A Bethany... for you, for me

“Is any pleasure on earth as great

as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?” – CS Lewis

  

The sun sets the sky on fire behind St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Belle Plaine, Minnesota.  The Son sets a fire on the inside!

"I cannot see how anyone could live as a Christian and not feel the need for the constant friendship of Jesus in the word and in the bread, in prayer and in the Eucharist. ... And so we learn to thank our Lord for His kindness in not limiting His presence to the time of the sacrifice of the altar. He has decided to stay with us in the host which is reserved in the tabernacle.

For me the tabernacle has always been a Bethany, a quiet and pleasant place where Christ resides. A place where we can tell Him about our worries, our sufferings, our desires, our joys, with the same sort of simplicity and naturalness as Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

That is why I rejoice when I stumble upon a church in town or in the country; it's another tabernacle, another opportunity for the soul to escape and join in intention our Lord in the Sacrament. 

St Josemaria Escriva

Christ is Passing By, 154