May I eat the fruit of thy flesh that it shall make me full of thy love? I desire to drink the blood from thy veins my thirst shall quench and my life consumed by thy mercy; to live for love’s desire; thy peace fulfill.

In hunger and thirst, I am reminded of what I lack and reach for that which is not faithful and truthful. The lie that causes confusion and removes focus from my mind is the snake’s venom that resulted from the fall. The lie that God is withholding his wisdom from me. I am not enough. The poison mixed with blood in my veins creates a veil of blurriness from my spiritual vision.

In a Eucharistic Prayer one Saturday, The spirit moved me to open up my hands. It wasn’t until then that I realized I usually pray with my hands closed. How am I to receive God’s gift with closed hands? God specifically instructed us to open our hands and take advantage of the tree of life if we are to receive eternal life in Genesis 3:22, “And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:” The tree of life God refers to here is his only son Jesus, who uprooted himself from heaven and replanted on Golgotha and offered his flesh and blood so we can live. 

The snake’s venom flowing in our veins destroys and feeds lies into our cells and bodies. It causes mindless destruction that whispers: I need to prove myself, in need more money or I need more accomplishments. Then and only then will I be good enough will I be loved. Recognize the poison for what it is. A lie. The deception that runs deep our being given to us by our ancestors the venom from Adam’s sin. Jesus’s blood is the antidote. His blood mixed with ours cleanse and purify us.

“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you” John 6:53. Life can only be fulfilled when we come to the tree of life and eat the body of Jesus and drink his blood. God's promise after Adam and Eve’s fall was fulfilled by Jesus when he came down from heaven and offered himself to us. Are we willing to open up our hands and take now that we are given permission? Ask for mercy, forgiveness, and love?

It’s risky business, this asking, because in asking we can be rejected. We give the power of giving to another. It’s hard when we and our ancestors are used to taking. We cheated by seeking the objects that have no power over us. We make money and take money to look valuable, drive fast cars to feel a rush, consume an excessive amount of food to fill our emptiness. These are all good things but when we look to them to fill us instead of Christ we cheat ourselves. We look for objects that can’t reject us because the pain of people in our lives that were supposed to offer us, Christlike love, did reject us. The memory of that pain consumes us and the risk is too high to ask again. We just can’t do it, not even one last time.

Many of us don’t realize is that we are free. Free to ask CHRIST to fill us and he will not reject us. The fall caused a huge cosmic shift in our psyche. A veil of burry reality that covered what was once God’s love. for us which is the way of the tree of life referred to in Genesis 3:24. The truth is, we’ve all been asking for the wrong thing. We as for healing, jobs, children, husbands which are all great things, but we continuously ask for objects. What we must ask for is LOVE. God will never reject us his love. He is love and has plenty to give. We must bring forth our hands and take the bread and blood of Christ, who is the tree of life.

Image: Edouard Manet, Al Bar Delle Folies-Bergere, 1881-1882.