Eucharist in a Different Context

Sister Marlene Schwinghammer holding a chalice of wine at Eucharist

This may seem a bit unorthodox for all who celebrate Eucharist in the context of Mass. BUT! This is US!

Here we were—a bunch of outcasts, really. Undocumented persons, DACA, poor who feel they don’t have the right clothes or right education, LGBTQI couples, mixture of children from six to 16, several agnostics, a retired couple and their adult son with Down’s Syndrome, a nurse and her husband, an artist and a musician.

We share a meal together. We are hungry and we said “Yes” to one another and to this elusive Jesus who invited us to be family.

One of the kids read from Scripture… “In this town…” We took our place with the shepherds.

Our conversation about scripture was interspersed with “Please pass the potatoes.” “Wow, who made the dessert?” “I don’t like green beans.”

The youngest child: “Is it time for Jesus yet?”

IS IT TIME FOR JESUS YET?

What an interesting lightening strike in the middle of our trying-to-be church.

“Yes, darling, it’s time for Jesus.”

On the night before he died, Jesus gave thanks…

This is my body for ALL…

We “had” Jesus. We had one another and we go out to all the places where we live. We try to take Jesus with us into the KIN-dom.

In an effort to be more like the early church, we have Eucharist in the context of a family meal. The emphasis is: just as we get hungry from working hard, playing fully, our spirits also get hungry. So, we feed both at the same time. The homily is always dialogue and the benediction is a blessing to each from each.

Pat Pickett, OblSB