integration paper

Date: 04.11.18

When celebrating the Eucharist, I wonder whether I know the meaning and those who stand with me at the table know what they are a part of. I also wonder whether there is something that really happens with our daily lives and how this celebration is connected with our lives and how it gives life that has the power of overcoming death in its many forms.

We mourn our losses about the death of The Lord. We normally go to Eucharist carrying burdens and pain in our hearts and when all hope is lost. We begin the Eucharist by crying for mercy and acknowledge the mercy that we received. We then contemplate the sacred scriptures which offer guidance on the way and also counsel us. This also helps us remember our stories which assists us to know God more intimately as well as to discover our own true identity and to whom we belong. The sacred scriptures can also transform our stories so that we interpret them differently. The sacred scripture can be described using a candle which can be observed and discover its wisdom after reading it.

We then invite the stranger when it's nearly evening because if we don't invite him, he will move on with his journey. He has to be invited since he cannot force himself to our table where he breaks the bread and blesses it. The guest becomes the host by taking the bread from the table, breaking it and offers us the Eucharist. Through this simple gesture, our eyes are opened and we realize God’s presence. We not only become in communion with Him but he reconciles us with one another through the breaking and sharing of the holy bread that fills us with spiritual nourishment. He vanishes but we believe that he is still present and that a day will come when we will see him.

Our mission is to become his disciples as we now know and understand him. We are filled with hope and gladness and we cannot remain seated after having encountered the Lord. Eucharist sends us forth to share what we have received and to share the fruits of hope.

Lex orandi, lex credendi is a statement that has become something of a tenet of liturgical theology especially in the years since the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, which literally means the law of prayer which is the law of belief. Sometimes this phrase extends to lex orandi, lex credenda, Lex Vivendi which means that how we worship reflects what we believe and determines how we will live. According to Pope Benedict XVI in his 2007 post-synodal apostolic exhortation The Sacrament of Charity, the church's faith and it is especially nourished at the table of the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is a ceremony that helps Christians commemorate the last supper before the death of Christ. It is the source and summit of the Christian life. In the Eucharist Liturgy and our prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, we encounter God’s presence in personal and profound ways. But the Eucharist is also social as God is love where it should pass over into the concrete practice of love. The Eucharist, celebrated as a community, teaches us about human dignity, calls us to the right relationship with God, ourselves, and others. As the body of Christ, it sends us on the mission to help transform our communities, neighbourhoods and the world.

Some of the consequences of the Eucharist are: we experience the Eucharist as a community where it unites and heals divisions. The Eucharist also awakens us to our own dignity and to those of others. It sensitizes us to those who suffer by moving us and inspiring us to respond. Eucharist-inspired love allows us to live out our Christian vocation. It also challenges us to recognize and confront structures of sin. Eucharist does not only prepares us for the mission but also propels us forth to transform the world.

Eucharist is, therefore, an essential attribute in the Christian life as it is the source and summit of Christian life. It is the summary of our belief and faith in Christ. It invites the presence of Christ in our lives.