Transcript
The Eucharist is- Astonishing. Joyful. Profound. Healing. Loving.
We are people of the Eucharist.
800 years ago, a young Italian man searching for meaning in his life went into a dilapidated old church and heard the voice of God speak to him, "Rebuild my church. As you can see, it is in ruins." If you and I listen carefully, I believe we will hear the same voice saying the same thing today. That young man was Francis of Assisi. His first reaction was to repair and rebuild a number of churches in and around Assisi. But the voice kept calling to him, "Francis, rebuild my church. As you can see, it is in ruins." Over the past 50 years, we have spent a lot of time, energy, and money building and restoring the physical facilities of our churches. But the voice of God continues to call to us. Once again, God is saying, "Rebuild my church." And the rebuilding that needs to be done now is of a spiritual nature. The only way for our lives to genuinely improve is by acquiring virtue. Similarly, it is impossible for a society to genuinely improve unless its members grow in virtue. The renewal that the church and society so desperately need is a renewal of virtue. And it is our relationship with Jesus that gives us the strength, the grace, and the wisdom to grow in virtue.
What is virtue? It is a habitual and firm disposition to do good. The great fallacy of the lukewarm moral life is to believe that our sole responsibility is to eliminate vice from our lives. In the absence of a sincere and focused effort to grow in virtue and an openness to God's will for our lives, vice will creep into our lives in the form of a hundred different self-centered and self-destructive habits. No man or woman is born virtuous. Good habits are not infused. Virtue must be sought out and can be acquired only by continual practice. You learn to ride a bicycle by riding a bicycle. You learn to play baseball by playing baseball. You learn to be patient by practicing patience. You become virtuous by practicing virtue. For thousands of years, politicians and philosophers have argued about the best way to organize society. Many organizing concepts including duty, obligation, law, force, obedience, tyranny, and greed have been employed throughout history. But what is the ultimate organizing principle? Virtue. Virtue. Two virtuous people will always have a better relationship than two people without virtue. Virtue leads to better people, better living, better relationships, and a better world. If humanity is to flourish in the 21st century, it will be because we realize once and for all that the key organizing concept of a truly great civilization is virtue.
The connection between virtue and human flourishing is unquestionable. The only way for our lives to genuinely improve is by acquiring virtue. To grow in virtue is to improve as a human being. To become a better person today than I was yesterday. This is accomplishment. Hemingway once observed, there is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man. True nobility is being superior to your former self. Virtue is central to the growth of a Christian. Earlier in our journey together, on day eight, we discussed how people tend to emulate the five people they spend the most time with. Are your five people virtuous people? If not, you need to make a change. And you may be thinking, I can't make a change. My five people are set and they are not virtuous. But let's think back to something else we have learned on this pilgrimage together. Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do. Day 21. The devil wants you to focus on what's not possible. Jesus helps us to focus on what is possible. He also helps us to find new possibilities. Maybe the people around you have no interest in virtue, but when I look at the books on the bookshelves in my study at home, I see plenty of virtuous people and we can all spend time with them. Mother Teresa, Fulton Sheen, CS Lewis, Teresa of Avila, Thérèse of Lisieux, Augustine, Aquinas, Chesterton, Tolkien, Kraft, Dorothy Day, so many virtuous authors we can spend time with. The list is endless. Virtues are the habits of the saints. And then, of course, there is Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus is virtue personified. He is honest, patient, kind, humble, courageous, compassionate, hopeful, wise, generous, gentle, resilient, loving. And whenever we act virtuously, we in some mysterious and amazing way usher God's grace and goodness into the world. Virtue became man so that man could become virtuous. Saint Peter Ahmar observed the Eucharist is a divine storehouse filled with every virtue. God has placed it in the world so that everyone may draw from it.
So draw from it. Spend time with Jesus in the Eucharist and draw from that storehouse of virtue abundantly and often. Receive Jesus in the Eucharist and draw from that storehouse of virtue abundantly and often. Trust, surrender, believe, receive. Join the International Society of the Eucharist today and help us share this message with those who most need it. We'll send you a free copy of 33 Days to Eucharistic Glory, a copy of the children's version, a copy of the Limited-Edition Journal, which includes an amazing Holy Week retreat. Click on the button below and become a member today. Have a great day and remember, 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.
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.
And if I was at latitude of 41.93 and a longitude of -87.65, where would the nearest Tabernacle be?
St. Clement, Chicago, Illinois.