With the Solemnity of Corpus Christi approaching, we meditate on the centrality of the Eucharist in the Christian life and in the Church. The gift of the Eucharist calls for our praise, adoration and thanksgiving. It also unites us among ourselves. The recollection talk will focus on St Josemaría, an example of Eucharistic piety and holiness, whose feast we celebrate on the 26th.
1. Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent (Lk 24:29). Jesus Christ has remained in the Eucharist out of love for us. Do I go to pray before the tabernacle with the same desire as the disciples of Emmaus?
2. I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst (Jn 6:35). What can I do to live my Eucharistic norms better, since it is there that I find the strength to carry on with my life?
3. "O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore you" (Hymn Adoro te devote). Do I make an effort to adore the Lord present in the Eucharist? How can I make my family and friends share in this desire?
4. "Make me believe you ever more and more, hope in you, love you" (Hymn Adoro te devote). What am I doing to live with faith, hope and love in my family and in my daily occupations?
5. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us (1 Jn 4:12). How can I grow in love towards those around me? How can I respond better to their need for me to understand and encourage them?
6. Fraternity needs to be expressed in friendship, which achieves its fullness when we desire the good of the other person: their happiness, their faithfulness and their holiness (see Pastoral Letter from the Prelate, 1 November 2019, 14). How do I express my friendship in giving my time, in prayer, mutual knowledge, affection...?
7. St Josemaría told us, his children, that he loved us with the heart of a father and a mother (Letter, 6 May 1945, 23). Do I feel supported by his affection and intercession? Do I try to accompany others with the same affection and closeness? Do I know their needs?