Inspired by Tom
McMahon's reflection last Sunday
on "eucharist-Eucharist", Ted Mason sent in this poignant little
reflection on the most memorable Eucharist he ever attended…
A memorable Eucharist…
Twelve years ago I was the lone representative of the laity in a group
of 36 priests and religious, having just concluded a 30 day retreat My
lay status earned for me the privilege of assisting the main celebrant
at the Mass of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday night.. We had reached
the start of the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
The priest stood at the altar table, the gifts of bread and wine in front
of him. He had concluded the Preface and was about to continue when he
stopped and looked directly at the congregation.
"When I was a missionary in South Korea, I
was supported by many people from my home city of Durham. One in particular,
a female friend of many years, would go to extraordinary lengths to ensure
that I had warm clothes for the severe Korean winter; books for the long
dark nights, and home made marmalade for my breakfast table.
She became seriously ill with cancer, and my superior arranged
for me to fly home to be at her bedside as she died. As her death approached,
I made one last request of her. 'I have nothing,' I said, 'nothing personal
to remind me of you, after you have gone.' She smiled, motioned to me
to lower my head, and whispered just a few words to me. Now, every time
I recall those words (the tears were flowing down his face), she is with
me."
There was not a movement or a sound from the congregation. He wiped his
face, regathered his composure and continued:
"As Jesus sat with his friends at that last supper,
he looked around and saw how unprepared they were for what lay ahead.
They had so much still to learn. What else could he do to help them, to
ensure they would not forget him? They would need him over and over again
in the coming days and weeks. He took the bread in front of him, blessed
it, broke it, gave it to them and said, ' Every time you do this, I am
with you.' He took the cup in front of him, blessed it, drank from it
and passed it to his friends saying, ' Every time you do this, I am with
you'."
Again the priest stopped, again he wiped the tears from his face:
"Every time I recall those few precious words given
by my friend, she becomes present to me. Jesus went further than word
and memory, he gave himself."
He paused again, and then went on with the Eucharistic Prayer.
I have never forgotten the atmosphere of that night. I have lost count
of the number of times I have brought to mind the scene of the Last Supper,
and imagined the emotions within Jesus as he looked at his little group
and contemplated the next few hours. I can sense the fear, the doubt,
the anxiety, even the desperation as he searched for that final offering
that would save them as a group. I can sense his commitment to the words
"Do this, and I am here."
Perhaps you can understand why the Eucharist has never been the same
for me, since that night.
Photo
Credits:
Photos by Brian Coyne from the Mass celebrated in Canberra by Bishop Eugene
Hurley.
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TED
MASON is a residential member of Shalom,
the Bathurst Diocesan House of Prayer at Carcoar. For over thirty
years members of the Shalom Community have been involved in Parish
renewal programmes in many parishes within the Bathurst Diocese
and elsewhere..
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©2007
Ted Mason
[Index of Commentaries by Ted
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