“Prayer is essentially the practice of the presence of God, and that is the road to Heaven. There is no alternative. God is the only game in town. All other roads are dead ends. Since we must give our all to the one true God, we must not give any part to idols, to the many false gods that now bite away at our lives……. Life is this simple……….. We are living in a world that is absolutely transparent and God is shining through all the time. This is not just a fable or a nice story. It is true. If we abandon ourselves to God and do our best to forget ourselves, we see it sometimes, and we see it maybe frequently. God shows himself everywhere, in everything- in people and in things and in nature and in events. It becomes very obvious that God is everywhere and in everything and we cannot be without him. It’s impossible. The only thing is that we don’t see it….Because we CHOOSE not too!...Dare to be different!”

Gospel Text: (Lk 1:39-45)

Mary set out in those days
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth. 
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
“Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled.”

 

Do you perceive the presence of Christ when He comes to you?  If Elizabeth and her unborn child could perceive Him, shouldn’t we also be able to perceive Him?  When you enter a church, for example, are you immediately aware of the divine presence of our Lord?  Do you sense His closeness?  And when you receive Him in Holy Communion, is your heart intently fixed upon the Savior coming to you and residing within you?  This takes faith and it takes eyes that are fixed on the coming and presence of the Lord.

 

Pray, today, for the gift to see.  Pray that our Lord will give you the eyes you need to perceive His divine presence all around you.  And pray, especially, that your mind and heart will be open to His divine presence as you encounter and receive Him in Holy Communion.