Today his word is Eucharist.
According to the New Advent Encyclopedia, Eucharist is (Greek eucharistia, thanksgiving).
The name given to the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar in its twofold aspect of sacrament and Sacrifice of Mass, and in which Jesus Christ is truly present under the bread and wine.
I was reading in the Word Among Us online devotional again this morning. The meditation for today is based on the Gospel.
“Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. (John 12:24)”
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
Martyrs have done this! They have given up their life for Christ. Is God asking me to be a martyr? Not exactly. There are others ways we modern day people can serve God. However, I do want to mention, that martyrdom is not a thing of the past. In many countries there is still persecution of people for their faith.
The author of the meditation in the Word Among Us, writes:
....martyrs are powerful witnesses to us, examples for us to follow as we face the “little martyrdoms” of our everyday lives.
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household, once explained it this way: “A mother … goes home and begins her day made up of a thousand little things. Her life is literally reduced to crumbs, but what she does is no little thing: It is Eucharist with Jesus! A religious sister … goes to her daily work among the old, the sick, the children. Her life too might seem split by many small things that leave no trace at night—another day wasted. But her life too is Eucharist… . No one should say, ‘What use is my life? What am I doing in this world?’ You are in the world for the most sublime of reasons, to be a living sacrifice. To be Eucharist with Jesus.”
A thousand little things. One Thousand gifts, Ann Voskamp's title to her book. Retelling her story of how she found this habit of giving thanks. Chapter 2, page 31 as she was reading, "And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them..." (Luke 22:19 NIV)
And she brakes the word "eucharisteo" into pieces and meanings.
charis, meaning grace
chara, meaning joy
Eucharisteo, meaning thanksgiving
And she summarizes, " As long as thanks is possible, then joy is always possible....Here, in the messy, piercing ache of now, joy might be- unbelievably- possible!"
Her life is literally reduced to crumbs, but what she does is no little thing: It is Eucharist with Jesus!
And the author of the meditation end with this:
The “crumbs” of our lives are gathered together and bring hope to other people. Each one of us is a treasure of the Church.
We each have our own messes, our own problems. But in the midst of those messes and those problems we are able to find "eucharisteo", grace and joy. We are able to use our experiences and share a little of us with others. Hoping and praying that our life would be a vessel of hope to them.
" Lord help me to be a blessing to those who enter this blog and read what you have put into my heart and guided my fingers to type. In Jesus name I pray, Lord hear my prayer."