Beyond Time, Space, and Eternity

I am particularly struck by the statement that "through the fraction and through Communion, the faithful, though many, receive from the one bread the Lord's Body and from the one chalice the Lord's Blood in the same way that the Apostles received them from the hands of Christ Himself."

This served as sort of confirmation of something that I had come to believe in my personal faith journey.  When I am at Mass, I always try to allow myself to be drawn into a transcendent mystical space that enables me to be spiritually present to the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, as well as the Eternal Passover in Heaven. 

Through the Eucharistic prayers, Jesus is made present to us in a special way through all time, all space, and eternity.  Through the Eucharistic prayers, it is like we are mystically pulled into a spatial anomaly that makes us simultaneously present in the eternal now and all points of salvation history.  We are brought heart to heart with love Himself…at His finest hour of glory.

Through the Eucharistic prayers, we have the privilege of being mystically present to Jesus along with Mary, John, and the angels at both Calvary and marriage banquet in heaven.

This mystical experience took on a new dimension for me on a recent trip to the Holy Lands.  Standing on Mount Zion, where Jesus instituted the Eucharist is an experience that I will never forget.  Praying in the spots where Jesus suffered, died, and resurrected Has brought a new perspective for me as I engage in and more actively participate in the Divine Liturgy.  Participating in a Mass, engaging in the Eucharistic prayers, and receiving the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Blessed Lord on Calvary was the most incredible thing I have ever participated in.

The experience I had on Calvary, is the same experience each of us can have at each and every Mass.  It is true that we "receive from the one bread the Lord's Body and from the one chalice the Lord's Blood in the same way that the Apostles received them from the hands of Christ Himself."  This is the Mass!