EUCHARIST
In the Eucharist, we are not only joined to Christ, whom we believe is present with his whole being under the symbols of bread and wine, but we believe that we are joined with all other Christians, with every member of the human race, and with the whole of creation. Christ is in the hearts of all men and women and in the heart of all creation, sustaining everything in being. This mystery of oneness enables us to emerge from the Eucharist with a refined inward eye, and invites us to perceive the mystery of Christ everywhere and in everything. He who is hidden from our senses and intellect becomes more and more transparent to the eyes of faith--to the consciousness that is being transformed. The Spirit in us perceives the Spirit in others. The Eucharist is the celebration of life, the dance of the divine in human form. We are part of that dance. Each of us is a continuation of Christ's incarnation, insofar as we are living Christ's life in our own lives--or rather, instead of our own lives. The Eucharist is the summary of all creation coming together in a single hymn of praise, surrender, and thanksgiving. In the Eucharist all creation is transformed into the body of Christ, transformed again into his divine person, and thrust into the depths of the Father for ever and ever. Even material creation has become divine in him. "For the creation," says Paul, "waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom. 8:19).
Excerpt from The Heart of the World by Fr. Thomas Keating
US Mission Center, 4233 Sulphur Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63109, 877-272-1870 Vocation Office, 1400 South Sheridan Rd., Wichita, KS 67213 - Telephone: 877-ADORERS (877-236-7377)(Copyright 2005 Adorers of the Blood of Christ)
