October 6, 2023

Be Our Guest / Mike O’Connell

The road to heaven includes receiving the sacraments, being the hands and feet of Christ

Shortly before his death, Jesus shared a meal with his disciples. He then shared a cup of wine with them, and then bread. “… 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’ ” (Lk 22:19)

When Jesus told his disciples to do this in remembrance of him, what were they to do? In his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells us they were to take bread, give thanks, break it and share it. They were also to share wine (1 Cor 11:25).

I have often heard people ask “Where is our Lord when I am struggling and things are not going well in my life?” I have also heard many Catholics say, “I go to church, but I don’t get anything out of the Mass. In fact, I find it boring.”

Which leads me to this question: Are you participating? At the Last Supper, our Lord expected the disciples to participate in the process. He is omnipresent, he knows all things, he created us in his own image, and he wants the best for us. But he expects each of us to do our part.

The story of Noah offers a great example. Remember how our Lord instructed Noah to build the ark? His instructions were very precise in how the boat should be built. Noah followed all of his instructions. Our almighty God could have provided that boat to Noah in one command, but he wanted Noah to participate in the process.

Remember God expects participation from each of us.

Do you know our Lord? Do you pray? Do you follow his commandments? Do you attend Mass? Do you receive the sacraments? Do you volunteer to help with your parish’s various ministries?

If you participate and do your part, you will strengthen your partnership and friendship with our Lord, and together you will spend eternity with God and all his saints in our heavenly kingdom.
 

(Mike O’Connell is a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Bloomington.) †

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