Eucharistic Retreat

Mary, our retreat leader, started off by encouraging us reflect on pieces of sacred art, from Dali to Zubaran, and these pictures brought out the sacrificial nature of the eucharist. This re-enactment of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross, the separation of his sacred body and blood, is celebrated on every altar around the world at every Mass. The celebration centres on this, the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world, and our leader Mary showed us how artists down the ages have understood and depicted this sacrifice, occasionally quite graphically, sometimes drawing parallels with “the crucified poor” of our world.

Mary had spent many years with the Missionaries of Charity sisters in Rome and had met Mother Teresa several times. Talking of the eucharist, Mother Teresa gave this insight into the Offertory of the gifts before the consecration: “Just as bread and wine are changed, so our gifts are changed, that person and their suffering.” Together with the priest we offer all our work, struggles, joys, our very selves and everyone, alongside Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, to the Father. There they are entrusted to God, and received by him as our offerings. A beautiful image.

Great graces are on offer to us through reverent participation at Mass, where we gather at the foot of the Cross on Calvary, which St Paul of the Cross reminds us is the “greatest and most stupendous work of divine love.” (Letters of St Paul of the Cross, II, 521.)

Another memorable theme was that although the sacrifice of the Mass may include transactional wording – the “ransom” paid for our sins – the whole point is about relationship. The God who made us in his own image and likeness, is completely in love with us, just as we are, and wants us to regain that original relationship with him, as beloved children of the Father. In this relationship,  we submit ourselves to the will of the Father for our lives, in preference to our own will and independence. Jesus highlights that this is the key to lasting happiness. It will not be without struggle and suffering, but Jesus invites us to take his yolk and learn from him, being meek and humble of heart. ‘Meekness’ is perhaps out of fashion at the moment, but understood as, ‘power under control’, it is a quality very much needed in our world today.

The miracle of transubstantiation, the real living presence in the eucharist, is such a gift Jesus left us, and as Mary pointed out, “We tend to become what we eat.” We had time to examine some of the many eucharistic miracles, as documented by St Carlo Acutis, revealing the true nature of the consecrated bread and wine, as the body and blood of Jesus. Fr Emmanuel recounted his own shock, during a time of dryness, when the consecrated host felt alive in his hands, with a heart-beat, accompanied by the words coming to him, “Yes, I am alive!”

The final part of the retreat involved eucharistic adoration, both in theory and practice. St Carlo is the most recent saint to champion adoration, likening it to sunbathing: “the sun gives us a tan, adoration makes us holy.” Mary emphasised that we do not need to do anything, pray or say anything, simply be, silently, in the presence of the risen Lord. A quote of hers that I loved was, “Be quiet. Let Jesus get a word in edgeways!”

The whole weekend was a delight and I hope that the retreat will be repeated next year, as it gave us all, I think, time and the opportunity to cherish the eucharist, with a fuller understanding of what a wonder it is, and how this great gift that Jesus left us, can change our lives and our relationship with God.