I was asked to be an Eucharistic Minister at a grade school Mass about 15 or 16 years ago. As a newer Catholic, this seemed quite simple to me.
The instructions given were:
#1 Carefully hold the ciborium with one hand.
#2 Take one host out and hold it up for the communicant to see.
#3 Say "The Body of Christ".
#4 Carefully place it in their hand. (I don't remember any receiving on the tongue!)
Easy! Simple.
They came.
They came just the way they were.
Bandaids, marks of pens and marker, dirt smudges. Hands open to receive.
Those hands! What a treat for me to see those hands outstretched to receive the body of Christ!
Faces upturned, towards the Eucharist they saw being elevated for them. Hearts simple with belief.
It was very simple, but so powerful to my heart.
As I look back today and as I watch my own children receive the Christ we profess, I find the memory had grown. As the memory has dimmed, the tenderness and reverence the children showed has grown. What joy it must be for a priest to offer the Eucharist everyday to those who come!
Time has caused me to reflect more on my own reverence
or lack of it.
As I outstretched my hands, my heart, my tongue today, I asked myself:
What do I look like when I come to receive?
Is my glad heart shining through my shirt? Do I seem heavy laden by the cares of this life?
Do I realize who it is that will fill me in this mysterious way, hidden in this type of bread?
What bandaids are covering my sores from this life?
Are there dirt smudges that I should have had cleaned in the bath of confession?
How about you? Have you wondered about receiving the Body of Christ?