Well, simply, we offer Bread and Wine because these are (to use the words uttered by the Priest during Holy Mass) the “WORK OF HUMAN HANDS”.
It is the start of another year.
And each year seems to run faster than the last. And yet, here we are at the cusp of the new year. Everything feels fresh and new and ready, and we are waiting on a precipice waiting to make our next move…
At the start of every year, I set myself some goals. I set goals for work and home and fun and spiritually. I make sure I have some goals for my family, and I ask my family to think of their own goals. The goals could be small things – lose my temper one less time each week for the first month of the year and then increase to two less times per week. Or they could be massive – go on an overseas holiday as a family and spend quality time together. These are not actually my goals – but you get the idea…
In any case, as I set goals, the most important part of the process is to make sure that I am directing my endeavours towards the GREATEST GOOD. And that is very important. Because that means that I am working towards an end result where things can be better than they were in the previous year. And I believe this is part of God’s plan for me, because God expects me to transform what He has given and turn it into something – after all, I am made in HIS Image – and HE IS THE CREATOR…
When we offer Gifts for the Holy Eucharist during the sacrifice of the Mass, we offer Bread and Wine. Have you ever wondered why?
Well, simply, we offer Bread and Wine because these are (to use the words uttered by the Priest during Holy Mass) the “WORK OF HUMAN HANDS”. And what does that mean? It means that we take the gifts found in nature – grain and grapes – and we turn them into Bread and Wine through the application of our intelligence and skill and work and effort. And then God takes the result of our efforts – which we have used to transform His natural gifts into our HUMAN contribution to that Perfect Sacrifice – and He takes over and transforms them into the Holy Eucharist (Body Blood Soul and Divinity of Christ).
And as I have been setting my New Year’s resolutions, I have been thinking about that. You see, God does not expect me to work any miracles to result in a transformation. Instead, what He is asking me for is the work and the effort on my part. Instead, God is saying, Take what I have given you and apply your intelligence that I have also given to you and work at it a bit to transform it as best as you can, then God will do the rest.
For on my own I can make bread and wine. But through that offering, God can turn this into GOD HIMSELF. And when I think of the miracle of that, I am overcome. For it seems that I spend far too much time reflecting on my own limitations, when all God is asking me to do, is my best…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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