LIVING THE LITURGY OF LIFE

• SAD BREAD, BEAUTY WINE
   Eucharist as Extravagant Gift, Dangerous Memory, Holy Task, and Grand Giveaway

The sadness is the bread
and the beauty is the wine
or the other way around.
– Billy Collins

The Last Supper of Jesus 1911, Andre Derain

On the night before he died, Jesus gathered his closest friends and broke bread and shared the blessing cup. But on this night he also did something unusual. He identified himself with the bread he blessed, broke, and passed as he did with the wine in the cup he handed to his companions. And he said, as we now know so well, “Do this in memory of me.” But what exactly was Jesus encouraging them to do? And what did he mean when he told them to re-member themselves to him? For Christians, these are the fundamental questions, since we are “them.”

Exploring the gestures, words, and actions of Jesus on this memorable night with his friends, this presentation will address the invitation and implications of living the Eucharistic life. We will look at the Eucharist as extravagant gift, dangerous memory, holy task, and grand giveaway and ask ourselves what the implications are for us today.

• THE INTIMATE CONNECTION
Participating in the Liturgy of Life

*Gathering Love and Light by Guerzon Mills

When wholly understood and fully enacted, there is a natural and necessary, intimate and dynamic connection between liturgy and life. In reality, all of life, all of creation is a liturgy, not just the one hour we spend each week in a church building. What are we doing when we gather for Sunday Eucharist? Join us as we consider the relationship between liturgy and daily living, between the major movements of the Mass and the core movements of the human heart, between Eucharist and the hunger of the world, and between the liturgy of the church and the cosmic liturgy.

A vital and vibrant liturgical spirituality is one marked by awareness, gratefulness, and the desire to participate fully, consciously, and actively in the liturgy of life.

*Gathering Love and Light, Bridgette Guerzon Mills; www.guerzonmills.com