Summer is fast approaching, and for many of us that means getting ready for some of the best movies of the year to come out in theaters. Just yesterday I was watching the trailers for the new Harry Potter and Transformers movies. They were awesome, definitely look to be amazing movies! Watching those trailers got me thinking...isn't it awesome that these movie producers put out these trailers? Theatrical trailers give us a foretaste of the movie itself. They allow us to dive into the mystery of the movie before actually experiencing it in its fullness. When I watch a movie's trailer I get really excited about seeing the actual movie itself (assuming the trailer is well done and the movie's plot interests me of course). I end up awaiting the movie's release in a sort of joyful expectation. Everyone knows me knows how much I obsess over Harry Potter, and watching that trailer only got me more excited about that movie coming out this summer!In a very similar way, for us Catholics the Eucharist is a foretaste of heaven. When we receive that most blessed sacrament, we receive the fullness of God within our very beings...the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ literally enters within us. Isn't that exactly what heaven is, experiencing God face to face for all eternity? Granted, things like original sin, as well as living in time, and space limit us from experiencing the fullness of heaven while on Earth...we know none of us could handle seeing God in his absolute fullness while here on Earth, but the Eucharist gives us an incredible foretaste of that heavenly perfection that we all hope for. Blessed Pope John Paul II says in paragraph 19 of his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia "The Eucharist is truly a glimpse of heaven appearing on Earth. It is a glorious ray of the heavenly Jerusalem which pierces the clouds of our history and lights up our journey."
As most of us receive the Sacrament of the Eucharist either daily or weekly at mass, it is vitally
important for our spiritual lives that we do
not allow reception of this sacrament to become simply routine. Each and every time we receive the Eucharist, we delve into the mystery of heaven. Just as a movie's trailer often leads us to see the movie, reception of the Eucharist should lead us to heaven. It should inspire us to live our lives for Christ, to desire to spend the rest of our lives in heaven. Though, the incredible thing about the Eucharist is that it actually helps guide us to heaven. A movie trailer can make us want to see a movie, but it will never transport us to the theaters. The Eucharist, on the other hand, if we receive it faithfully, gives us the grace we need to grow and stay close to God each and every day. The Eucharist is so unbelievable powerful that it not only gives us a foretaste of that Heavenly perfection that we are all striving for, but it actually helps us, guides us, strengthens us as we continue on that journey towards Heaven.
Let us never forget that the Eucharist isn't just a symbol of Jesus, but that it actually is the real, true presence of Jesus Himself. Let's remember that the surest path towards meeting our maker in Heaven includes a deep love for, and frequent reception of, the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist.
"Heavenly Father, thank you for giving us the Eucharist. Thank you for blessing us with this incredibly powerful means of coming in physical contact with you during our time on Earth. Allow the Eucharist we receive and worship to strengthen us as we journey towards Holiness, towards Perfection, towards You."
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