On the Eucharist: Thoughts from the Pew (10). The Journey Forth.

P The Lord be with you

R And with your spirit.

P Lift up your hearts.
R We lift them up to the Lord.

P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
R It is right and just.

Then the Priest begins some salvific chants which we barely get attentive to, but it is within this inattentiveness that Christ transports the select up the spiral stairs unto the mountainous clouds of unknowing, where eye has not seen, ear has not heard and nothing has entered into the heart of man… (1Cor 2:9).

Who can handle this? May the Lord be with you.

And with your spirit…

It is more realistic that the ‘you’ here has been changed to ‘spirit’; for, now, no matter what our senses portend, we are no more in control, and it is for our good no to be. We cannot handle this arduous and risky journey, so for it to be safe, it has to be an entirely spiritual plight. It is the Spirit that gives life (Jn 6:63), thus necessary it is that we lift up our hearts.

We lift them up to the Lord...

Nothing is found in a heart that is stuck to the earth; so, dropping the earth we lift up the heart. The journey forth, up the mountain to the cloud of unknowing with Christ, is that of the heart, and only a clean heart is capable of lifting the ancient gates (Ps 24). A clean heart clears the mind and thus faith is fostered.

It is useless to assume the capacity to climb unto where we dare not venture. Here, the beggar triumphs, only pleading saves. It is the capacity for a lack of correspondence that can deepen insight (Mt 5:3).

It behoves that the One who dares summon a people with rotten hearts into such inexhaustible ocean of mercy be acquiesced great gratitude, so let us give thanks to the Lord our God!

It is right and just…

The root of everything positive on earth is thanksgiving, the whole secret of success is gratitude. The more we are gracious the more we receive grace. The heart provokes thoughtfulness and a thoughtful mind is a thankful heart. The whole Eucharistic gesture finds meaning in one word: Thanksgiving.

Yinniyinni…

This is what Christ is up to up the clouds of unknowing.Giving the Father thanks. That is how He repays the Lord for humanity (Ps 116: 12-13).

Let us journey up with Him to Jerusalem taking advantage therefore of this thankful brevity called the Eucharist.