What does “Eucharist”What does “Eucharist” mean to you as a missioner?mean to you as a missioner? Papam! “After my first Holy Communion, I always felt that the Eucharist offered me a desire and drive to go out into the world to do something on Christ’s behalf. Yet, in this journey of being a Maryknoll Missioner, I find more and more each moment in service of the people is an Eucharistic moment, and a moment to bring to the Mass. During the Mass, the Eucharist joins me to Christ and through Christ I feel at comfort, knowing that while I am not physically present to the communities I have served in different places (in Singapore, Hong Kong, Chicago, Bolivia, and El Paso), Christ joins us together in the sharing of his Body in a mystical union with one another.” – Deacon Matthew Sim, MM “For me, the Eucharist is the gathering of the community of the Body of Christ to re-member, or re-live, re-enact the supper meal in which Jesus broke bread with his disciples to ritualize how he is offering his body to be broken in service to the Reign of God. When we take the bread (and cup), we commit as a community to embody (as Jesus did) the Spirit of God’s love and mercy as the Body of Christ in the world, and to be “broken” (giving up our time, energy, resources, comforts, etc.) in doing so. We gather around the table to be nourished, encouraged and blessed so we in turn can nourish, encourage and bless.” – Fr. Gene Toland, MM

On a city street of asphalt and concretewhere last winter’s ice cracks a stubborn sidewalk,a defiant dandelion takes root and proudlyPuts forth its floral sunburst. A young couple prays test results will confirmIf this time the Lord will at last bless them with new lifeEven as a world away another couple awaits wordAn orphaned child will soon make them a family. With each interminable hour and passing dayPrisoners and hostages alike long for newsTheir detainment is at an end and theirLong-awaited deliverance is at hand. With aching joints and weakened legs and a heartBroken by loss of too many loved ones over the yearsAn elder reverently plants a delicate saplingunder whose shade future generations will rest. War-weary relatives bid a reluctant farewellAs their young flee certain death for refugeIn a land that once welcomed such as they,Trusting in a God known for liberation. Hope thus infuses every moment of every dayWith a vision of a far, far better worldTransforming the most mundane into a holy shrineCompelling us to take off our shoes and worship. – By Joseph R. Veneroso, MM