Longing

 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, In a dry and weary land where there is no water. ~Psalm 63:1

We are in a new time, a different time, and it is calling for something that most of us have never experienced. Jesus is calling for renewed appreciation of the gift of the Mass.

Many, many of the Diocese across the world have had to cancel Masses in response to the very real threat of the Corona Virus.
This means that many of us will not have the opportunity offer the Mass and to receive Jesus in the Eucharist for an indefinite period.
For those who are used to receiving Him weekly or daily, this comes as a trial, a Lenten fast.

I see this as a time of Spiritual continence.
We are so used to going to Mass and receiving Jesus that we can become complacent. We know him as our Lord, but we think that he will just always be there, waiting at the altar for us to receive during Mass. We go, and we receive, and of course we thank him, but we can become like a married couple that just looks at each other with a love that is the stuff of habit, and not longing.

For those that have experienced the practice of NFP, there is a certain similarity.
When you have to practice continence, and you know that you can only gaze but not become "one flesh", for good reasons, the desire becomes stronger. You wait, and you offer up that time, because you know that when the time is right to come together again, the wine of the marital union will be that much sweeter!

While we cannot go to Mass and recieve the body of Our Lord, and as we gaze at Him in adoration, let's renew the desire that we have for union with Him. Let's look at Him with new eyes and with an increased appreciation for what we have in this Holy Sacrifice.

Let us long for the Lord.