This is the ninth book from Fr Jimmy (James McCaffrey) of happy memory, published posthumously. The Eucharist was a subject very close to his heart and he has left us a real treasure. He insists it is not ‘a work of scholarship’, but rather a prayerful reflection on the Eucharist, as indeed the subtitle indicates.
The book is liberally laced with an astounding range of Scripture quotations, from both the Old and New Testaments, as you’d expect from a man who has made the study of Scripture his life’s work. It can be safely affirmed that all Scriptural references to the Eucharist, whether direct or indirect, are included here.
At every stage in the book, the reader is led into prayerful reflection. This is what makes the book unique: this prayerful approach, leading one into the wonder of what Jesus has left us in this sacrament – nothing less than his own presence, ‘body, blood, soul and divinity’.
There is also a very helpful section on the influence of the Eucharist on various Carmelite saints, especially St Thérèse and St Elizabeth of the Trinity.
The book is in five chapters, corresponding to what the author calls ‘the five great prayer-movements which make up our response to the Eucharist’. These are, first of all, ‘A Call to Repentance: The Assurance of Mercy’, with its reminder at the outset to turn for forgiveness to a compassionate Saviour ever present in the Eucharist.
Chapter 2, which is entitled ‘The Word Proclaimed: Listening Hearts’, reflects on the inseparable link between the Eucharist and a prayerful listening to the Scriptures, recalling the encounter of the two disciples with Jesus on the road to Emmaus when ‘their hearts burned within them … and they recognised him in the breaking of bread’. Fr Jimmy goes on to reflect on how all the Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, when listened to attentively and prayerfully throughout the Church’s three-year cycle of readings, speak to us of God’s plan unfolding and culminating in the Paschal Mystery, which is re-presented in the Eucharist.
Chapter 3 is entitled ‘A Sacrificial Prayer: The Heart of the Paschal Mystery’, and Fr Jimmy reflects on this central theme in the context of the priestly prayer of Jesus (chapter 17 of St John’s Gospel), which he describes as ‘the supreme prayer of intercession with and for the Church’. From this, we learn that ‘we are a priestly people called to offer ourselves […] at one with the offering of Jesus’.
Chapter 4, ‘Eucharistic Communion: In Union with the Risen Christ’, invites us to a deep personal prayer-experience with Jesus present in the Eucharist, drawing us into the inner life of God, ‘the community-life of the Blessed Trinity’. We are called to reflect further that the Eucharistic presence of Jesus is not confined to the time of Mass but continues in the tabernacle-presence of the same Jesus.
The final chapter speaks about ‘Living the Eucharist: A Call to Service’, underlining our share in the Church’s mission of service to others – and this service flows from our union in prayer with the Risen Lord ever present in the Eucharist.
The book ends with an Epilogue which records ‘A Personal Reminiscence’, in which the author speaks about what the experience of Eucharist has meant in his own life over the years.All in all, this book is an inestimable resource for reflection on the Eucharist, drawing us into a prayer experience of this wonderful sacrament – ‘the source and summit of the liturgical life of the Church.
