Transcript
The Eucharist is... Profound. Mysterious. Dynamic. Inviting. Inspiring. We are people of the Eucharist.
This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad. This is my spontaneous prayer as I get out of bed each morning. I'm not sure how it started, or when it began, but there is something about this verse that fills my soul with joy. Perhaps it is the hope of a new beginning. Maybe it's the anticipation of unexpected blessings. I'm not sure. Today is your day of consecration. We've spent 33 days preparing our hearts, minds, and souls for this moment. Congratulations. You did it. I'm sure there were many who didn't make it. We pray they will set back on the path and complete this Eucharistic consecration soon. But today is your day.
I hope you will find a way to celebrate it. Totus Tuus. This is a Latin phrase which means “totally yours.” Today, you are saying to Jesus, I am totally yours and everything I have is yours. This total self-giving is something we have witnessed at every mass we have ever attended. In the Eucharist, Jesus gives His whole self to us completely and absolutely. And now, in his Eucharistic consecration, we respond with love and generosity by pledging our whole selves to Jesus and the Eucharist. This consecration is a radical act of love. It is a radical act of generosity.
Deep down, we all desire to make the radical and complete gift of self that you are going to make to God today. Don't hold anything back. You are joining your yes with Mary's yes. You're joining your yes with Joseph's yes. You're joining your yes with the yes of Francis, Augustine, and Aquinas. You're joining your yes with the yes of Mother Teresa and John Paul II. You're joining your yes with the yes of Teresa of Ávila and Therese of Lisieux. You are joining your yes with the yes of all of God's angels and saints. This is a historic moment, an epic moment in your spiritual journey. You'll receive many gifts from this Eucharistic consecration.
One of those gifts will be clarity. Commitment leads to clarity, and clarity allows us to focus our attention and energy on those things that are most important. The clarity of commitment is a thing of beauty. Profound and at the same time intensely practical. You will see with new eyes what matters most and what is shallow, superficial, and insignificant. Cherish that clarity. It is a rare gift in a world drowning in chaos and confusion. The final piece of our journey together is the actual prayer of consecration.
But to prepare our hearts and minds to conceive what is about to happen. I would like to share with you a poem. And the story about how this poem came into my life. It describes what is about to happen to you better than I ever could. My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Pauline Rudder, in her wisdom, introduced my classmates and me to the following poem. After reciting it one day, she announced that over the next week, we were all to learn the poem by heart. Then each morning, to begin our day, someone would recite the poem for the class. It was just one example of her many moments of genius. At the time, our understanding of it was shallow, perhaps because one needs to experience some of life's hard knocks to truly appreciate the full meaning. It was battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it's scarcely worth his while to waste much time on the old violin, but held it up with a smile. "What am I bidding, good folks?" He cried, "Who will start the bidding for me? A dollar, a dollar, then two? Only two? Two dollars? And who make it three? Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three." But no. From the room, far back, the gray-haired man came forward and picked up the bow, then wiping the dust from the old violin and tightening the loose strings. He played a melody, pure and sweet, as a caroling angel sings. The music ceased, and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low, said, "What am I bid for the old violin?" And held it up with the bow. "A thousand dollars, and who make it two? Two thousand, and who make it three? 3,000 once, 3,000 twice, and going and gone," said he. The people cheered, but some of them cried. We do not quite understand what changed its worth.
Swift came the reply, the touch of a master's hand. And many a man with life out of tune and battered and scarred with sin. His auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd, much like the old violin. A mess of pottage, a glass of wine, a game, and he travels on. He is going once and going twice. He's going and almost gone. But the master comes and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of a soul and the change that is wrought by the touch of the master's hand. The poem is called 'The Touch of the Masters Hand' by Myra B. Welch. Amazing things become possible when we surrender to the master. And that is exactly what you are going to do today by consecrating yourself to Jesus in the Eucharist. You may feel battered. You may feel scarred. You may think your life is out of tune. You may have lost sight of your true worth. The thoughtless crowd may have given up on you but when we allow the Master to direct our lives, everything changes. Throughout this journey, I have been speaking of Eucharistic glory. So you are no doubt wondering, what exactly is Eucharistic glory? We pray in the mass, all glory and honor be yours forever and ever, amen. It comes from the Book of Revelations. But God wants us to share in His glory. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that the Eucharist is a pledge of our future glory with God. It says, "Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us, in the Eucharist, the pledge of glory with Him." Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with His heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us, even now, to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints." Unites us. The Eucharist unites us, even now, to the Church in heaven. Every time we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we touch heaven. We are joined with all the angels and saints. And in that moment, we share in the glory of God. That, that is Eucharistic glory. Heaven and earth meet in a Eucharist. It's time to discover all that you are, all that you can be, and all that you will be in Jesus Christ. It's time to embrace Eucharistic glory. And now, it's time to consecrate yourself to Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
Trust, surrender, believe, receive. We are people of the Eucharist. Lord Jesus Christ, bread of life, true God and true man, the alpha and the omega, truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity, in the blessed sacrament. I consecrate myself to you today without reservation. Here I am, Lord. I come to do your will. Come and dwell within me. Heal my body, focus my mind, transform my heart, and nourish my soul. So that I may represent you faithfully in the many situations and circumstances of my daily life. Lord Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist, I consecrate myself to you today without reservation. I hold nothing back. I surrender completely and absolutely to your goodness. I know the plans you have for me. Plans for prosperity and well-being, plans for good and not evil, plans that give me hope and a future. Lord Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist, I consecrate myself to you today without reservation. I surrender my whole being to your care. I surrender my life, my plans, and my very self to you. I place all that I am at your feet. I place all that I have at your feet. Take what you want to take and give what you want to give Lord Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist, I consecrate myself to you today without reservation. Transform me. Transform my life. I trust in the eternal genius of your ways. I make myself 100% available to you. Lead me. Encourage me. Challenge me. Show me how I can collaborate with you, and I will do what you ask with a joyful heart.
Lord Jesus Christ, truly present in the Eucharist, I consecrate myself to you today without reservation. Grant me the grace, wisdom, and courage to live justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly with you, my God, all the days of my life.
Angels and saints, lead me in the ways of the pilgrim so that one day I too may share in heaven. With his blessing and by his grace, bestow upon me your humility, generosity, and devotion. And I implore you to carry this prayer to our Eucharistic Lord.
Mary, Mother of Jesus, teach my soul how to receive your son in the Eucharist and how to represent him in this world. Teach me the surrender and sacrifice that were necessary to make the Eucharist possible in this broken world. Intercede for me and obtain the grace necessary to allow your son's teachings to penetrate the darkest, coldest, hardest parts of my heart so that by receiving him in the Eucharist, my heart may become ever more like his Eucharistic heart. Amen.
Consecrate America to the Eucharist.
Bye-bye.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
[laughter] Come on.
Have a great day. [laughter] [applause]
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 a latitude of 31.58 and longitude negative 84.19, where would the nearest tabernacle be then?
St. Teresa's, Albany, Georgia.