Most mornings I try and prepare myself for the celebration of the Eucharist. If I am on the early Mass then I find this much easier, the church is quieter and there is a sense of peace around the place. Quietness seems to feed my desire to pray. When I am on the later Mass I try to maintain some silence but this is not always possible. I have in my breviary some texts that I read when I have rushed into the sacristy to get ready for Mass. This one is from The Genesee Diary by Henry Nouwen.
"The Lord is at the centre of all things and yt in such a quiet, unobtrusive, elusive way. He lives with us, even physically, but not in the same physical way that other elements are present to us. This transcendent physical presence is what characterises the Eucharist. It is already the other world present in this one. In the celebration of the Eucharist we are given an enclave in our world of space and time. god in Christ is really here, and yet his phsical presence is not characterised by the same limitations of sapce and time that we know.
The Eucharist can only be seen by those who already love the Lord and believe in his active, loving presence to us. But is that not true of every good relationship that we have? Friendship is like that, human love is like that. the bonds that unite us are invisible bonds. They become visible only indirectly, only by waht we do as a result of them. But the bonds themselves are invisible. The presece of friends to one another is very real; this presence is palpably physical, sustaining us in difficult or joyful moments, and yet invisible."
I am off home later to meet up with my family and meet my new step-niece for the first time!
Be well and happy :-)
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