St Joseph Escriva once said, "Each time you approach the Blessed Sacrament, remember that Jesus has been waiting for you for twenty centuries for this personal visit from you."
Twenty centuries ago, Christ was at table. Longing to give of His very Presence to you and I, He took bread and wine, and invited us, saying, "Take and eat; This is My Body... This is My Blood." As such, receiving Holy Communion today is a response to this 2000-year-old invitation from Christ. It fulfils the Lord's longing to dwell in you, and you in Him, so that you may have eternal life, as we learn in John 6: 54-56. At Mass today, the priest acts in persona Christi as he repeats the actions of Christ Jesus, and gives you the Saving Host, bringing to fulfilment Christ's invitation to you. The beautiful thing about this invitation is that it is for today as much as it is for tomorrow. When you attend Mass tomorrow, it is still a fulfilment of this ancient invitation; Jesus beckons you to come as often as you wish to.
I was reflecting on this as I knelt at the feet of the Lord in the Adoration Room, reminiscing how our relationship has grown as I approach my 4th Anniversary with Him, which falls on Ash Wednesday. It took me a year to fall in love with His Real Presence, and have been longing to fulfil His invitation for three years. As I counted that there are 46 days before I receive the Easter Sacraments, I was amazed at how long I had been pining for Him. But I stopped in awe as St Escriva's quote flashed across my mind. If He had been waiting for me for 2000 years, another 46 days would get Him more excited than I am!
