Eucharistic Reflection – God Is Near Us

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"Of course, all the other sacraments and also the Eucharist involve great care for souls. We have to care for people but above all -- this is our mandate -- for their souls. We must think of the many illnesses and moral and spiritual needs that exist today and that we must face, guiding people to the encounter with Christ in the sacrament, helping them to discover prayer and meditation, being silently recollected in church with this presence of God. And then, preaching. What do we preach? We proclaim the Kingdom of God. But the Kingdom of God is not a distant utopia in a better world which may be achieved in 50 years' time, or who knows when. The Kingdom of God is God Himself, God close to us who became very close in Christ.  This is the Kingdom of God: God Himself is near to us and we must draw close to this God who is close for He was made man, remains man and is always with us in His Word, in the Most Holy Eucharist and in all believers. Therefore, proclaiming the Kingdom of God means speaking of God today, making present God's words, the Gospel which is God's presence and, of course, making present the God who made Himself present in the Holy Eucharist"

(Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, July 24, 2007,Meeting with Clergy)


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4 comments:

  1. Nancy ShumanMay 4, 2015 at 11:18 AM

    I needed to read exactly this today. Thank you.

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  2. Barb SchoenebergerMay 5, 2015 at 9:08 AM

    The care for souls isn't emphasized nearly enough today. So much of today's personal sufferings are a result of bad choices made by disordered thinking driven by the seven deadly sins which we have allowed to take hold in us. If we would only submit to Jesus and let Him work in us how different our lives would be.

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    Replies
    1. Michael SeagriffMay 6, 2015 at 11:35 AM

      Yes Barb, zeal for the salvation of souls and awareness of sin are sorely missing inaction.

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  3. Michael SeagriffMay 6, 2015 at 11:33 AM

    Thank you Nancy. God's timing is always perfect. But we have to be listening to Him.

    ReplyDelete

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