Let Us Pray For A Eucharistic Life

Let Us Pray For A Eucharistic Life

Deacon Alex Kwok

After nearly a month of relocation preparations, our church renovation is in full swing. Masses are celebrated in two different venues: OLMC at Star Street 1 and St. Francis’ Canossian School Chapel next door, less than a hundred metres away. Our parish priest Fr. Thomas Law ensures that there are enough priests to celebrate; sufficient number of extraordinary ministers, acolytes, lectors, choristers and ushers to serve masses because the Eucharistic celebration “is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time, it is the font from which all her power flows” (SC #10)¹. The parish has the obligation to provide enough number of masses in a solemn and decent environment for all parishioners and visitors to draw strength from so that “Nobody is left out”.

Our Lord who promises to give us living water (John 7:38) is the font. To honour His pledge to accompany us until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20), Jesus Christ who is now seated at the right hand of the Father, defending us as our Mediator (Isaiah 53:12; 1 Timothy 2:5) against Satan’s accusations day and night (Revelation 12:10), makes Himself present among us in at least four different manners.

1. John the Apostle and Evangelist tells us that Jesus Christ is the Word of God with whom the Father created the known universe (John 1:1-3). For our sake, God inspires elected people to write and hand down His Word for posterity. We encounter Jesus Christ when we read the Bible in a prayerful manner.
2. “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Thus, when Catholics come together to pray, Jesus is present among us. The Eucharistic celebration is the most comprehensive manner of community prayer. We confess our sins, listen to the Word of God and sing psalms to thank and praise the Lord together.
3. During the Last Supper, Jesus Christ instituted the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist (26:26-28). When we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in mass, we become one with Him (John 6:56) and one with all who participate in the same Eucharist all over this planet.
   
4. Lastly, Jesus reveals to us that we are able to serve Him among the poor, the needy, the marginalized and the abused, “And the King will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40). Thus, we continue to visit the homeless at eleven different locations all over Hong Kong during the renovation project on Friday evenings.

Brethren! What else has our Lord not done to make Himself accessible and available? Now, the ball is in our court. If you are unable to spare time reading the Bible on a daily basis, you can at least stop to pray for a mere five minutes a day. If you don’t know what to pray for, look around you to see what is happening in your neighbourhood, in this city or even a wider region. Matthew 25:40 quoted above might inspire your prayer. If you are overwhelmed by so many things happening around you that you are tired of making choices, why don’t you join the Pope to pray for the challenges facing humanity? At the beginning of each year, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (aka Apostleship of Prayer) will publish the Papal prayer intentions for the whole year for us to pray.

What a remarkable coincidence! While we start renovating our church, the Apostleship of Prayer will pray for a Eucharistic life in July, namely that Catholics may place the celebration of the Eucharist at the heart of their lives, transforming human relationships in a very deep way and opening to the encounter with God and all their brothers and sisters. I suggest you make this your prayer intention during this renovation project. If you would like to know more, check out the following website². God bless!

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¹Sacrosanctum Concilium, Vatican II Constitution (1963)
²https://popesprayerusa.net
Photo Credit: scholarblogs.emory.edu/candlerdmin/