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Saint Josemaria
Quotations from Saint Josemaria
Stay with us
Tags: Love of God, Eucharist, Jesus Christ
Stay with us
On the feast of Corpus Christi, we come together
to consider the depths of our Lords love for us,
which has led him to stay with us, hidden under
the appearances of the Blessed Sacrament. It
almost seems as if we can physically hear him
teaching the multitude: A sower went out to sow
his seed. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along
the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had
not much soil, and immediately they sprang up,
since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun
rose they were scorched; and since they had no
root they withered away. Other seeds fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth
grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty. Christ Is Passing By, 150

Our mission as Christians
When thinking about all this, I should like us to
take stock of our mission as Christians. Lets turn
our eyes to the holy Eucharist, toward Jesus. He is here with us he has made us a part of himself:
Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. God has decided to stay in the
tabernacle to nourish us, strengthen us, make us divine and give effectiveness to our work and
efforts.
Jesus is at one and the same time the sower, the seed and the final result of the sowing: the bread of
eternal life.
The miracle of the holy the Eucharist is being continually renewed and it has all Jesus personal
traits. Perfect God and perfect man, Lord of heaven and earth, he offers himself to us as
nourishment in the most natural and ordinary way. Love has been awaiting us for almost two
thousand years. Thats a long time and yet its not, for when you are in love time flies. I remember a
lovely poem, one of the songs collected by Alfonso X the Wise. Its a legend about a simple monk
who begged our Lady to let him see heaven, even if only for a moment. Our Lady granted him his
wish and the good monk found himself in paradise. When he returned, he could not recognize the
monastery his prayer, which he had thought very short, lasted three centuries. Three centuries are
nothing to a person in love. Thats how I explain Christ waiting in the Eucharist. It is God waiting for
us, God who loves man, who searches us out, who loves us just as we are limited, selfish,
inconstant, but capable of discovering his infinite affection and of giving ourselves fully to him.
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Motivated by his own love and by his desire to teach us to love, Jesus came on earth and has stayed
with us in the Eucharist. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end:
thats how St John begins his account of what happened on the eve of the passover when Jesus
took bread and after he had given thanks, broke it, and said, This is my body which is given up for
you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way also the cup, after supper saying: This is the
new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. Christ Is
Passing By, 151

The simple procession of the ordinary life
The Corpus Christi procession makes Christ present in towns and cities throughout the world. But his
presence cannot be limited to just one day, a noise you hear and then forget. It should remind us that
we have to discover our Lord in our ordinary everyday activity. Side by side with this solemn
procession, there is the simple, silent procession of the ordinary life of each Christian.

He is a man among men, who by good fortune has received the faith and the divine commission to
act so that he renews the message of our Lord on earth. We are not without defects; we make
mistakes and commit sins. But God is with us and we must make ourselves ready to be used by him,
so that he can continue to walk among men. Christ Is Passing By, 156

Let us bring Gods light to others
The external signs of love should come from the heart and find expression in the testimony of a
Christian life. If we have been renewed by receiving our Lords body, we should show it. Let us pray
that our thoughts be sincere, full of peace, self-giving and service. Let us pray that we be true and
clear in what we say the right thing at the right time so as to console and help and especially bring
Gods light to others. Let us pray that our actions be consistent and effective and right, so that they
give off the good fragrance of Christ, (2 Cor 2:15) evoking his way of doing things.

Let us ask our Lord then to make us souls devoted to the blessed Eucharist, so that our relationship
with him brings forth joy and serenity and a desire for justice. In this way we will make it easier for
others to recognize Christ; we will put Christ at the centre of all human activities. And Jesus promise
will be fulfilled: I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself. (Jn 12:32) Christ Is
Passing By, 156