Drink Him In

     As a daily mass goer, I often help out as a lector or an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist. Yesterday the mass coordinator asked me to be cup as he often does. As I received the host and then the cup I reached for the purificator (the fancy name for the cloth to wipe the cup) Father Max held it back and said "Please" gesturing for me to drink from the cup first. As a new priest to our parish I thought, Okay, whatever your preference, not thinking much more about it.

     After mass he asked me if I had a minute and walked me to the sacristy. " Am I in trouble?" I half joked. " No no I just wanted to take the opportunity to share with you why I did what I did at communion." He continued to share he doesn't always get to explain why he does what he does. "This is the closest you will get to Jesus and I want you to experience just Him, and not worry about anything else." I had never thought about it that way before. As many times as I receive communion I  try to focus on that concept yet for some reason as a EM I tend to make communion more about the hospitality of serving, not about my receiving. It was a loving, gentle reminder to stay focused on Jesus, to be present as a receiver, not just a giver.