3/4.1 Jesus Christ waits for us each day
A leper came up to Jesus.[2410] He knelt down and said to him: If you will, you can make me clean. And Our Lord, who always wants what is good for us, took pity on him, touched him, and said: ‘I will; be clean.’ And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean. That man kneels down, prostrating himself on the ground, which is a sign of humility, the virtue by which each one may become ashamed of the stains in his life. But shame must not prevent confession: the leper showed his sores and asked for a cure. Moreover, his prayer is full of piety – that is, he acknowledged that the power to cure him lay in Our Lord’s hands.[2411]
Jesus Christ himself waits for us each day in the Blessed Eucharist. There he is really, truly and substantially present, with his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. There he is to be found with all the splendor of his glory, for Christ being raised from the dead will never die again.[2412] The Body and Soul remain inseparably united for ever to the Person of the Word. The whole mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God is contained in the Sacred Host, together with the profound richness of his most Sacred Humanity and the infinite grandeur of his Divinity, both of them veiled and hidden. In the Blessed Eucharist we find Our Lord himself, who said to the leper: ‘I will; be clean.’ This is the very same Lord whom the angels and saints contemplate and praise for all eternity.
Whenever we go to the Tabernacle, we find him there. Perhaps we have often repeated in his presence the hymn in which Saint Thomas Aquinas expressed the faith and piety of the Church, and which so many Christians have turned into their own personal prayer:
This marvelous presence of Jesus among us should give us new life each day. When we receive him, when we visit him, we can say in the strictest sense: Today I have been with God. He makes us like the Apostles and like his disciples, like the holy women who accompanied Our Lord throughout Judaea and Galilee. Non alius sed aliter; He is not other, but He is in another way, the theologians like to say.[2414] He is here with us, in every city and town. With how much faith do we pay him a visit? With how much love do we receive him? How do we prepare ourselves in body and soul to receive Holy Communion?
[2410] Mark 1:40-45
[2411] St Bede, Commentary on St Mark’s Gospel
[2412] Rom 6:9
[2413] Hymn, Adoro te devote, St Thomas Aquinas
[2414] cf M. M. Philipon, Our Transformation into Christ
In Conversation With God
ICWG is rich and extensive enough to serve as your spiritual reading for a lifetime, as it helps you relate the particulars of the message of Christ to the ordinary circumstances of your day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rev. Francis Fernandez-Carvajal
Rev. Francis Fernández-Carvajal is a Priest of the Opus Dei Prelature and the author of many popular spiritual works. His seven-volume series In Conversation with God provides over 500 meditations to be used throughout the liturgical year. It has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into many languages.
Rev. Francis Fernandez-Carvajal
Rev. Francis Fernández-Carvajal is a Priest of the Opus Dei Prelature and the author of many popular spiritual works. His seven-volume series In Conversation with God provides over 500 meditations to be used throughout the liturgical year. It has sold over 2 million copies and has been translated into many languages.
