Catholic Hermit Ponders Living Word

Today's first Scripture reading of Mass is from Ephesians 4.  This hermit is reflecting upon these verses, as they seem to illuminate the hermit's on-going desire to grasp why the mystical ecstasy during any Mass.

"And He gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ."

It seems that the Living Word is speaking to all of us, and to this hidden, imperfect, struggling, consecrated Catholic hermit, as a child of God and a Christian, to consider that the mystical ecstasy--a sign of sorts during Mass--is for the purpose of building up the Body of Christ.  Some such as the spiritual father, a late bishop, a noted clinical psychologist, and other Christians, have called it a gift.

Gifts are graces given by His Real Presence in order to, yes, build up the Body of Christ.  They build up the person experiencing the grace; but they also and perhaps more so are intended so that others are built up in Christ.  Why and for what purpose?  So that we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God--to our mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

That is what we are to seek and to attain in our temporal and spiritual lives.  As for how a mystical ecstasy might help build up the Body of Christ, it does signal the power of the Mass and very much is a reminder that there is far more to our world and existences than the temporal aspects of daily life, of our being alive, in interactions, and perhaps especially in the temporal aspects of the Church.  

There, in the Mass we discover the stairway to heaven.  We find the ever-breathing, pulsing, live encounter in His Real Presence in all of this life and especially in the celebration of the Mass.  There, in the true presence of His Real Presence, we are to pass through from the temporal and tangible to the spiritual and mystical encounter with and be subsumed into His Real Presence in the eternal, mystical reality.

We each are given graces, gifts. Most will not have mystical ecstasies in our lifetimes.  Most will have graces more tangible to the vast temporal world in which we live; but that is not to discount the value of the mystical reality and existence of the spiritual realm of which, once we leave this temporal world physically, will become a "world" and existence fully and totally mystical reality. 

Let us avail ourselves to be conduits for our God-bequeathed, God-breathed graces, these gifts, to be used to build up the Body of Christ and to bring all of us to mature manhood to the extent of the full stature of Christ.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Little children, let us love one another as we love God, for God Is Love!