A Penitent Blogger

Mindful of my imperfections, seeking to know Truth more deeply and to live Love more fully.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus? Quem patronum rogaturus? Cum vix iustus sit securus?
Recordare, Iesu pie, Quod sum causa tuae viae: Ne me perdas illa die...

Friday, October 22, 2004

Abide in me, and I in you

Detail (reversed) from 'Sacrament of the Last Supper' by Salvador Dali

"When the disciples on the way to Emmaus asked Jesus to stay 'with' them, he responded by giving them a much greater gift: through the Sacrament of the Eucharist he found a way to stay 'in' them. Receiving the Eucharist means entering into a profound communion with Jesus. 'Abide in me, and I in you' (John 15:4). This relationship of profound and mutual 'abiding' enables us to have a certain foretaste of heaven on earth. Is this not the greatest of human yearnings? Is this not what God had in mind when he brought about in history his plan of salvation? God has placed in human hearts a 'hunger' for his word (cf. Amos 8:11), a hunger which will be satisfied only by full union with him. Eucharistic communion was given so that we might be 'sated' with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfilment in heaven."
John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mane Nobiscum Domine, 19