April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
REFLECTION
What I've learned as a eucharistic minister
That's a very noble-sounding phrase - a phrase to which I could once just nod my head in affirmation, not really grasping its significance.
My pastoral formation experience at St. Luke's parish in Schenectady has given me a glimpse of the ultimate reality attested to in "Lumen Gentium." I serve as a eucharistic minister, a special and holy responsibility. I feel a deep spiritual connection to everyone present when I serve.
I get to see the people I am worshipping with, and I get to witness the diversity of our parish family as each person walks forward - moving amongst the Body of Christ, the assembled people of God.
When I have the responsibility of serving the Body of Christ, I try to do so with reverence, joy and hospitality. In placing the Body of Christ in each person's hand, I learn something from that brief touch: some hands are old and arthritic; some are the hands of young parishioners; some hands are rough and calloused, while others are soft and fragile; some hands are dark and some are light; some hands are juggling children, while others are balancing oxygen canisters. Some people approach with a smile, while others look as though they have the weight of the world on their shoulders.
It is truly an experience of fellowship, of worship and of the real presence of Christ in our midst.
I had an extra-special encounter one Sunday when I served the Body of Christ to Scott, a nine-year-old boy with significant learning disabilities.
Scott made his First Communion two years ago. In spite of some behavioral challenges, he manages to stay focused and respectful during Mass, and he always goes to communion.
One Sunday, Scott approached me, visibly excited and looking ready to burst with some sort of news. I smiled, lifted the host and said, "The Body of Christ" - to which Scott replied in a strong, clear voice, while pointing his finger at the host, "That's God, you know. That's God!"
I replied, "You are absolutely right, Scott!"
Satisfied that I "got it," Scott moved on to the cup and again made his proclamation of faith, sharing his joyful discovery with his parish family.
St. Irenaeus wrote, "Our thinking is attuned to the Eucharist and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking": in other words, the Eucharist - Christ Himself - leads us to come together with God in a relationship of mutual loving, giving and receiving. This will nurture us, sustain us and guide our relationships.
What does "source and summit" mean? We are invited into a renewed covenant of love with God. God has given us the greatest gift - Himself, in the person of Christ - and we are invited to give our hearts, our minds, our lives to God.
The Eucharist is the ultimate sign of that relationship. As Scott told us, "That's God, you know" - God, here in our midst, in the messiness of our lives, reaching out and inviting us to the banquet for all eternity.
In giving us His Son, God saved us. The Eucharist is a tangible reminder of the depth of God's love and trustworthiness, and of our shared reality as the visible Body of Christ in our time.
Joyful recognition of God in our midst, as Scott demonstrated for us, is cause for celebration.
(Ms. Anderton is pursuing a master's degree in theology at St. Bernard's School of Theology and Ministry in Albany and, as such, is helping to implement the new Roman Missal translation at St. Luke's parish in Schenectady.)[[In-content Ad]]
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