A friend of mine wrote a Eucharistic poem that I really enjoy, and he gave me permission to post it here. It’s beautiful, and I think it explains the theology of the Eucharist quite well. Enjoy:
On the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
Eternal Lamb of God.”
Two natures hung upon the cross:
The broken Son of Man for men to sense,
The broken Son of God for sins, which does
Repair the rift that from eternity
Did tear us and enslave each man to time.
“This is My Body, broken for the sins of every man,
Who fearing Me and trembling does approach me with no stain
This is My Blood, the covenant, shed once for all to bathe
The saints, in robes of white, with palm boughs bowed before My throne
Who sing of My eternal glory.”
Thus Christ, eternal, once in time for all His sheep did make
Eternal sacrifice, but for His sheep did give them shepherds;
Endowed with God’s own power they can bridge the great divide;
Between eternity and time, each calls the Breath of God
To consecrate each species into God’s entire Son.
The sacrifice upon the Altar is the Lamb of God,
While in our memory It is the Son of Man once slain.
For in His Body, glorified, the nails that pierced His flesh
And lance that pierced His side to give birth to His bride, the Church,
Still mark the Lamb, we see His sacrifice upon the cross
is part of His eternal Body.
We do not sacrifice again the Son of Man once slain,
But actually participate in that same sacrifice
On Calvary of our eternal King.
Apologies for commenting on a post over six years old. I came across your blog a few weeks ago and have been steadily working my way back through it and finding it very enjoyable and useful. I just finished a response to a pro-choice argument that left me exhausted. I needed something true and beautiful and then here, on your blog, just a few posts down from my current one, was this. And this is everything.
This is why I suffer: to unite my sufferings with Christ’s.
This is why I sacrifice: because Christ made himself most perfect sacrifice for me.
This is why I love others: because God loves them, and they image God, and Jesus died for them
This is why I will get up tomorrow and go to Mass in the cold and snow: because what is my life without the Eucharist?
And I must do all I can to bring everyone to both union and communion with Christ
I have a poem titled “The Eucharist” and wanted to know who wrote it. I have had it for years yet do not know where I got it. So, I looked it up on Google and was totally amazed at this most profound and beautiful poem. I hope to share this with friends. Thank you and God bless.
I have always had difficulty understanding the Eucharist. Knowing that it was the central part of my Catholic Faith I prayed for years to understand the true meaning. I have read, searched, prayed and searched and prayed over and over again. One day during the Mass I heard a still small voice within my heart and in my soul saying “this is where I am, sally.” Somehow with His grace I understood Him saying, come and partake of My Divinity, as I partook of your humanity. I believe that Jesus invites all of us, believers and non believers, sinners and Saints to be in communion with him. We can respond to that or not respond to that invitation. He had given us the gift of free will.
What an invitation! What a God who invites us on our level to join Him on His level because we are Divine beings trapped in human bodies…….destined to become more like Him…….a lifelong journey only to come to fruition in the next life. This is why he offered His Body, and shed His Blood to pay the price for our imperfect flawed humanity. Let’s not be so righteous as to think that He left this gift only to Catholics…..or only to those who believe and understand this profound simplicity. It’s not that complicated.
I am looking for a poem on the Eucharist also. Do you know the name of the author? Thank you.