Have you ever noticed how precious it is for someone to give you their full attention, to be fully present in that moment with you and for you? Think of such a moment when you have received this gift from another person, especially in a time when you needed it most.

There may not have been anything that they could have done or said at that moment to help, but their full and attentive attention signaled that things would be ok, that I wasn’t alone, that I was worthy of their care. I hope that you can recall similar moments?

We live in a time when attention and full presence have been more scarce, when distraction and “attention deficit” are more common. There is an expression, “the attention economy,” which refers to the way that marketers compete to recruit and retain our focused attention as long as possible so that they can sell us yet another product we don’t need. Can you imagine? Our very capacity to pay attention, focus, and be fully present is being bought, sold, and stolen. We are experiencing as a result, a crisis of what my friend Otto Scharmer calls, “absencing.”

But spiritual writers over the years, as well as saints and mystics, have described attention as the very means by which we are able to contemplate reality and find God. Walter Burghart SJ, a wonderful preacher I knew, described contemplation as a “long loving look at the real.” And presence, the experience of being fully present in the moment, or as one spiritual teacher once suggested, “having our mind and heart in the same place as our seat and our feet,” this too is associated with how we experience God.

As we turn our attention to the Solemnity that we celebrate this Sunday, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, we are presented with a true feast of mystery and meaning. There are so many dimensions of deep theological significance that we could unpack, and choosing even one will be more that we could explore adequately in the space of this reflection. But I want to focus on the way in which we believe that in the Body and Blood of Christ, the true spiritual and substantial presence of Christ is made real through the sacrament.

Of course, this is a mystery, and I am not an expert theologian, so I would prefer to reflect with you on what this Presence means for me, and if you agree, how it might matter for us, not only for the way that we encounter God in this very particular and precious way, but also how we bring and offer our presence to others.

For me, the Real Presence of Christ in the Body and the Blood is indeed a profound mystery. It expresses among other things, the act of self-emptying love that we witness in the Incarnation. The Trinity chooses to come close to us, not only to become present in the ordinariness of bread and wine, but further, to be taken into our very flesh and blood. So profound is God’s own humility that God becomes food for us, even as God makes this food a medium of Divine Presence in the Body and the Blood. God’s desire closes the distance between us insofar as God becomes one with us.

And what is the effect of this mystery, this real presence of God in the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ? What is our experience of contemplating, let alone receiving this sacrament? I can only speak from my experience, but truthfully, there are times when I am distracted and I receive the body and the blood as if someone was passing me food to eat at an ordinary table. Perhaps I am not alone?

Then there are times when I am fully present, attentive, and full of intention. At such moments, celebrating the Eucharist, praying the words of the institution, my heart swells and my voice chokes in the back of my throat. I experience this mystery unfolding at the intersections of the faith of the People of God, the role I’ve been granted in offering the sacrifice of the mass, the action of God’s loving grace, and these modest physical elements of unleavened bread, and simple wine. I am present to Jesus’ sacrifice of himself for love, his faithful obedience until the end, when his mission is accomplished. He pours everything of himself out for the sake of our salvation, so that the Eucharist becomes the most profound expression of his offering and our devotion.

Further, the sacrament is a focal point of attention that also helps me become conscious of God’s presence in each person. I look into people’s eyes. As they come forward for communion, I look at their hands, cupped reverently to receive the host. When I am really present, the faith expressed in people’s gestures moves me to tears. I can’t explain this, except to acknowledge that this mystery matters to me more than words can say. There is a sense of wholeness that becomes apparent to me, of us all being children fed by God, nourished in body and soul. I become present to the way God, sometimes hidden, becomes manifest among the bodies and blood of his People.

There is more to say, of course, as we would expect from a sacrament that evokes the multiplication of the loaves, the miracle of divine abundance when bread is taken, blessed, broken, and given. But what does this mystery mean to each of us? And what does this experience of the Real Presence teach us about the importance of paying attention, and become present to others?

As a leader, there are so many situations that we face that are beyond problem-solving or fixing. They are outside of our job descriptions or the scope of our responsibilities. But they involve people, for whom the experience of our real presence and full attention are a gift. Such encounters involve the mystery of the way that our intentional presence is in itself an acknowledgement of availability, of our desire to be with and for others. Such presence can be a source of reassurance, of recognition, of appreciation, comfort, even healing. When we give ourselves over to another in this way, we are cooperating with God’s grace, God’s desire to be present through us. And indeed, God becomes present through us.

On this Solemnity, let us each take a moment to become present to the Mystery, and in communion, find instruction as leaders as to how we might allow more of this Divine Presence to flow into and through us, by God’s grace.

With you on the road,