Christ before us, Christ beside us, Christ to guide us all our days. He to carry all our sorrows, he to bear us perfect grace. Jesus, Savior, Friend and Brother, Intercessor, Son of God, save your people in your dying and in rising, conquer death.
Each moment of every day, God is present in our lives. How often do we acknowledge this? The season of Ordinary Time gives us time to come to this realization. Do we take the time to allow Christ to work within our souls? Or are we slaves to our work, our electronic devices, or our own will rather than God’s will? Where have we become the victim of our own demise? What is separating us from Christ’s love? Recognizing our total and complete dependence on God is the key. Each moment of the day, the paschal mystery is re-represented at the Eucharistic altar. This alone should revive us!
The second option of the Communion Antiphon for the 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C from Revelation 3:20 says:
Behold, I stand at the door and knock, says the Lord. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me
Do we hear that knocking at the door of our hearts? Or due to the clamor of the outside world, not hear the knock? If a dinner guest were to come to the table, would we not converse with them? Do we take time to converse with God and allow God to work in our lives?
This weekend at the 6 p.m. Mass, the Parish Youth Choir will sing “Seek Ye First” as a prelude. This will offer those who are gathered for the Eucharistic banquet to be given sometime for introspection before receiving the Lord is Word and sacrament.