Prayer After Receiving Holy Communion

Strengthen , O Lord, the hands which have been stretched out to receive your holy things, that they may daily bring forth fruit to your glory.

Grant that the ears which have heard your songs may be closed to the voices of clamor and dispute;

That the eyes which have seen your bright love may also behold your blessed hope;

That the tongues which have uttered your praise may speak the truth;

That the feet which have trodden your courts may walk in the regions of light;

That the souls and bodies which have fed upon your living Body and Blood may be restored to newness of life. Amen

And some thoughts:

This prayer comes either from the ecumenical community at Taize, France or an Anglican source. It clearly reveals that there are communities who believe in the presence of the Risen Christ in the Eucharist who have their own fervent insights to share. 

The hands which have been stretched out. There are some people still frenzied that Holy Communion may be received in the hand. The world is on the brink; we must get past this. The second piece of that first line is what matters, and I'd suggest we might consider this to be the most important bit: that our hands would daily bring forth fruit to God's glory. I mean, what's it all about if we're taking Holy Communion (however we receive it) and we're not bringing about "fruit to God's glory." The world awaits! And what's God's glory? Saint Augustine says it's a human being fully alive!

That our ears would be closed to the voices of clamor and dispute. What contentious times we're living in: vulgar, mean-spirited, looking for a fight, raging, argumentative, threatening. 

That our feet would walk in regions of light. What's that? That we'd walk in an awareness of God's up close and personal presence. When we forget this, we leave ourselves vulnerable to every kind of human foolishness and error - especially the error of resentment, life-draining anxieties and even hate. 

And that having received the living Body and Blood of Christ we'd be restored to newness of life. A living Christ brings us to life. We don't receive the Eucharist to make us feel good - we receive the Eucharist to make us alive: in mercy-kindness, justice, awareness, self-knowledge, compassion, understanding and love. 

"Do you still not understand?"

Now they had forgotten to take bread with them; they had no more than one loaf in the boat. Jesus began to warn them: "Beware," he said, "be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod." They said among themselves, "Is is because we have no bread?" Knowing what was in their minds, he asked them, "Why do you talk about having no bread? Have you no inkling yet? Do you still not understand? Are your minds closed? You have eyes: can you not see? You have ears: can you not hear? Have you forgotten? When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many basketsful of scraps did you pick up?" "Twelve", they said. "And how many when I broke the seven loaves among four thousand? They answered, "Seven." He said, "Do you still not understand?" Mark 8: 11-21

Recall that before this gospel scene Jesus had fed 4000 people with seven little loaves of bread and a few fish. Then he had a brief encounter with some skeptical, scheming Pharisees before taking off with the disciples in a boat to the other side of the lake. Maybe as he embarked he said to himself, "Oh enough of this already."

But once they're in the boat the apostles start to fuss about having forgotten to take bread along with them. Sometimes our priorities are terribly messed up - even in religion. We shouldn't get defensive, this is after all a story about Jesus who asks some startling questions. 

While the apostles spin emotionally about bread, Jesus starts talking to them about yeast. Yeast is symbolic of influence. Yeast influences flour quietly and invisibly while it makes the dough rise. Jesus knows what the anxiously distracted apostles are thinking and calls them out on it. Imagine! He warns them about the religious Pharisees (influencing yeast) who are filled with wrong ideas. Don't get infected by them. But the apostles don't understand because they're preoccupied with the lower place of their stomachs.

What's preoccupying me? How is my own mind closed? Has some wrong idea got hold of me? What bit of Christ have I forgotten or never paid attention to: "This justice stuff isn't for me," a proud parishioner once admitted. 

 These Pharisee guys are still very alive in hearts and minds. 

Intercessions ~ Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

Costa Rican Child: I am the Body of Christ too.

The once large Christian communities of the Middle East have steadily declined over the last century./ We pray for this terrorized remnant,/ asking consolation and restoration./ We pray to the Lord.

On the Feast of Corpus Christi/ we celebrate Christ coming to us as food./ And so we pray for a world of justice/ where all have food,/ not some./ We pray to the Lord.

As June begins/ we pray for all who celebrate birthdays,/ anniversaries/ and other days of remembrance,/ asking for health,/ faith/ and growth in goodness./ We pray to the Lord.

As Memorial Day marks the start of the summertime/ we pray for the safety of travelers and vacationers,/ mindful too of those who get no time away/ for rest and renewal./ We pray to the Lord.

Our world is full of suffering:/ the sick,/ the refugee,/ the prisoner,/ the victimized and the lonely./ Grant us a deepening awareness/ and hearts filled with charity for others./ We pray to the Lord.

We pray the blessings of strength and renewal for families in all their variety./ For families that are stressed financially or emotionally./ For parents and children separated from each other./ We pray to the Lord.

On Memorial Day/ while remembering prayerfully the many soldiers and sailors who have died in battles,/ we pray too for the millions of civilians killed in wars./ For a new world,/ eager to work hard at solving problems through dialogue./ We pray to the Lord.