EUCHARIST
AND MISSION
EUCHARIST
Eucharist is the source and
summit of Church’s being and doing. The Eucharist draws together in fraternal
union and communion, all those who share and are nurtured at the table of the
Lord. In the Eucharist, Christ unites us to Himself and to the Father and the
community members with the binding force of divine life and love. This life and
love of the Triune God is poured into us through Christ’s Eucharistic flesh and
blood. It unites the worshiping community vertically with God and horizontally
among themselves by the bond of mutual love. Hence Eucharist is the meeting
place of the divine and human, Gospel and culture, faith and Charity.
Eucharist
is the Mystery of Mysteries. It is the Zenith of God’s love; A Sacrificial love,
An Eternal love, An Everlasting love, A Merciful love, An Unconditional love
and it is a school of love for neighbours. It is a place where one learns to
love God and to love his neighbour. It is a place where one learns to love God
and serve His people.
“God so
loved the world that He gave His only Son” (Jn 3:17).
Love was the basic spirituality for Jesus’
being and doing.
·
It was Love that made the Divine – the Second
person of the Trinity to assume human condition.
·
It was Love that made him to live 30 years of
hidden life in loving obedience to his human parents.
·
It was love that made him to cure the sick
·
It was love that made him to raise the dead
·
It was love that impelled him to heal the blind
and deaf.
·
It was love that impelled him to forgive sinners
·
It was his unbounded love for the humanity that
made him willingly accept the cross of Redemption.
·
At the Zenith of his love, before leaving the
earth, Jesus celebrated the meal of love with his beloved one’s and thus
instituted the Eucharist.
This meal of love is commemorated
from dusk to dawn in different parts of the world by his chosen ministers.
Therefore,
It is Eucharist which gives us
identity as Christians.
It is Eucharist that gives
identity as his followers and
It is Eucharist that gives identity as cfmss. For without
Christ there is no Eucharist and without Eucharist no Christians and all the
more, without Eucharist, no cfmss.
Jesus
in the Eucharist was the be-all and end–all of Mother Seraphina. Eucharist was
Mother Seraphina’s treasure and delight on earth. She was drawn to it like a
magnet to its centre and her whole life was centered around the Eucharist. Her
first thought on waking was Jesus in the tabernacle and her last gaze was
turned to the lord present in the tabernacle, whose boundless love she had
experienced during the day.
The
Eucharistic Jesus was her light in the hours of gloom and darkness.
The Eucharistic lord was her strength in times of doubt and
confusion and her stronghold in moments of weakness and suffering.
Mother
Seraphina has placed the Eucharist as the badge and distinguishing mark of her
Institute. She wanted her daughter to be known by their ardent and vibrant love
for the Eucharist. We need to live by the Eucharist and draw strength for our
life from the Eucharist. Hence, Eucharist plays a central role in the life and
activities of the cfmss.
Mission
Mission
is the expansion of the love we celebrate or the love we experience at every Eucharist,
to those whom we came in contact in our workplaces. We are called to put into
action, the sacrificial love, eternal love, the merciful love and the forgiving
and healing love of Jesus in our day to day living. Therefore, mission at once
is the passion for Jesus, our spouse and passion for his people. It is an
expression of our love for God and love for our neighbour.
Mission
is God’s. Our participation in the mission is a participation in the movement
of God towards humanity. We become his agents in carrying out his mission. We
become his hands to heal others. We become his mouth pieces in proclaiming his
words. We become his agents to raise the dead. We become his co-workers in
building up God’s kingdom and We become Christ to those whom we serve. We love
god through our neighbours. We serve God through our neighbours. We see the
face of Jesus in whom we serve. He becomes alive in those whom we serve.
Henceforth, our lives become a living Eucharist, celebrated in love for others.
Our Eucharistic – Missionary Charism:
The
Charism handed on to us by our venerable Mother Seraphina is Eucharistic –
Missionary Charism- Which means to live Eucharistic centred life and to be a
missionary. The twin dimensions of the Charism, calls us to contemplate the
Eucharistic Lord, foster intimacy with Jesus and carry his love to all. Both
the Eucharistic and missionary aspects interpenetrate and mutually imply each
other. In fact like two sides of the same coin, they are inseparably connected.
The former points out the later. (i.e.) going out to love and serve the
Eucharistic Lord after being strengthened by His love.
To
enkindle each heart with the flame of Christ’s love was the dream and goal of Mother
Seraphina. Hence, she handed down to her daughters the evangelical mandate to
proclaim the good news through our life and to carry the compassionate,
merciful love of the Eucharistic Jesus to the people of every land. (Ez: 34:16)
As a
missionary the cfmss are sent to the world to carry the compassionate love of
Christ and intimate love of the father. We must preach Christ’s merciful love
through the sermon of our very life.
The
Eucharistic Missionary Charism handed down to us is the distinctive character
of the cfmss. Our institute will never be able to bear abundant fruits unless
it stays firmly rooted in the spirit and charism of our Venerable Foundress.
Hence,
we are called upon to keep its originality with fresh initiatives and careful
reading of the signs of the time, without departing from the initial
inspiration. Therefore, we must take care that we preserve our identity as
Eucharistic missionaries. Our Charism is not a treasure to be buried but it has
to be preserved and fostered through a constant re-examination of our fidelity
to the Lord and docility to the Spirit.
Eucharist and Mission are inseparable parts of each other.
They are like two sides of the same coin.
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