Instituion of the Holy Eucharist

Meditation on the Fifth Luminous Mystery of the Rosary

At the last supper You broke the bread.
You declared that You are living bread,
given up for all the world,
broken and shared,
that we might be fed
with your truth and beauty and goodness.

That we might come not just to know You
and to follow You, precious Lord,
as I will do,
but also to be blessed, changed,
grafted on to your holy family,
your heavenly essence filling us
from the inside out.

What I take into myself—
the host, Your body, Your Real Presence —
knits together with my body
and we become one,
You and I,
as we are One with all Your Holy Bride,
all members of your holy family.

And as we take the cup of Your salvation —
fruit of the vine,
trans-substantiated into Your blood,
sacrificed for us as penance for our sins,
blood, through which we might be washed clean,
purified—let us drink deeply and give thanks,
shed tears of joy and baptism, again and again.

Pray, bless and seal our agreement,
our ‘yes,’ in an eternal baptism
into Your Holy Spirit,
our final covenant with You,
oh God, our Father.

Let us be filled, finally one day,
when, in the joy of Your salvation,
we sing praise to You of Your glory.
In that time we will look up
and behold Your precious face,
and we will share in
the warmth of Your smile.

As we give into the warmth
and radiance of Your love,
Your body will sate our hunger.
Your blood will flood our being.
And we will unite
in complete union with You.

Only then will the world, Your world,
which You made perfect in the beginning,
be reclaimed from our original sin.
Re-created according to your Will.
Perfected, finally, into Your image;
Your truth, beauty, goodness
renewed in us.

And we will be Your beloved creatures
whom You will again call good —
even very good —
in Your heavenly perfection.

Rescued and redeemed from our sin,
we will return to You,
humbled and prepared to work
for You in Your fields.

And You, oh God, will see us,
even from far away.
You will run to us,
Your regal robes flying,
Your arms outstretched to greet us.
Your heart bursting,
showering us with Your love.

In that time in your eternal garden,
our elder brothers and sisters will see us, too,
and they’ll rejoice in the joy
overflowing from Your heart.

In that time,
there will be music and laughter,
dancing and great feasting,
as You fulfill, finally,
Your holy intent for creation.

In these heavenly days,
the faith and hope and love
to which You have called us
for so long — of these three,
faith and hope in You will have been fulfilled.

In these heavenly days,
only love — the greatest of these three —
only love will remain,
My Lord and My God.