A Mystery to Be Believed

Another from the weekly installments that have been appearing in our church bulletin. I can't believe I forgot to post this until now. I really have been enjoying the way that this is taking us through the document so slowly ... it makes me really think about each paragraph.

The Eucharist:
A Mystery to Be Believed

“This is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29)

The Church’s eucharistic faith
6. “The mystery of faith!” With these words, spoken immediately after the words of consecration, the priest proclaims the mystery being celebrated and expresses his wonder before the substantial change of bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord Jesus, a reality which surpasses all human understanding. The Eucharist is a “mystery of faith” par excellence: “the sum and summary of our faith.” (13) The Church’s faith is essentially a eucharistic faith, and it is especially nourished at the table of the Eucharist. Faith and the sacraments are two complementary aspects of ecclesial* life. Awakened by the preaching of God’s word, faith is nourished and grows in the grace-filled encounter with the Risen Lord which takes place in the sacraments: “faith is expressed in the rite, while the rite reinforces and strengthens faith.” (14) For this reason, the Sacrament of the Altar is always at the heart of the Church’s life: “thanks to the Eucharist, the Church is reborn ever anew!” (15) The more lively the eucharistic faith of the People of God, the deeper is its sharing in ecclesial life in steadfast commitment to the mission entrusted by Christ to his disciples. The Church’s very history bears witness to this. Every great reform has in some way been linked to the rediscovery of belief in the Lord’s eucharistic presence among his people.

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The “mystery of faith” that is the Eucharist is something that we may not really consider much when in the habit of going to Mass regularly. It is human nature for us to become dulled to splendor when it is presented time after time. However, Pope Benedict reminds us that we are participating in a reality that “surpasses all human understanding” in the Eucharist. We actually are partaking of the body and blood, soul and divinity, of Jesus Christ himself. Indeed, how is it possible to adequately understand such a thing? The answer is that we cannot understand it, at least not with the ordinary comprehension that we apply to everyday things.

Saint Augustine said, “I believe, that I may understand.” Our understanding of the Eucharist grows not through any proof or scientific understanding but because of God’s grace. By partaking in the sacraments which nourish our faith and keeping the fact of this “mystery” in our minds during the Mass we may be privileged to see just a bit better when Heaven comes to earth as the Eucharist comes to us during Holy Communion.
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(13) Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1327.
(14) Propositio 16.
(15) Benedict XVI, Homily at the Mass of Installation in the Cathedral of Rome (7 May 2005): AAS 97 (2005), 752.
* Ecclesial: of or relating to a church

Tails Tales from the animal clinic

Hannah is finishing up her first week as a general assistant at a local veterinarian's clinic. She says that most of her duties consist of holding animals during examinations and walking dogs. However, the vet who hired her (there are four in the practice) enjoys training students and eventually wants her to assist some with surgeries. With that in mind, she has been an observer at three surgeries so far and covered herself with glory by not fainting although she has had to avert her gaze much of the time (understandably, I'd say!).

We get plenty of stories about individual animals, interactions with the office staff, and observations of the different ways to think about animals. All in all it is very good experience, especially for someone who is majoring in wildlife and fisheries. If there was possibly a veneer of excessive sentimentality toward animals in general it will be tempered with a layer of "real world" by the end of the summer. As someone who spent part of her childhood in the country where animals are valued but known for their proper place in the world, this pleases me.

Coming up: Dishing from the Cafe as Rose begins her new job next week bussing tables at a small 10-table cafe for a realistic sounding owner who is used to training high school students.

And the Learning Continues ...

Scroll down for update on this post.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we read:

“Thanks to the assistance of the Holy Spirit, the understanding of both the realities and the words of the heritage of faith is able to grow in the life of the church:

-through the contemplation and study of believers who ponder these things in their hearts it is in particular theological research which deepens knowledge of revealed truth.

-from the intimate sense of spiritual realities which [believers] experience, the Sacred Scripture grow with the one who reads them…” (#94)

I often don't check the comments for the blogs I visit. If you are like that too, please make an exception and read those for A Couple of Things I Never Realized Until Now. There is a wealth of good information there.

Possibly I'm the only one who needed the encouragement and instruction taking place there. Reading these comments made for a very inspirational and happy morning for me ... thanks y'all!

The reinforcement that spiritual reading is a religious devotion made me so happy because it is then that my mind and heart thrill to how God reveals Himself to us ... and, most of all, to me. That sudden recognition of spiritual reading as a method of conversation takes it from being an "interest" to being so much more. (I already knew this about the Bible, but never thought about it applying to other reading ... but how would it not? God's everywhere, after all.)

Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins,
Save us from the fires of hell,
Lead all souls to heaven,
Especially those in most need of thy mercy.
Amen.

I say this prayer quite often and didn't think to connect it with my realization about just who is being prayed for when I pray for the souls in Purgatory who have no one to pray for them. Also check out Rick's comment about praying for the "person who is closest to getting out of Purgatory."

The article about John Lennon was interesting. To me it said not only that John was constantly seeking truth and guidance, sadly finding neither in Yoko, but also that John had an easily influenced nature. Tom and I have been talking recently about a couple of people we know like that. The thing is that if you can realize you are easily influenced, then your duty is to then make sure you keep yourself away from bad influences and only around good ones. Interestingly, he seems to have realized he was "easily led" as the saying goes, but not that Yoko was a terrible influence on him. Very sad.

Although I already was up to speed on Rick's reminder about that "heavenly beverage made of barley, sugar, yeast, hops and water" ... Ben Franklin says that one well.

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to prosper.

UPDATE
Vehige, the initiator of that surprising idea (to me) of reading as a spiritual devotion, gives his routine and thoughts on practicing this devotion. Good ideas there, check it out.

I forgot to mention that when I am doing spiritual reading (meaning the Bible or the Catechism), I have my own routine. I begin by asking the Holy Spirit to come and instruct me; I use the "Come Holy Spirit prayer:

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.

O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.

That settles my mind on God from the beginning. So I am going to begin saying that prayer before I do my other spiritual reading.

The Old World Kitchen

A most interesting cookbook and one that I review here.

Ok, all you John Lennon haters ...

... (we'll toss Yoko in there too), here's the real question.

Are you praying for his soul (and hers too?). He obviously needs it if he arouses all this negative commentary.

If not, get on it. No excuses accepted. :-)

Fill in the Cat

I love this!. Via Neatorama.

A Few of My Latest Crushes ...

THE LOST LENNON TAPES
This podcast is self-described as:

... as originally broadcast by Westwood One almost 20 years ago. Please note that this podcast is not a rehash of the Lost Lennon Tapes LPs (which excerpted the music only), but consists instead of the original shows (from vinyl and/or tape sources) in their entireties, with narration, interviews, sponsor spots, etc. The sound quality is good, not fantastic, but the content is still as interesting as when it originally aired in the late 80's.

John Lennon was an avid audio collector and had amassed hundreds of hours of audio tapes of different events from his life by the time he died. When going through them, Yoko felt they should be shared and called upon DJ DJ Elliot Mintz, a trusted friend who had interviewed John many times, to help broadcast them. I hadn't ever heard of these, although evidently they are a well known source for bootleg tapes with Mintz's voice edited out. That is a shame because some of his interviews with John are really fascinating.

A HARD BOILED DETECTIVE (AND HIS SIDE-KICK, OF COURSE)
Indigo Slam by Robert Crais
Last Detective, The by Robert Crais
Monkey's Raincoat, The by Robert Crais
Voodoo River by Robert Crais

As people may remember from my ravings over Les Roberts' books, I am a big fan of the hard boiled detective. My latest discovery is Robert Crais' Hollywood-based Elvis Cole. First of all, you've gotta love the name. Secondly, the Hollywood base makes for an interesting background. It is not glamorous. Quite the contrary, we see the sleazy underside to the slick facade that the movie industry would like to present to the world. However, Cole's cases are not entirely based in show business and he often has to travel in pursuit of the truth.

Sometimes a hard boiled detective (who almost always has a heart of gold) has a sidekick, sometimes not. The side-kick generally is harder, tougher, and less merciful than the detective. This is not always the case, as with Travis McGee's sidekick (John D. MacDonald, author), the kind and gentle Meyer who needs McGee to protect him when they come up against villains.

Sidekicks also often act as comic relief since they often know the detective better than he knows himself. My favorite sidekick is without question is Hawk, Spencer's sidekick (Robert Parker, author). Cole's sidekick, Joe Pike, is a thoroughly violent fellow, who has toned down any personality to the point where a twitch of the mouth is like a belly-laugh. That's a little too reticent for him to be an interesting character to me. However, he also is an efficient sounding board.

I said, "She hired me to do one thing, and now I'm doing another. She hired me with every expectation that I would protect her interests, but now I'm taking this in a direction in which her interests are secondary."

We ran past a high school and shopping centers, Pike and me on our side of the street and the black runner on his, our strides matching. Pike said nothing for several minutes, and I found comfort in the loud silence. The sounds of our breathing. Our shoes striking the pavement. A metronome rhythm. Pike said, "You didn't fail her. You gave her an opportunity for love."

I glanced over at him.

"You can't put something into her heart that isn't there, Elvis. Love is not so plentiful that any of us can afford to reject it when it's offered. That's her failing. Not yours."

"It's not easy for her, Joe. For a lot of very good reasons."

"Maybe." ...

The light changed. Pike and I pushed on, and the miles crept behind us and the night grew late. We came to a park of soccer fields and softball diamonds, and we turned north, running along the western edge of the fields, and then west again, heading back to the river and the hotel. We had been running for almost an hour. We would run an hour still. Pike said, "Are you still thinking about her?"

"Yes."

"Then think about this. You've taken her as far as is right. Wherever she's going, she has to get the rest of the way on her own. That's not only the way it is. That's the way it should be."

"Sure Joe. Thanks."

He grunted. Philosophy-R-Us. "Now stop thinking about her and start thinking about Rossier. If you don't get your head out your ass, Rossier will kill you."

"You always know how to end the moment on an upbeat note, don't you?"

"That's why I get the big bucks."

Voodoo River by Robert Crais

LESS HARD BOILED BUT FUN
Moment of Truth by Lisa Scottoline
Killer Smile by Lisa Scottoline

I am not generally a fan of John Grisham style stories where the lawyer solves the mystery, although I must admit that Runaway Jury, based on one of his novels, is a favorite movie. However, these two books by former trial lawyer Scottoline won my heart with their portrayal of lawyer Mary DiNunzio. She's a Philly girl, born and raised, with Italian Catholic parents living in a row house. These are a softer style than someone like Grisham or Scott Turow but the mysteries are good and the character development pleasing. Scottoline writes about other characters from the same all female law firm Rosato and Associates and I'm curious to see if I like the other characters as well as Mary DiNunzio. Fun, lawyerly fluff and perfect summer reading.

Happy Birthday to Me ... from Doubleday

Yep. That's right, Jesus of Nazareth showed up in the mail from Doubleday. I was cooking dinner and Rose opened the box for me while I excitedly told her to "Hurry!" I had to stop stir-frying chicken right then and there and dance while Rose read the front jacket flap in her best Ten Commandments trailer voice.

I won't be able to begin reading it until tomorrow (discipline is good for me, I must remember that). But I can't wait.

(My birthday isn't until Friday, but I'll take this as a birthday gift anyway!)

As the Blog Turns ...

Actually, the show I just was watching is called Blogs of Our Lives ...

Adoro te Devote took the time to introduce us to the characters in her favorite soap opera. I was quite surprised and pleased to show up as the friendly, cookie baking, down home neighbor. (Let me just set this knitting down and pour you another cup of coffee ...) Check it out. She's got quite a turn for story telling and you might find some blogs you haven't run into yet.

Spiritual Attack and St. Michael's Help

Oh yes. I believe in spiritual attacks, and I believe that I have been spiritually attacked.

I do not think such attacks are rare. But I think the devils rarely use the showy stuff. Why shout when whispering will do? And when they bring out the showy stuff they risk calling too much attention to their own existence...

Peony Moss

Peony made that comment over at Et Tu, Jen on a post which was soliciting questions about whether spiritual attacks were real or imaginary. That has always been my experience also, of the small temptations. Sometimes, oddly enough, I actually can step back mentally, look at my feelings and behavior and recognize that I am being "pushed" to think one way or another ... or at least it feels like it. That is enough for me to be able to shove the thoughts and emotions away and move on. Now, if only I could always recognize such times ... or did not contribute myself without any spiritual attacks at all. Oh well ...

As for the quite spectacular spiritual attacks, I have never been privy to those. Thank the Lord! I believe I mentioned Recovering Dissident Catholic's post about a spiritual attack. It linked to a story of attack that I remembered, that of Adoro Te Devote's encounter via tarot cards. They are quite frightening accounts.

Then on Saturday night I had a nightmare that was so vivid, so evil, so completely horrifying that I woke up terrified to even turn my head in case I would see what I had been dreaming about. I am used to bad dreams. I remember many of my dreams and quite a few have to do with stressful situations or even scary things. Everyone in our family is used to hearing that I had another "haunted house" dream. These come out in times of extreme stress.

This was different. I have never been so terrified. Somehow I was both wakeful and also half asleep. Every time I began to sink back into sleep the dream would pick up at the same exact spot that scared me awake in the first place so I would pop awake and away from it instantly. The first thing that flashed across my mind when I woke was "attack" and never has anyone so fervently prayed Hail Mary's, Our Father's, and ... especially ... the St. Michael prayer. This was the prayer that finally did it for me. I could see, in my mind's eye, St. Michael and my guardian angel with large, business-like swords held high in a state of readiness. And when I went back to sleep the dream continued but in a more normal fashion.

Was it a spiritual attack? Or just a very vivid dream? I don't know. However, whatever it was I never have been thrown into the arms of prayer such as I was that night.

I was unsettled and upset the entire day which is also not a normal occurance. I know a dream is just a dream and don't let them bother me later. I was afraid to go to sleep last night. Tom, bless his heart, felt for me (although I didn't mention the "spiritual attack" factor that kept flashing through my mind) and whenever I woke up in the night, he did too, asking, "A bad dream? Are you ok?" What a guy!

Before I went to sleep I said the St. Michael prayer and also put my guardian angel on alert. No problems at all. Normal sleep and dreams resumed.

This is a prayer that it is good to know no matter what sorts of dreams you have. If I can memorize it then so can you, believe me!

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou,
O Prince of the heavenly hosts,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan,
and all the evil spirits,
who prowl about the world
seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

We Have a Word For It ... And Here's Why

A little brand name info, courtesy of the Word Origin Calendar.

AUDI
The German car company by this name was founded in 1899 by August Horch. Horch, however, was prevented from using his own name in this company because of trademark conflicts with his first company, which he had named after himself. Therefore, he translated the German word horch, which means "to listen," into Latin, yielding "Audi."

CANON
This giant electronics company got its name from its first generation camera. Produced in 1934 in Japan, the camera was called the Kwanon, a Japanese name for a Buddhist goddess. A year later, the name was changed to its modern spelling so that the product would not seem too old fashioned.

As If We Needed Any More Convincing ...

... The Curt Jester reviews Jesus of Nazareth ... ahem ... my birthday is coming up next week ...

Stitch 'N Pitch Nights

Stitch N' Pitch brings together two American traditions — Baseball and the NeedleArts. Come to a ball game and knit, crochet, embroider, cross-stitch and needlepoint. Sit among friends, family and colleagues and cheer on your favorite Baseball Team.

This event is for ANYONE who has an interest in the perfect double play — NeedleArts and Baseball; beginners, intermediate and experts are all welcome.

You can check out the scheduled nights and teams here.

Me? Mmmm, no way. But I know there are tons of baseball fans out there. Now, football ... that would be something I'd consider.

Thanks to Catholic Mom for this heads-up!

8 Random Things About Me

Nick tagged me with this one. I'm not sure how random these will be because y'all already know a lot of my random stuff but here goes:

1. I always preferred real food for breakfast ... soup, sandwiches, leftovers ... and still prefer a quesadilla or bagel with pimiento cheese to cereal or pancakes.
   
2. I read around 700 words per minute ... if I'm pushing it for the test it will go up to around 900.
   
3. You can read while washing dishes ... and knitting ... and brushing your teeth ... and cooking ... I do it all the time.
4. I'm a Jayhawk
5. I have green/brown hazel eyes
6. I had pneumonia for two weeks when I was in 6th grade.
7. I'm afraid of the dark.
8. My favorite color was blue for most of my life but for about three years ago it changed to green.
   

See This Afghan?

Yep, the one on this book cover. This is the one that Rose would like me to make for her. Who can blame her? It looks fantastic.

However, I think I'd better start now because this is likely to be a lengthy project ... in two years I can give it to her to begin her sophomore year in college.

(By the way, I picked Cables Untangled: An Exploration of Cable Knitting up from the library and it looks really good. The author does have a tendency to want to cover every square inch of any sweaters with as many cables as possible which always looks rather crowded to me. Also, there is that tendency to give aas many of the instructions as possible using charts instead of written instructions. Naturally, having learned to read patterns long ago when everything was written out I understand that method much better than those darned charts. However, aside from those little quibbles, it has some nice, simple projects and all the explanations are good. I have never been afraid of cables and enjoy the variety they add to a project, but this book looks as if it would still the fear that I hear lurks in the hearts of beginners ... for expert instruction in mastering the art of cables give this book a try.)

In other afghan knitting news, I finished Hannah's afghan a couple of days ago, washed and dried it ... and it held together! Exciting! I'm trying to remember to take a photo to post ...

Thinking Blogger Award

Much thanks to Jean at Catholic Fire (another favorite "thinking blogger of mine) who graciously gave me a Thinking Blogger award. Now if only she lived close enough that we could actually sit down to that cup of coffee and piece of pie (make mine cherry!).

In turn, here are my thinking bloggers which I carefully compiled earlier. Thanks again Jean!

They Have a Word for It ... And We Don't

Biritululo (Kiriwana, New Guinea)
Comparing yams to settle disputes. In New Guinean culture, the code of behavior is that nobody talks about what everybody knows concerning sensitive subjects. Breaking this code results in violent disputes. They present their yams at these moments. Yams are so important in Kiriwana that people boast about their own supply to the point of violence. Settling the fights with yam displays calms everyone down.

The New Book of Lists: The Original Compendium of Curious Information

This puts a new take on "mine is bigger than yours" ... though I never understood that argument either.

Walking With the Dead

Permanent Londoners
Permanent Parisians
Permanent Italians
Permanent Californians
Permanent New Yorkers

Photo Source

Felix Faure (1841-1899), the sixth president of the French Republic who, in true Belle Epoque spirit, dies in the arms of his mistress -- endearing him to the French populace in a way that his policies never did. His bronze figure is raised slightly and turning as if, waking, he can't figure out where his paramour has gone.

Permanent Parisians

There is something that I simply love about wandering through graveyards, reading the headstones and looking at the monuments. I picked up this love from my mother who I remember wandering graveyards with on a vacation trip to New England. Later, when I visited Europe, New Orleans, and Galveston, all of which have a generous sprinkling of fascinating graveyard monuments, I wandered whenever I could through the memorials. Some tell their own sad story of disaster when many family members are buried within days of each other or similar tragedy when a newborn and mother are laid side by side in the same week. However, part of the fascination is wondering about the lives of those who went before us.

Perhaps my lifelong attraction to cemeteries is the reason I dearly love to occasionally reread this series of books. They are illustrated guides to some of the interesting cemeteries of the London, Paris, New York, California, and Italy. Written with charm and verve, the authors guide readers and potential sightseers amongst interesting, unusual, and famous grave memorials of the famous and anonymous. The photographs are in black and white but still retain their appeal.

Before settling down to his arduous labors Darwin set about finalizing his one decisive prescription: "Marry, marry, marry. Q.E.D." His choice was Emma Wedgewood; not surprising since the Darwins and Wedgwoods seemed always to be marrying one another. It was a case where "the perfect nurse had married the perfect patient," for Darwin was frequently ill. With age his complaints grew worse and he spent more time in illness and convalescence. It has never been clear whether Darwin's illness was more or less hypochondriasis. Certainly he loved the attention of his doting Emma as did their many children who were also not loath to be sick.

Darwin's children grew up true Darwinians. They could hardly not, for the house smelled for eight years of the barnacles Charles was busy noting and dissecting, causing one of the young children to inquire about a neighbor, "Then where does he do his barnacles?" ...

Permanent Londoners

Much of the undeniable entertainment of these books is from the prose stylings of the authors who somehow maintain a careful balance between respect for the dead and an irreverent enjoyment of poking holes in any pretensions of those who history has put on a pedestal. In the meanwhile, the reader is absorbing quite a bit of history in a most enjoyable fashion. We discover little tidbits about famous personalities that never would have gotten across otherwise. Especially entertaining is the sometimes incongruous juxtaposition of final resting places for those who were rivals when alive which, of course, the authors lose no time in pointing out. Occasionally, not much is known about the person buried but the memorial is so memorable that it is shown and described in detail. Highly recommended.

Photo source

Behind the Newcastles, in the small Chapel of St. Michael, is hidden one of the more extraordinary monuments of the Abbey. Executed by Louis Francois Roubillac, it is a memorial to Lady Elizabeth Nightingale (1704-1731) who died after a miscarriage. Lady Nightingale languishes while her horrified husband, Joseph Gascoigne Nightingale, supports her and tries to stave off Death's poisoned dart with his upraised hand. Death, attacking from beneath them, is a dramatic enshrouded skeleton. It is said, with perhaps more hope than truth, that a burglar who once broke into Westminster Abbey saw the scene and fled, terrified.

Permanent Londoners

Stardust

I wasn't that fond of the book. It was rather predictable. However, the movie trailer looks really great.

Sacramentum Caritatis: Truth and Freedom

Continuing the series that began last week in our church bulletin, here is the second excerpt. I thought I'd share it again ...

I was particularly struck by this: “Jesus is the lodestar of human freedom: without him, freedom loses its focus, for without the knowledge of truth, freedom becomes debased, alienated and reduced to empty caprice. With him, freedom finds itself.” This is true in so many ways in our lives. If we aren't basing what we do on the truth that is Jesus, we are basing everything on a false base ... like the man who built his house on sand.

The Eucharist:
The food of truth

2. In the sacrament of the altar, the Lord meets us, men and women created in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:27), and becomes our companion along the way. In this sacrament, the Lord truly becomes food for us, to satisfy our hunger for truth and freedom. Since only the truth can make us free (cf. Jn 8:32), Christ becomes for us the food of truth. With deep human insight, Saint Augustine clearly showed how we are moved spontaneously, and not by constraint, whenever we encounter something attractive and desirable. Asking himself what it is that can move us most deeply, the saintly Bishop went on to say: “What does our soul desire more passionately than truth?” (2) Each of us has an innate and irrepressible desire for ultimate and definitive truth. The Lord Jesus, “the way, and the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6), speaks to our thirsting, pilgrim hearts, our hearts yearning for the source of life, our hearts longing for truth. Jesus Christ is the Truth in person, drawing the world to himself. “Jesus is the lodestar of human freedom: without him, freedom loses its focus, for without the knowledge of truth, freedom becomes debased, alienated and reduced to empty caprice. With him, freedom finds itself.” (3) In the sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus shows us in particular the truth about the love which is the very essence of God. It is this evangelical truth which challenges each of us and our whole being. For this reason, the Church, which finds in the Eucharist the very centre of her life, is constantly concerned to proclaim to all, opportune importune (cf. 2 Tim 4:2), that God is love.(4) Precisely because Christ has become for us the food of truth, the Church turns to every man and woman, inviting them freely to accept God’s gift.

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When we find something wonderful and true, what is the first thing that we do? We rush to tell our friends about it. We can’t wait to share it with others. Indeed, we know from scripture that this is the case quite often when people met Jesus. He is the ultimate truth and word spread quickly everywhere he went. Andrew immediately went to tell his brother, Simon Peter (John 1:40-43). Philip went to tell Nathaniel and bring him to Jesus (John 1: 44-46). Surely, as St. Augustine says above, this is because we all passionately desire the truth. When we actually find truth it is such a revelation to our longing hearts that we want others to know of this treasure also. No wonder the Church constantly proclaims that the Eucharist, the Christ, is there for all to know. The truth, in fact freedom itself, is there in our midst.

There is much food for thought packed into this single paragraph. Reading slowly, phrases leap off the page and demand our thoughtful consideration. Which of us can ignore truth and freedom at such a basic level? As revealed through Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, they become a wellspring of inspiration for contemplating God.
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(2) Saint Augustine, In Iohannis Evangelium Tractatus, 26,5: PL 35, 1609.

(3) Benedict XVI, Address to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (10 February 2006): AAS 98 (2006), 255.

(4) Benedict XVI, Address to the Members of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops (1 June 2006): L’Osservatore Romano, 2 June 2006, p. 5.