Transcript
The Eucharist is Astonishing. Joyful. Profound. Healing. Relevant.
We are people of the Eucharist.
In 1163, a man was walking along the River Seine in Paris when he noticed a huge new building site. He approached the site and found men laying bricks. It was late in the afternoon and the workers were tired and sweating. He asked one worker, "What are you building here?" The worker replied, "I'm just laying bricks." He asked another worker, "What are you building here?" The worker scoffed and said to the man, "Are you blind? I'm building a wall." Frustrated, the man began to walk away, but as he turned, he bumped into one of the other workers, who was also laying bricks. "What are you building?" he asked. The builder stopped working. He stepped back and beckoned the man to do the same. Then looking up toward the sky, he said, "We are building a cathedral." "Cathedrals are beautiful," the other man commented. "You have never seen a cathedral this beautiful," the bricklayer replied. "This will be the finest cathedral the world has ever seen. It will tower above the city. Men and women will marvel at it and people will come from all over the world just to see it." It took 182 years to finish that cathedral. Those who began building it never got to see it completed. It is 420 feet long, 157 feet wide, and 300 feet high. And with all of France's rich history, incredible sights, and phenomenal art, it is still the most visited attraction in France each year, with 13 million annual visitors. That is almost twice as many as the Eiffel Tower and four million more than the Louvre. It is the Notre Dame Cathedral. Men and women of all faiths and no faith come to visit Notre Dame de Paris and marvel at it.
I love Paris. I go there a couple of times a year for a week to get away from everything and everyone and focus on my writing. These trips usually correspond with starting and finishing a book. Each year, my new book is released on August 15, the Marian Feast of the Assumption, but before the book is released to the public, I take the finished manuscript to Notre Dame Cathedral and consecrate it to Mary's care. On April 15, 2019, at about 6 o'clock in the evening, I was sitting in my hotel room in Paris writing. I was finishing Rediscover the Saints. The city started going crazy. People were yelling and sirens started blaring, dozens of them. I looked out the window and saw smoke. Notre Dame was on fire. I could see it from the window of my hotel room. Notre Dame Cathedral has long been considered one of the most beautiful places in the world. The world mourned as this iconic structure went up in flames. For hours, spectators kept watch in the streets, crying, praying, singing hymns, while one of the most beautiful churches in the world burned. Before the fire, the cathedral's breathtaking beauty had stood the test of time for over 800 years. The original construction began in 1163 and took nearly 200 years to complete. Thousands of workers contributed to erecting the massive structure, many of whom never saw it finished. After the fire, people from all over the world pledged gifts to help rebuild Notre Dame. This all begs the question, why?
Why spend so much time and energy and money to create one building? What motivated so many people to sustain such an effort over generations? There are many possible motivations, aesthetics and architecture, legacy and vanity, ego and pride. Perhaps these all played some role. But each of these reasons pales in comparison to the deepest and most beautiful thing that motivated each block of limestone and each stroke of paint. That reason? Faith. An unshakable belief that Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, would come to dwell in the cathedral for as long as it would stand.
Notre Dame is just one example of literally thousands. Travel anywhere in the world and ask to be taken to the most beautiful building in the area. And most often, you'll be taken to a Catholic church. Right here, this is that place. Ask anyone in the area, what is the most beautiful building in the area and they will bring you here to this Cathedral Basilica. Why have Catholics built so many beautiful churches in every century and all across the globe? I can tell you this, it's not about the art or the architecture. It's not about legacy or personal pride. It's because we believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.
What do these beautiful churches really say to us? They say that there is something greater here than art or architecture, something more than history, and not just something, but someone. And that someone is Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist, present in all these churches, and present in the tabernacle of your local church. When Jesus was about to ascend into heaven, He stood before His disciples and made an extraordinary promise. "I am with you always," he said, "to the end of the age." At the heart of the Catholic faith is an unwavering belief that Jesus fulfills this promise through the Eucharist.
Not only does He remain with us in spirit, He stays with us physically by giving us His body and blood in the blessed sacrament. The beauty of Catholic churches throughout the world is a testament to this faith. Right now, even as you are watching this video, somewhere in the world, Mass is being celebrated and Jesus is once again making good on His promise. What does this mean for you and me in our day-to-day lives? Well, if we accept this as true, then everything changes. When we have a question about our lives, we can no longer act as if we don't know where to find the answer.
We can go to the one who has all the answers to all the questions. When we are facing a dilemma, we cannot solve, we can no longer say we have to solve it by ourselves. We can bring it to Jesus. When we are feeling lonely or distant from God, we can no longer say we don't know where to find Him. We can go to Mass or sit before the tabernacle in our local church. Jesus chooses to be with us, body and spirit in every tabernacle and on every altar in every Catholic Church in the world. He promised to be with us until the end of the world, and He will never break His promise. The only question left is will we choose to be with Him. Trust, surrender, believe, and receive. The Notre Dame Cathedral took nearly 200 years to complete. The average lifespan at that time was around 30 years. Of course, most of the thousands of people who worked on it never saw it completed. If we want to renew the Catholic Church in the United States, it is going to take that type of vision and long-term commitment. Become a member of the International Society of Eucharist today, and together, let's begin that work. Click the button below to join. We'll send you a free copy of 33 Days Eucharistic Glory, a copy of the Children's Version, a copy of the limited-edition Journal, which includes an amazing Holy Week retreat. Have a great day. 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 this 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.
Have a great day.
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.
If I was at latitude 32.41 and longitude of negative 80.65, where would the nearest tabernacle be?
St. Peter's Beaufort, South Carolina.