A Walk To Remember
I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he will live forever
John 6:51
Now Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen
Hebrews 11:1
Jeff and I have been FOCCUS marriage preparation facilitators for our parrish for seven years. We truly have been blessed by this ministry. Two years ago we met Meg and Aaron. Meg brought me into the fold of Discipleship at St. Bernard’s shortly after we completed their meetings with us. Just over a year ago, Jeff and I were in church witnessing their exchange of vows. Fr. Greg Parent gave a homily to remember on what I would dub the “Walk to Remember”. Fr Greg spoke that weddings were beautiful and sacred and special, BUT, Meg walking down the aisle, the exchange of vows, wasn’t the most amazing, beautiful, sacred part of the day. As special and beautiful as their wedding was, what happened after the vows was even more so and each of us is invited to fully participate. The sacrament of the Eucharist is the most powerful gift Jesus has given to each of us who has been baptized and initiated into it. At every Mass Jesus invites each of us to walk down the aisle as the Bride to our Bridegroom, to receive Him fully: body, blood, soul, and divinity. I can honestly say that I have never made that Eucharistic walk the same since. It was a piece of Divine Wisdom that lifted the veil ever so slightly on a mystery that many of us grapple with. Jesus’ own followers,
This is a hard saying, who can listen to it ( John 6:60)
I have always had faith in the Eucharist, but it has been a faith that has been absent of a true lived experience in the moment. I have read writings of Saints and witnessed others who have experienced something far greater in that moment than I myself have been graced with. It has stirred a longing in my heart. A regular prayer to Jesus to allow His true presence to be truly present to me. Yesterday Jeff and I attended another wedding, Alisha and Mitch, another FOCCUS couple. As the bride and groom stood on the altar exchanging vows I was struck by the truth of what I was witnessing. Standing facing each other with clasped hands, the couple framed the hanging crucifix of our Lord. Jesus was meeting them in the middle and joining them on this journey. Shortly after we began our “walk to remember”. The couple had chosen a song that has held a special connection (songs do that so often) for me with Jesus.
How beautiful the hands that served the wine and the bread to the sons of the earth…How beautiful the radiant bride who waits for her groom with His light in her eyes… How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful, is the Body of Christ.
Yesterday a prayer was answered. As the host was placed in my hands there was a shifting of reality that I cannot articulate fully. As I ate of the bread my heart swelled within me, awe and love consumed me, and tears began to fall down my cheeks. I returned to the pew and kneeled, holding this moment I have waited almost my whole life for close to my heart savoring the sacredness of that space and time. The veil was lifted for me for a moment. Heaven and Earth touched. It was truly, a walk to remember.
