At every Eucharist we gather to praise and worship our God who became human for us. We know God is infinite and beyond our understanding but, like Ignatius, we also rejoice that our God is so much like us and so close, incarnate right here beside us and in each other, taking part in the ordinariness of our real lives. That faith in Jesus as the One who comes from heaven into our very midst, who speaks the words of God, who is the Word of God, may often be what keeps us steady in a careening world of doubt and despair. We have his life and love as our model.
Do we see Jesus there behind the façade of someone afraid or indifferent? Do we hear his voice whispering to us above the noise of our busy agendas? His invitation is constant. Eternal life will require our response.
—Jim O’Donnell is a long-serving deacon at Gesu Church, University Heights, OH. He is also a University Hospitals physician specializing and leading a research team in nuclear medicine.