This morning at mass, as the priest was cleaning the chalice after communion, I had a thought... Normally, I use this time to pray quietly (eyes closed, so as not to be distracted), yet today I watched as father cleaned the altar. As he poured the holy water into the golden goblet and swirled it inside the bowl, I thought of communion - of how I came to mass hoping to get something out of it. Yes, I wanted my first thoughts of the morning to be of God - and to praise him before I was even awake, but there was that selfishness of what can I get from early morning mass?
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As father swirled the scant bit of water around the inside of the chalice, I thought "That's what Christ does to me through communion!" Yes, my chalice will get dirty again, but I come to communion to have those moments when The Priest wipes me clean with His presence in my body. Is the chalice any less beautiful with the fingerprints of the people? No, in some ways those fingerprints make it more beautiful. But in other ways, those fingerprints also make the container less pure, less holy. The world puts its marks on me, in some cases helping me be a better and more beautiful person. And in most other cases, the marks must be washed away, and I am made new in Christ.
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And that is why I like to go to daily mass. For those moments when there is silence and I can feel Christ's presence, not just around me in the church, but his physical presence in my body through the Eucharist.
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Praying your day is blessed.
