Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me

Eucharist is to give thanks. It is a recognition of our dependence on God and our lack of the ability solely on our own part, to find salvation. It is to remember Jesus in the paschal mystery, in his passion, death and resurrection. Our experience of the gift of his saving love leads us to recall his sacrifice and receive his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. And to offer him back to the Father.


“In memory of his death and resurrection, we offer you father, this life-giving bread this saving cup.
We thank you for making us worthy to stand in your presence and serve you.” In his Presence we are healed.

Eucharist is a process of being made worthy to stand in the presence of God.

There was an old man named Bob, stayed in our village in the 1970’s. He was a man of the roads, and in his late sixties, though he looked a lot older. As he made his way along, pushing the old pram in which he carried his meagre possessions, he was followed by children and dogs, who seemed to extract an excitement out on its own, when Bob went walkabout. He often dropped in to the Priory church beyond when it was relatively empty, and would walk around praying muttering indistinctly at the statues and crucifixes. But when he reached the altar, his prayer changed. He would announce his intentions in a loud voice: “Five Hail Mary’s now that Bob will get a job”. Having completed this obligation, he would then announce, “10 Hail Mary’s now that Bob WON’T get a job.”

But he had one prayer which he repeated time and time again in front of the altar. It was very simple yet as these things often are, very profound. “I’m very thankful to Jesus”, he would pray. “Im very thankful to Jesus.”

His prayer reminded me of the prayer of the Pilgrim in "The Way of a Pilgrim."
 (Image Books:Doubleday) cf Amazon.com

Who can fail to be struck by the opening words of "The Way of a Pilgrim"?

“By the grace of God I am a Christian man, by my actions a great sinner, and by calling, a homeless wanderer of the humblest birth who roams from place to place. My worldly goods are a knapsack and some dried bread in it, and a Bible in my breast pocket. And that is all.”

And the advice the starets or holy guide gives him on how to pray what became known as “The Jesus Prayer”;

Sit down in silence. Lower your head, shut your eyes, breathe out gently, and imagine    yourself looking into your own heart. Carry your mind, that is, your thoughts, from your head to your heart. As you breathe out, say, "Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me." Say it moving your lips gently, or simply say it in your mind. Try to put all other thoughts aside. Be calm, be patient, and repeat the process very frequently.

A wonderful school of prayer in itself.