rain and the rhinoceros

At the Last Supper Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom” (Mt 26:29; cf. Lk 22:18; Mk 14:25). In saying this Jesus was pointing to the end of temporal history as we know it; he was pointing to the full reality of the kingdom of God that is to come. Every Eucharistic celebration is both a memorial of what the triune God has accomplished in history and a foretaste of what the triune God will do in the future. As the Catholic Catechism points out, “Whenever the Church celebrates the Eucharist she remembers this promise and turns her gaze ‘to him who is to come.’ In her prayer she calls for his coming: ‘Maranatha!’ ‘Come, Lord Jesus!’ ‘May your grace come and this world pass away!’” (CCC 1403). In the Eucharist the future breaks into the present time and we cannot help but be caught up in the glory and splendor of God. Although “his presence is veiled” the Lord of heaven and earth meets us in the Eucharist and calls us into communion with him. Our communion with God in the Eucharist is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.