I’ve been thinking. This is always a dangerous start for me, but here we go.
It seems to me that I tend to think of my life in two very different modes; namely my life as I know it now, and how my life will be in eternity. This can lead to an unhealthy relationship with God. I find myself thinking about gaining admittance into heaven, and death is the end of that mode. Then I enter another mode. In my own mind, and perhaps yours too, the two modes are barely related. I need to remind myself that my life, before and after passing into eternity, is one continuum.
We begin and build our relationship with the God of the Universe here on earth, and that same relationship continues into eternity. I need to stop thinking of my relationship with God as being something I do exclusively in eternity. We are invited now into a relationship with the Living God! He longs to be united to us. This is why He has revealed Himself to humanity. It is why He sent His Son to save us by dying for us.
Let’s not forget that God made us to be with Him in Paradise. Our first parents rejected that relationship, but the fact is we were/are made by God and for God. We are made to be in a relationship with Him. God did not make us to live in a fallen world. The fallen world is a consequence of the rejection of God by our original parents. God longs to be with us, much like He was with Adam and Eve in the Garden when He walked out with Adam and Eve in the cool time of the day.
To help satisfy the God- shaped hole in our hearts the Lord gives us Himself. He descends from His throne in heaven to take on the form of bread and wine. The bread and wine truly become the body, the blood, the soul and divinity of the Lord! He is waiting for us, and He longs to be united with us ... He does not want to wait any longer. Let’s go find Him and encounter Him and become one with Him in the Eucharist!
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected]
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