In my homily for Corpus Christi, I referenced a story about the Eucharist that I heard from the late Archbishop Fulton Sheen. A term he used in his talk was “Eucharistic Radiation”, a power that comes from the tabernacle where Jesus Christ is truly present. I have to say that I really love that image and it just reinforces how powerful just sitting or kneeling in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament can be. I try to spend an hour of prayer every day in the Church. There are many times when I do not feel much. I get distracted, and I even doze off. I sometimes walk away from my prayer feeling a little frustrated that I did not “pray better” or that I did not seem to get much from my prayer. But this idea of Eucharistic Radiation reminds me that the fruitfulness of prayer is not so much a function of what I do, but rather what He does. Of course, I try my best to be attentive to the Lord and to pray well. But in the end, only the Lord can produce fruit when it comes to prayer. The Lord is always faithful and by my approaching Him with a desire to be strengthened by Him, He is undoubtedly working for my good each time I come to Him, regardless of what I feel.
I share that as a way of encouragement to any of you who may have come to our 40 Hours and maybe did not have a life-altering experience. Perhaps you walked away a little disappointed that you did not feel different after that hour, or that you seemed to struggle with distractions or dryness during prayer. Be at peace knowing how delighted the Lord was that you were there, and your being with Him put you in direct contact with that Eucharistic Radiation that has undoubtedly been working in your soul for your good.
Seen from this perspective, I have no doubt that our 40 Hours was a huge success in that many people spent time in the presence of God’s transforming presence who otherwise may have not done so. And that time will bear fruit, to the extent that we continue to give the Lord the room He needs to work in us. The fruit may not come right away, and in may in fact take quite some time. But may we never doubt the faithfulness of God and His desire to continually transform us so that slowly but surely, we will be able to say like St. Paul: “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” (Gal 2:20)
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who participated in our 40 Hours in any way, whether you signed up for an hour slot or just stopped in for a brief visit. Your being exposed to this Eucharistic Radiation of Jesus is not only a blessing for you individually, but it benefits the entire parish, and indeed the whole Body of Christ. The Eucharist is a great source of unity for the Church, and every time we partake of this gift, we contribute to the building up of the Church. Perhaps that can be a good reminder that we carry with us as well when it comes to going to Mass or taking time to visit the Blessed Sacrament. If benefitting ourselves is not enough of a motivation, knowing that there might be another member of the Body of Christ who is waiting to benefit from our prayer can be the motivation that gets us to commit to coming before the Lord and His Eucharistic Radiation.