The Sun That Daily Rises Short Reflections on the Mystery of the Eucharist

The excerpts on the Eucharist from Chiara Lubich's writings that are collected here reflect the deep union with God that she experienced both as an individual and as a living member of the Body of Christ which is the Church.

The Eucharist produces the Church. But what is the Church? It's the Body of Christ, it's Christ who continues through time. And why is it that the Eucharist produces the Church? The Eucharist is Jesus himself, Jesus himself who comes into us. And what does he do in us? It's just extraordinary! He transforms us into himself!

If we want to be good we must resolve to be the best -- because our resolutions never correspond to reality. If we want to be the best we must resolve to be saints. But if we want to be saints we must resolve to be God. And this is do-able with the Eucharist.

Someone sent me a poem about the Eucharist: Sun That Daily Rises. I really like this sun that daily rises and comes to illuminate us once again, to give us the strength once more to be divine for a whole day, because, otherwise, without Eucharistic Jesus we'd lose the energy, becoming more human and less divine.

God became one of us to save us. After becoming one of us, he wanted to become food, so that nourishing ourselves on Him, we would become another Him. Now, one thing is seeing Jesus, another thing is being another Jesus. And isn't this what we wanted? To be fulfilled as divine beings? The Eucharist, the Eucharist!

Jesus is in every tabernacle of the world. He's there with all of his love, totally there for each and all, totally there for every person of every land. He teaches us that all people are equal, all of them children of God, all of them possible followers, all of them possible members of His Mystical Body. Jesus doesn't have racial preferences; he doesn't discriminate.

The Eucharist is the bond of unity. The Eucharist is the source of unity. The Eucharist is the divine possibility of being one with Christ and with one another. Do we have this well enough in mind? Although we may not have understood it with our mind, I think, perhaps, we've understood it with our heart.

We know that unity is a grace, a freely-given gift. To obtain it, we must do our part: loving one another to the point of giving our lives for each other. Then the grace comes. But where does it arrive from? It arrives through the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the bond of unity.

In a tiny mountain chapel, in a majestic European cathedral, in modern and ancient churches scattered throughout the world: flanked by a small red light, there stands the tabernacle, a divine treasure chest housing the King of kings, Eucharistic Jesus.

If we live in mutual love, which brings Jesus among us, and feed on the Eucharist, who makes us Christ, individually and and as a community, then we can gather, we can catch a glimpse of God's Spirit that penetrates the heart of every being, of each one and of all creation.

No one but God will ever know what Eucharistic Jesus has accomplished down through the ages, in every corner of the world.