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THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY

Thought for the Day # 14 – Sunday March 29, 2020

“Renew Our Thirst for The Eucharist”

This Sunday at noon, bells were ringing throughout Québec, and from the
rooftop of the Cathedral, I was able to bless the city with the Blessed Sacrament.

It was an important occasion, as sadly churches remain closed and masses are
suspended, communion is suspended, this is certainly a painful situation. It is
true that we can encounter God in other ways, we can encounter Jesus Christ
in different ways. But for the moment, let us look at the question of sadness,
the loss of the good we are missing. The sadness of not being able to go to Mass,
the sadness of not being able to enter a church, the sadness of not being able to
receive communion and be in communion in these times we are living. A form
of fasting from the Eucharist has been imposed upon us by the pandemic that
has struck us here and indeed all of humanity. Perhaps we could learn some-
thing together, to draw lessons in order to deepen our thirst for the Eucharist.
It’s a little bit like someone who goes away on a trip, after travelling for a few
weeks, the husband calls his wife and says, “Being away from you makes me
realise that I can’t live without you.” Or the wife who, for whatever reason, is
away on a trip as well, calls her children and tells them “Dear children, you are
missing me. I’m away from you and you miss me.” So, seeing as, in our current
circumstances, we are living a kind of fasting from the Eucharist, together
we could ask the Holy Spirit to deepen our thirst for the Eucharist, to renew
our faith in Jesus Christ, true God, true man, truly present in the consecrated
body, “ This is my body, given up for you ”, so that our faith may grow, so that
our appreciation for the Eucharist may deepen. So that our thirst for Jesus
Christ may grow.

Collection of texts by the Most Rev. Christian Lépine 25