Living Monstrance

Today was the inaugural Mass for the return of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration at St. Clement’s Shrine in Boston. It was a great, great day. There were so many incredibly beautiful and powerful aspects to the day, it was just a great privilege to be there.

But I have to say, my favorite part was when Cardinal O’Malley placed the monstrance in its resting place, for all to adore the Lord in the Eucharist. It’s the spot from which He will be perpetually adored for the first time in 40 years in the city of Boston, the very ground zero of the sex abuse scandal. I couldn’t hold back the tears. I can only describe it as the victory of the resurrection.

Tonight, in the wee hours of the first Sunday morning of His perpetual adoration, I’ll be at the Shrine adoring Him. Tonight, Saturday night, I’ve got a 3-6am night shift. There’s a reason why that’s special for me.

St. Clement’s is right near Fenway park. Now, I grew up loving the Red Sox. Even as a young kid, I used to beat my father to the morning paper and read the sports page every day, to see the final Red Sox score and read about the game. By the time I was twelve, I had learned all about decimals and fractions and formulas from reading all the Red Sox stats in the paper.

And then, later in my life, how many times I was drunk in the bleachers with my buddies, yelling at Yankees’ players, and then hitting the bars afterwards to drink more, inhale a bunch of cigarettes, and chase women. And then there are the nearby bars on Boylston Street, where I used to spend many late hours doing the same thing. You know, there may not be a bar in all of Boston that I haven’t had a drink in.

Those late night hours were a time for me to spend in other traps, too. If I wasn’t “fortunate” enough to find a willing woman, it was a time to give in to an internet pornography addiction.

Six. That’s how many addictions the Lord has taken me out of in 4 years. Most people have to struggle and labor for their whole life to get out of one of them. But He has taken six addictions from me, without my seeking it. Sports, two sexual addictions, drinking, smoking, and, yes, caffeine. All because I gave in to His voice, to His Love.

So tonight, in the middle of the late night shenanigans, I will be with Him. In the very hours when I used to be doing those same things, I will be with Him, in His glory, being perpetually adored for the first time in 40 years. Whether I am sitting there or kneeling there, I don’t know how well I’ll be praying for the revelers. I don’t know what I’ll be saying, or if I’ll be able to listen to the Lord. I hope I can stay awake. But when I hear the partiers outside I will know that I don’t belong to that life anymore. I’ll know very clearly that He has taken me from all that.

Now I’m with Him. Now I belong to Him.

You see, in His own resurrection to glory, in His greatest moment, He’ll show me my own resurrection.

His resurrection is for mine.

Do you remember Mary Magdalene? The Lord had cast seven demons out of her, and on the morning of His resurrection, He appeared to her first. Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. (Mk 16:9)

Why is she the first one He visited? I think I know.

Because that was the very hour when she used to be most trapped by those demons. That’s the hour that she used to be most separated from God. So, that’s the hour that she adores Him most. He stood before her resurrected and showed her that she doesn’t belong to those things anymore. She is with Him, she belongs to Him. To put it in a nutshell, He showed her her own resurrection, and that her resurrection is the reason for His.

Jesus’ victory isn’t to be in heaven. The Son has always has been in heaven with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity is eternal, right? So no, the real victory of His resurrection isn’t His own.

It’s ours.

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Cor 15:20-23)

The Lord comes to free us, He comes to take us out of all the things that separate us from God and hold us back from fulfillment. Nothing is impossible for Him, and there is no trap that His Mercy does not have a release for. If you think you are separated from God, if you can’t find fulfillment in life, go to His Heart. He is the only one able to give us a resurrection, and He desires it the most.

Because His resurrection has its victory in ours.

Happy Solemnity of the Assumption!

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 at 7:25 pm and is filed under Family & Friends, Serving Others, _Glorious. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.