Eucharistic Meditations - The Cup

Lord, I begin this Eucharistic meditation by gazing at the Cup used at today's Eucharist. It evokes your question to the two ambitious brothers: "Can you drink the Cup that I am to drink?" Taking this question seriously could radically change my life!

I recall first, Lord, that your Cup has different names, each with its own rich connotation. As the 'Cup of Salvation' it reminds me that there can be no glory without the Cross; that the more I drink of this Cup the more I share in your glory. I shudder to think of the innumerable times when, like them, I too said a bold 'Yes' as I drank of it at the Eucharist, but no sooner the real Passion began, I was the first to flee. As the 'Cup of Sorrow' it challenges me to accept my adversities as part of the Father's will - which is painful at times, yet always opens out on to multiple blessings.

Through the 'Cup of Blessing' I thank the Father for his unbelievable love and goodness to us. I need to take up this Cup more often, Lord, making the whole of my life a continual song of praise and thanks. I can never adequately repay the Father for his ever-present love: I can only dedicate my life to praising him and to serving him wherever I may be.

The 'Cup of Joy and Feasting' is what appeals to me most: in it I celebrate your glorious rising and victory over sin and death. When I hold this Cup I no longer fear my own frailty and tendency to sin, for these have been nailed to the Tree at your dying. Some day your grace will triumph over the evil that still lurks in me and bring me to your heavenly banquet.

As I continue to gaze at this Cup, I realize that it is empty and waits to be filled for only then is it of practical use. It is open to receive whatever is put into it: whether its contents are beneficial or harmful. A Cup can give only what it contains: I check what it is that I choose to fill my life with - the good or the evil around me? If it is to fulfill its function I need to hold the Cup in my hands, appropriate it, make it my own - as an extension of myself, as it were.

Again, while a Cup could be made out of different materials, its value lies not in its external shape and beauty but in its openness to receive and give. Even when the outside is damaged, the Cup is still useful as long as it can hold something. Lord, do I not focus only on the externals in my life without reflecting too much on your transforming love within that makes me unique? Further, a Cup can only receive according to its capacity: the bigger it is, the more it contains and hence can give to others.