The Eucharist is Life-giving. An invitation. Encouraging. Transformative. Nourishing. The Eucharist is the answer.
Are you afraid of missing out? Without the purposeful determination of a pilgrim, we are destined to live a life of distraction. 150 years ago, Henry David Thoreau left Concord, Massachusetts because he believed it had become too noisy, too busy, too distracting. He went out to Walden Pond to reconnect with himself and with nature. It took him only seven pages in his writings to conclude that most men lead lives of quiet desperation. Today, most men and women lead lives of distraction. Lack of focus leads to lack of commitment. And together, these lead to lives of quiet and not-so-quiet desperation. Consecration changes all of that. It challenges us to name what matters most. It gives us the clarity and wisdom to focus on the vital few rather than chasing the trivial many. It encourages us to place Jesus at the center of our days and weeks, and it liberates us from all the distraction and superficiality that dominates the culture. I had a college roommate who was constantly running from one thing to the next, sacrificing sleep and neglecting his schoolwork. One day I asked him why he was choosing this path and he said to me, I don't want to miss out on anything during these four years. This state has come to be known as FOMO, fear of missing out.
The idea that if we make the right choices, squeeze enough into each day, and become ultra-efficient, we won't miss out on things is a colossal error. More than an error, it's a delusion. You are going to miss out. In fact, you are certain to miss out on the great majority of things, experiences, and opportunities that this life has to offer. One of the biggest traps a pilgrim can fall into is the trap of FOMO. Driven by the psychological nonsense of FOMO, many people make the worst decisions of their lives. FOMO also has a close cousin known as settling. The accepted wisdom of the vast universe known as the internet is that you should never settle. This is horrible advice. The two most common expressions of this nonsense relate to relationships and career. Settling romantically means committing to someone who is less than ideal for you. The professional version of this nonsense involves settling for a job that pays the bills and supports your family rather than pursuing your dreams. The truth is this, you have to settle. You don't have a choice. It is unavoidable. Our lives are finite. You do not have infinite time on this Earth to pursue all possibilities. Your time is limited. You cannot become successful at anything without first settling on that path. To become a successful teacher or doctor, you set aside the possibilities of other careers and commit yourself to being a teacher or a doctor. If you bounce from one career to the next, never mastering any particular craft, you are settling in a different, much more diabolical way. One of the main reasons so many young people are increasingly having trouble maintaining significant romantic relationships is because they want to keep all their options open. But keeping your options open shuts down the possibility of success in the one relationship you are in at this moment. Every decision is a decision to miss out. Every choice for something is a choice to miss out on everything else. FOMO and settling both foster unrealistic ideals that nobody can live up to due to the innate limitations of life and all human beings. The result is a growing anxiety because we are constantly missing out, and settling is inevitable.
Consecrating ourselves to Jesus in the Eucharist changes all this. We're no longer afraid of missing out. We know it is preferable to miss out on most things because the only things that really matter are those that God has in mind just for you. Doing the will of God, therefore, transforms FOMO into JOMO, the joy of missing out. We each have to decide for ourselves if we are going to lead a life of distraction or a life of focus. Trust, surrender, believe, receive. Become a member of the International Society of the Eucharist today, and we will send you a $300 voucher off your next pilgrimage, along with a free copy of 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory, a copy of the Children's Edition, and a copy of the Limited Edition Journal, which includes an amazing Holy Week retreat. Click here below to join today. Remember, have an amazing day. Be bold. Be Catholic. We are people of the Eucharist.
Jesus, I believe that you are truly present
In the most holy sacrament
Of the Eucharist. Every day
I long for more of you.
I love you above all things.
And I desire to receive you into my soul.
Since I cannot receive you
Sacramentally
At this moment
I invite you to come and dwell in my heart.
May the spiritual communion
Increase my desire for the Eucharist.
You are the healer of my soul.
Take the blindness from my eyes
The deafness from my ears
The darkness from my mind
And the hardness from my heart.
Fill me with the grace, wisdom, and courage
To do your will
In all things.
My Lord and my God
Draw me close to you
Nearer than ever before.
Amen.
Consecrate America to the Eucharist.
Bye-bye.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
Come on.
Happy birthday!
Hey, Isabel. One simple way to be mindful of God's presence in the world is to know where the nearest Tabernacle is. So while we've got a couple of minutes, I thought we might work on your geography a little.
Sounds good, Dad. You're always coming up with something.
Hey, Isabelle, if I was at latitude of like 40.76 and a longitude of negative 73.97, where would I find the nearest tabernacle?
St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York City