He Seeks us, Desires Us, Pursues Us
By Nicole Brush | Parishioner
For the next several weeks, SFA parishioners will share their personal accounts of how the Eucharist has impacted their spiritual journey and life. We know they are not alone. If you wish to share your story for publication in the Bulletin regarding your encounter with Jesus in the Eucharist during Mass or during Eucharistic Adoration please submit your witness to fidel@sfassisi.org by the end of February. You have the choice to remain anonymous if you prefer.
God’s love for us is overwhelming. He loves us so much that He became a little baby, totally vulnerable, totally dependent, so that He could draw us in close. In the Eucharist, He is even more humble, even more vulnerable, standing defenseless and totally reliant on us so that we can become one with Him.
When I was young, I worked in a nursing home run by sisters. Many of the people in the nursing home attended Mass every day, among them a man who was dealing with muscle weakness. Swallowing was very difficult for him, and the sisters carefully helped him sip from the Chalice so that he could receive Jesus reverently. One day, his muscles betrayed him and some of the Precious Blood dripped out of his mouth onto his clothing. The sisters treated both the man and Jesus with the utmost respect. They recognized that Jesus was totally and physically present in the drops that had spilled, so they carefully rinsed the clothing in the sacristy sink where the altar vessels are washed. How deeply Jesus wanted to be united to that man, that He was willing to give up His divine and even human dignity so that the man could receive Him. I was overwhelmed seeing God's love and humility in that moment. I am still profoundly moved to think that He desires each of us just as deeply.
In paintings of the Crucifixion often an angel is shown holding a chalice to catch Jesus’ blood, to show how precious every drop is. But when it happened, Jesus let His blood drip unnoticed on the ground as the scourge tore away His skin, as His scabs crusted over and cracked open again, as the cross dug mercilessly into His shoulder, as the nails were pounded into His flesh. And today, He seeks us out so zealously that He endures sacrilege, ignorance, callousness, disrespect, inattention, and all the unintentional impoliteness of human weakness just in case we might come to receive Him. How can we not fall in love with the One who pursues us with such abandon?
