Matter is the scaffolding of spirit
R.S. Thomas
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Sacramental vision is not instant photography of the world in which we live. It is something learned by patient education of our sensitivity to the engagement of God with the world.
Alan Ecclestone
[A sacrament] is an outward and visible sign of
an inward and spiritual grace.
Book of Common Prayer
Image: Jerg Ratgeb The Last Supper
You must wear your eyes out
As others their knees.
R.S.Thomas
Have I had moments in my life when I’ve sensed “something more”= that the world has depth?
Can I learn to “walk softly” on this earth, slowly growing in a sacramental sensibility?
“Surely the Lord is in this place, and I never knew it”. (Genesis 28:16)
“Holy Communion”
A sacrament is the visibility of Christ’s divine love for us (bestowal of grace) and equally of his human love for God (worship).
Edward Schillebeeckx
Rayla Noel Communion 
Marc Padeu Le souper a Penja
The grace of Jesus- God’s gift to us- is a kind of pivotal point, a bridge: we see how God is for us, and we see how we can be for God.
The existence of God is revealed to us in the liturgy as an event of communion.
John Zizioulas
The Eucharist shows us the vocation of our human bodies: to become gifts for each other, the possibility of communion.
Timothy Radcliffe
“Companion”- (Latin “cum”- with and “panis” – bread) – suggests sharing a meal is a sign of friendship.
Who do I share my life- my bread- with?
Can I live my life as an “act of communion” –
“excluding no-one and nothing of what God has loved into being”? (Tony Kelly)
The image at the top of this post is a detail from a fresco at the Haywood Street church in Ashville, North Carolina. Christopher Holt was commissioned to artfully portray Haywood Street’s vision of community through a large scale work of art in the medium of fresco, to cover the entire central wall of our sanctuary. The fresco is based on the beatitudes.
According to the artist, “It has been my experience that the real beauty of fresco other than its aesthetic quality is in the community that it brings together.” It is a process that requires a team of assistants and volunteers as well as models who are used to depict characters in the composition. There are those who come to simply watch the painting unfold, including art students and art historians. The process creates a shared atmosphere of excitement as life is breathed into the wall. For more information visit Haywood Street.
And for a beautifully ethereal meditation here is Ola Gjielo’s setting of Ubi Caritas
Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor.
Exsultemus, et in ipso jucundemur.
Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum.
Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero.
Where charity and love are, God is there.
Christ’s love has gathered us into one.
Let us rejoice and be pleased in Him.
Let us fear, and let us love the living God.
And may we love each other with a sincere heart.
For a printable PDF of the text of this meditation please click on the link below.
