The God-shaped emptiness

Wednesday morning

At the heart of everyone is a God shaped emptiness that nothing else can fill
This leads to faith, the belief in the unseen God, the act of faith renewed every day.
Then this becomes the relationship with God - Jesus Christ the Way, the Truth and the Life
The way of prayer.  Tertullian - "Prayer is the only thing that conquers God."

Luke 22 v 14 - "I have longed to eat this Passover amongst you"

Reflecting on the Mass - Rolheiser says " Down the ages the Christian community have fouled up most things.  But the one command of Christ we have been faithful to is 'Do this in memory of me' "

Bonhoeffer - Love does not sustain marriage, marriage sustains love - we need ritual containers so as not to live life by emotional winds.  

We can't always come to Mass in high expectation - the fidelity is that we come.

Every now and then stand back and try to rediscover what JPII called "Eucharistic amazement"

Four hungers - for meaning, for good food, for a context to understand suffering, for hope.

The Mass is not just the table of the Eucharist, it is a table of the Word.  It always has an effect if we listen to it carefully.  Just a sentence or a word may be a compass.

Hunger for good food - the Mass is the Last Supper made present.  "I am the Bread of Life, the one who comes to me will never be hungry, the one who believes in me will never thirst."

 Suffering - the mass is Calvary.  We all bear wounds.  We can't prevent it, but we need meaning for it. We can't find an answer, but Calvary gives us a place to put the suffering, in the shadow of the Cross.

Hope - the Mass is Easter.  We receive the Risen Christ - the last word in everyone's life will be the word of Life.  All will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of things will be well.