was not forcing the Church doors open and forcing the government to allow us back inside.  And this caused me to reflect a great deal on the suffering of people in Communist and Fascist countries where religion is restricted and people are raised in circumstances where they are unable to receive the Sacraments and the government has the power to close the churches…

In 1925, a young Italian man died of polio.  His name was Pier Giorgio Frassati, and Pope Saint John Paul II began the cause for his sainthood, calling him Blessed in 1990.  Blesser Pier was called an embodiment of the Beatitudes because he was determined to practice the beatitudes as a way to reach higher spiritually.  Blessed Pier said, “I urge you with all the strength of my soul to approach the Eucharistic Table as often as possible. Feed on this Bread of the Angels from which you will draw the strength to fight inner struggles.”

And I have been reflecting on what a gift it was to go without the Blessed Eucharist during those dark days.  Because without that experience of loss and restriction, I doubt I would have realised just how much I really do love my Blessed Lord.  And there is such Grace in knowing that.  Such wonderful Grace…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.