Tag Archives: Eucharist

Day 30 – Knowledge of Jesus Christ

Day 30 – Mary, the Eucharist and the Incarnation

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke:

And Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I have no husband?” And the angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God. (Luke 1:34-35)

And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the chalice after supper, saying, “This chalice which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” (Luke 22:19-20)

From Pope Saint John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia #55:

In a certain sense Mary lived her Eucharistic faith even before the institution of the Eucharist, by the very fact that she offered her virginal womb for the Incarnation of God’s Word. The Eucharist, while commemorating the passion and resurrection, is also in continuity with the incarnation. At the Annunciation Mary conceived the Son of God in the physical reality of his body and blood, thus anticipating within herself what to some degree happens sacramentally in every believer who receives, under the signs of bread and wine, the Lord’s body and blood.

As a result, there is a profound analogy between the Fiat which Mary said in reply to the angel, and the Amen which every believer says when receiving the body of the Lord. Mary was asked to believe that the One whom she conceived “through the Holy Spirit” was “the Son of God” (Lk 1:30-35). In continuity with the Virgin’s faith, in the Eucharistic mystery we are asked to believe that the same Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary, becomes present in his full humanity and divinity under the signs of bread and wine.

“Blessed is she who believed” (Lk 1:45). Mary also anticipated, in the mystery of the incarnation, the Church’s Eucharistic faith. When, at the Visitation, she bore in her womb the Word made flesh, she became in some way a “tabernacle” – the first “tabernacle” in history – in which the Son of God, still invisible to our human gaze, allowed himself to be adored by Elizabeth, radiating his light as it were through the eyes and the voice of Mary. And is not the enraptured gaze of Mary as she contemplated the face of the newborn Christ and cradled him in her arms that unparalleled model of love which should inspire us every time we receive Eucharistic communion?

…

What must Mary have felt as she heard from the mouth of Peter, John, James and the other Apostles the words spoken at the Last Supper: “This is my body which is given for you” (Lk 22:19)? The body given up for us and made present under sacramental signs was the same body which she had conceived in her womb! For Mary, receiving the Eucharist must have somehow meant welcoming once more into her womb that heart which had beat in unison with hers and reliving what she had experienced at the foot of the Cross.

Reflection:

Every Mass brings us to the womb of Mary, where Christ first became present in His Body and Blood. Every Tabernacle is a copy of that first Tabernacle, which is Mary’s womb, where Christ spent the first nine months of His life. If we want to be close to Jesus in His Body and Blood, even to hide ourselves away in the Tabernacle with Him, then we can do that by consecrating ourselves to Mary, by hiding away in her womb. Jesus remains there in all His hiddenness and littleness, in that first Tabernacle. Are we too big too fit, too full of ourselves, too busy with the things of the world? Or can we let ourselves be hidden in love to find the Hidden Love who remains wrapped in love? Can we allow ourselves to be confined to God’s will, which is nothing other than the womb, than the heart of Mary, who was always freely confined to God’s will? Mary teaches us to make a home in ourselves for Jesus, a Tabernacle, a womb in our hearts for Him to remain always. We do that by uttering with her our Yes to God’s will…Fiat.

Prayers:

Litany of the Powerlessness of Jesus

Litany of Christ Living in the Womb of Mary

Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas before Holy Communion

Prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary

Day 29 Knowledge of Jesus Christ – Humility of the Eucharist

Day 29 – Saints on the Humility of Jesus in the Eucharist

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to John:

For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.” This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him. And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer walked with him. Jesus said to the Twelve, “Will you also go away?” (John 6:55-67)

From various saints about the humility of Jesus in the Eucharist:

Saint Francis wrote to his brothers:

“O admirable height and stupendous condescension! O humble sublimity! O sublime humility! that the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under a morsel of bread. Consider, brothers, the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him, and be humbled that you may be exalted by Him. Do not therefore keep back anything for yourselves that He may receive you entirely who gives Himself up entirely to you.

Saint Faustina wrote in her Diary (Entry #80):

O Jesus, Divine Prisoner of Love, when I consider Your love and how You emptied Yourself for me, my senses fail me. You hide Your inconceivable majesty and lower Yourself to miserable me. O King of Glory, though You hide Your beauty, yet the eye of my soul rends the veil. I see the angelic choirs giving You honor without cease, and all the heavenly Powers praising You without cease, and without cease they are saying: Holy, Holy, Holy.

Oh, who will comprehend Your love and Your unfathomable mercy toward us! O Prisoner of Love, I lock up my poor heart in this tabernacle, that it may adore You without cease night and day. I know of no obstacle in this adoration, and even though I be physically distant, my heart is always with You. Nothing can put a stop to my love for You. No obstacles exist for me. O my Jesus, I will console You for all the ingratitude, the blasphemies, the coldness, the hatred of the wicked, the sacrileges. O Jesus, I want to burn as a pure offering and to be consumed before the throne of Your hiddenness. I plead with You unceasingly for poor dying sinners.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said:

“The humility of Jesus can be seen in the crib, in the exile to Egypt, in the hidden life, in the inability to make people understand Him, in the desertion of His apostles, in the hatred of His persecutors, in all the terrible suffering and death of His Passion, and now in His permanent state of humility in the tabernacle, where He has reduced Himself to such a small particle of bread that the priest can hold Him with two fingers. The more we empty ourselves, the more room we give God to fill us.”

Saint Therese of Lisieux rejoiced in the Communion of Midnight Mass:

“God would have to work a little miracle to make me grow up in an instant, and this miracle He performed on that unforgettable Christmas day. On that luminous night which sheds such light on the delights of the Holy Trinity, Jesus, the gentle, little Child of only one hour, changed the night of my soul into rays of light. On that night when He made Himself subject to weakness and suffering for love of me, He made me strong and courageous, arming me with His weapons. Since that night I have never been defeated in any combat, but rather walked from victory to victory, beginning, so to speak, “to run as a giant”!

Reflection:

Do we see the humility of Jesus who continually comes to us in a way that makes us easily overlook Him? We cannot tell the difference between a consecrated host and an unconsecrated host—our senses cannot tell the difference between Jesus and a simple piece of bread. Do we promote ourselves? Are we offended when others do not know who we are? Do we push ourselves forward to make sure we are seen or correct others when they do not acknowledge our credentials. Do we feel self-important? Do we see how contrary these attitudes are to the humility of Jesus who remains anonymously, invisibly hidden beneath the appearance of bread and even then hidden away in a Tabernacle? This is how the baby is in the womb, especially a baby so small that the mother does not even appear to be pregnant. Are we willing to be so small, so hidden, so overlooked as to be a tiny, tiny baby in the womb of Mary? If so, then we are drawing closer to fulfilling the command of Jesus, “Be imitators of me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Matthew 11:29)

Prayers:

We pray first with Mother Teresa: “Mary, mother of Jesus, give us your heart, so beautiful, so pure, so  immaculate, so full of love and humility, that we may be able to receive Jesus in the bread of life, love him as you love him, and serve him in the distressing disguise of the poor.”

Litany of the Powerlessness of Jesus

Litany of Christ Living in the Womb of Mary

Prayer of St Thomas Aquinas before Holy Communion

Prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary

Prayers – Knowledge of Jesus Christ

Litany of Powerlessness
-Franciscan Sisters, TOR

A proud and self-reliant man rightly fears to undertake anything, but a humble man becomes all the braver as he realizes his own powerlessness; all the bolder as he sees his own weakness, for all his confidence is in God, who delights to reveal his almighty power in our infirmity and his mercy in our misery. ~St. Francis de Sales

Through your choosing to do nothing on your own, but only what you see your Father doing, (Jn 5:19)
Jesus, Lord of Lords, save us.

Through your choice to become a tiny embryo enclosed in the womb of your mother Mary unable to even breathe on your own,
Jesus, Creator of the Universe, save us.

By your submission to the limitations of time when you exist in eternity
Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, save us.

Through your choice to become the lost sheep sought out by the shepherds who “left the 99” on the night of your birth,
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, save us.

Through your need to be nourished at your Mother’s breast when you are “a table laden with abundance”
Jesus, Eucharistic Feast, save us.

Through your defencelessness during the flight into Egypt, when you had to rely on Joseph’s protection,
Jesus, our Deliverer, save us.

By the dependence of your childhood in the home of Mary and Joseph, when you needed their time, attention and love,
Jesus, our Provider, save us.

By your obedience to Mary and Joseph when you have dominion over the universe,
Jesus, Ruler of All Nations, save us.

Through your refusal to turn “stones into bread” when you were famished after 40 days in the desert, though you later multiplied the loaves for your hungry disciples,
Jesus, Bread of Life, save us.

Through your desperate request to the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane to save you from the sufferings that you anticipated,
Jesus, our Savior, save us.

For surrendering yourself to the judgment of Pontius Pilate,
Jesus, our Just Judge, save us.

Through your choice to be identified as a criminal and a blasphemer, causing the high priest to tear his robe,
Jesus, our Great High Priest, save us.

Through your silence, “opening not your mouth”(Is 53:7) in defense, as you were accused unjustly,
Jesus, The Word , save us.

By not resisting a crown of thorns, you who crown us with glory and honor (Ps 8:5)
Jesus, King of Kings, save us.

Through the weakness you experienced on the way of the cross causing you, through whose strength we can do all things (Phil 4:13), to fall three times to the ground,
Jesus, Our Stronghold, save us.

Through your acceptance of Simon’s help on the Way of the Cross when you carry the whole world on your shoulders
Jesus, Strength of Pilgrims, save us.

Through surrendering yourself to the gibbet of the cross when you have exalted us with great power
Jesus, Enthroned on the Praises of Israel, save us.

Through your refusal to “save yourself” as the crowds jeered at you while you hung upon the cross, yet promising to “save us from the hands of our enemies” (Lk 1:74)
Jesus, Source of Eternal Salvation, save us.

Through your refusal to demand justice and your choice to forgive and make excuses for your friends and enemies who crucified you
Jesus, our Justice, save us.

Through the deep thirst you suffered as you cried out from the cross, when you had miraculously drawn water from a rock to quench the Israelites’ thirst in the desert.
Jesus, Source of Living Water, save us.

Through submitting yourself to the greatest abandonment possible, that of your true Father, yet never leaving the temple of our hearts and promising to be with us until the end of the age,
Jesus, Son of God, save us.

By your entering into our greatest moment of powerlessness: death, and allowing it, for a moment, to appear victorious
Jesus, Author of Life, save us.

Through your raising the only son of the widow of Nain, yet letting your dead body remain in the arms of your widowed mother,
Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, save us.

Through your choice to remain imprisoned in tabernacles throughout the world, yet breaking our chains of sin and death
Jesus, our Freedom, save us.

Let us pray.

Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer,
even though you are all-powerful, you embraced our human powerlessness
throughout your life on earth and you embrace it still in the Eucharist.
You did nothing of your own will, but only that of your Father’s.
Help us, who are intrinsically powerless,
to abandon our illusions of control and self-sufficiency,
and give us the humility to relinquish our own wills and plans
so that like you, Jesus, we will do nothing on our own,
but only the Father’s will,
and by always asking your help,
we may find true freedom and perfect power. Amen

Litany to Jesus Christ living in the womb of Mary

Jesus Christ, knit so wonderfully in the womb of Mary.
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of Mary.
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, uniquely Man from the moment of conception in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, present at Creation, created in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, through Whom the world was made, formed in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Word made flesh, taking on a human body in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, revealed by God the Father, concealed in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, subject to human development in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Whose precious Blood first flowed through tiny arteries and veins in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, hidden nine months in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Only begotten of the Father, assuming flesh in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, begotten by God, nourished by the substance and blood of Thy Most Holy Mother in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, leaping from eternity into time, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, revealing with His Father and the Holy Spirit all wisdom and knowledge to His Most Holy Mother, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, aware of His role as Redeemer in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Sanctifier of His Precursor from the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Eternal Word, Divine Child, embraced by the Father, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, raising His Mother to the heights of sanctification, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, everlasting delight of Heaven, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, manifesting His Incarnation to His Holy Mother, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, adored and contemplated by His Mother in the sanctuary of the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, before Whom the Angels prostrated themselves, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, in Whom the very Angels beheld the humanity of the Infant God and the union of the two natures of the Word in the virginal womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, our Protector and Savior, asleep in the inviolable womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Whose Holy Limbs first budded in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Whose Sacred Heart first began beating in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Whose Godhead the world cannot contain, weighing only a few grams in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Whose Divine Immensity, once measuring only tenths of an inch in the womb of Mary
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Whose Divine Grasp outreaches the universe, cradled in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Sacrificial Lamb, docile Infant in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, Who was to suffer the agony and passion of death, accepting the human capacity for pain and grief, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.
Jesus, foretelling His Eucharist Presence, in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us.

Jesus, Lamb of God, in the womb of Mary,
Spare us, O Lord.
Jesus, Holy Innocent in the womb of Mary,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Jesus, Son of God and Messiah in the womb of Mary,
Have mercy on us, O Lord.

Prayer Before Communion by Saint Thomas Aquinas

Almighty and Eternal God, behold I come to the sacrament of Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. As one sick I come to the Physician of life; unclean, to the Fountain of mercy; blind, to the Light of eternal splendor; poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth. Therefore, I beg of You, through Your infinite mercy and generosity, heal my weakness, wash my uncleanness, give light to my blindness, enrich my poverty, and clothe my nakedness. May I thus receive the Bread of Angels, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, with such reverence and humility, contrition and devotion, purity and faith, purpose and intention, as shall aid my soul’s salvation.
Grant, I beg of You, that I may receive not only the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord, but also its full grace and power. Give me the grace, most merciful God, to receive the Body of your only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, in such a manner that I may deserve to be intimately united with His mystical Body and to be numbered among His members. Most loving Father, grant that I may behold for all eternity face to face Your beloved Son, whom now, on my pilgrimage, I am about to receive under the sacramental veil, who lives and reigns with You, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

Prayer of Entrustment to the Womb of Mary

Almighty God, Heavenly Father,
who have placed me, by Baptism, in the womb of the Virgin Mary
beneath her Immaculate Heart
to be together with your Son
and ever more conformed to Him by the power of the Holy Spirit,
grant that I may whole-heartedly embrace my dependence on you
as I place all my trust in my Mother Mary.
May I never scorn my weakness which your Son chose to share with me,
but may I always be grateful to be little and helpless,
knowing that without you I can do nothing.
Veiled with her beneath the protective care of Saint Joseph her spouse,
may I find in her a refuge against every danger
and in her womb a hiding place invisible to the ancient foe.
May I know that I am loved perfectly like Jesus by Joseph and Mary,
those parents, who, receiving everything from You,
will always provide for all of my needs.
Through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.

For you? For some? For many? For all? Is Catholicism for everyone?

In the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, we profess our belief each Sunday in “one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.” The word “catholic” in Greek means “universal”. Our initial impression, then, would be that the “Catholicism” is for everyone. There are some modern factors that cloud that impression, however. One confusing factor is the relativism that is so prevalent in our culture. One who ascribes to relativism believes there is no absolute and thus no universal (i.e. catholic) truth or morality and thus no universal religion. This might be expressed as, “Whatever you think is good and true–that is good and true for you. Whatever I think is good and true–that is good and true for me.” Another confusing factor has recently appeared in the heart of Catholic worship, in the Eucharist. For forty years the words of consecration, the very heart of the Eucharistic prayer, were translated into English as, “this is the cup of my Blood, which will be shed for you and for all…”. Now at Mass we hear, “this is the chalice of my Blood, which will be poured out for you and for many…”. Should we take from this change in the Eucharistic Prayer that the relativists are right, that Catholicism is not truly universal, but only good and true for some?

Pope Benedict's teaching on “pro multis”

Fortunately, Pope Benedict teaches us beautifully on this point. We will consider his explanation given in a letter to German-speaking bishops on April 14, 2012. The entire letter is beautiful, clear and worth reading. I would like to draw out a few points here that can help us in our understanding and living the Catholic faith.

Revelation always requires an interpeter

The first point is that the literal translation of the Latin pro multis is “for many”. Why then was it translated for so many years as “for all”? Pope Benedict explains that a style of translation was embraced after the Second Vatican Council that catered to a concern for the common person's understanding. The text, in Latin, had been remote from people's understanding, but if only presented in a direct translation, the implementors of the new liturgy feared the text would remain remote. Thus, to aid in the understanding of the liturgical prayer in modern languages, the translators incorporated interpretation into the translation. So, as an example, while it was not a problem that the words of consecration were pronounced in Latin as pro multis, there was a fear that if the words were translated directly into English as “for many” there would be a misunderstanding about the Church's theology. Instead of entrusting the task of interpretation to the Church's ministers (bishops, priests, catechists, parents), the decision was made to incorporate the interpretation into the translation.

This is the first key point Pope Benedict helps us understand: the need for interpretation is always a part of revelation. That is why God ordained teachers (Peter and the Apostles and now their successors, the Pope and bishops) and guaranteed that they would provide an authentic interpretation (not even the gates of hell will prevail against the rock of Peter). Pope Benedict expresses it in this way,

Not even the most sensitive translation can take away the need for explanation: it is part of the structure of revelation that the word of God is read within the exegetical community of the Church – faithfulness and drawing out the contemporary relevance go together. The word must be presented as it is, with its own shape, however strange it may appear to us; the interpretation must be measured by the criterion of faithfulness to the word itself, while at the same time rendering it accessible to today's listeners.

A corollary to this point is that we must keep growing in faith. This shows the need for ongoing formation. When there are things we do not understand, it is our responsibility to seek an authentic interpretation by looking to the Church's teaching. We can start with the Catechism and the documents of the Second Vatican Council. We can ask our parish priests who can explain things for us in terms of the teaching of the Magisterium (the Pope and the bishops). We can look for explanations in the writings of the Popes which can easily be found on the Vatican website. It is the Church's responsibility to provide an interpretation and the individual Christian's responsibility to seek it out and make the effort to understand it. This is part of the structure of revelation.

“For many” still means “for all”

Pope Benedict goes on in his letter to the German bishops to help us understand whether the change to “for many” indicates that Jesus did not die for all. He writes,

Did the Lord not die for all? The fact that Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, is the man for all men, the new Adam, is one of the fundamental convictions of our faith. Let me recall just three Scriptural texts on the subject: God 'did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all', as Paul says in the Letter to the Romans (8:32). 'One has died for all,' as he says in the Second Letter to the Corinthians concerning Jesus' death (5:14). Jesus 'gave himself as a ransom for all,' as we read in the First Letter to Timothy (2:6).

Certainly Jesus Christ died for all. Cardinal Francis Arinze gives a further explanation on this point in his letter dated October 17, 2006, sent to the US Bishops,

The expression 'for many,' while remaining open to the inclusion of each human person, is reflective also of the fact that this salvation is not brought about in some mechanistic way, without one’s own willing or participation; rather, the believer is invited to accept in faith the gift that is being offered and to receive the supernatural life that is given to those who participate in this mystery, living it out in their lives as well so as to be numbered among the 'many' to whom the text refers.

Here Cardinal Arinze makes it clear that Jesus died for all, but it is up to us to accept the gift of salvation.

For you!

Pope Benedict teaches us more of the beautiful meaning behind the phrase of Jesus, “for many”. It should be noted, first, that the account of Jesus's words at the Last Supper are different in Matthew and Mark's accounts in contrast with Luke and Paul. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus says, “for many” while in Luke and Paul He says, “for you.” The Roman Mass combined these words into “for you and for many.” When we read “for you” we do not understand that the Precious Blood of Jesus is shed only for the Apostles who were present at the Last Supper. Rather we see the personal way Jesus applies His Precious Blood to them. Likewise, the saving power of His Precious Blood is still applied to each one present at the Eucharistic Liturgy, who can hear those words personally addressed them. We can each stand at the foot of the Cross and rightly hear Jesus tell us that He is pouring out His Blood for me.

Pope Benedict then turns the love of Jesus spoken to each one personally at the Mass into a challenge. Jesus says, “I pour out my Blood for you and for many but it is your responsibility to ensure that it reaches all.” Pope Benedict expresses the challenge in this way,

How the Lord in his own way reaches the others – 'all' – ultimately remains his mystery. But without doubt it is a responsibility to be directly called to his table, so that I hear the words 'for you' – he suffered for me. The many bear responsibility for all. The community of the many must be the lamp on the lamp-stand, a city on the hilltop, yeast for all. This is a vocation that affects each one of us individually, quite personally. The many, that is to say, we ourselves, must be conscious of our mission of responsibility towards the whole.

We are not few but many!

Finally Pope Benedict uses the “for many” to encourage us. Sometimes we do not feel like “many” we only feel like “some” or “few”. Especially as our church communities dwindle in size, we must take up the responsibility to extend Jesus's life-giving death to others, but we must also remember that we are part of “many.” Indeed, St John reports in the book of Revelation that he saw, “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb…” (Rev 7:9) We must remember that even when only a few are present at Mass, we are always in the presence of many, even a multitude of saints who have gone before and are united with us in the Church.

Indeed, Catholicism is not merely for a few, for some or for many–it is for all, a universal religion that has the power to transform and elevate all that is authentically human and unite it with the divine.