I was at my brother’s house helping to fix something and I
needed a second set of hands, so I asked my nephew to help.
He came over but when I started to give him the screws, both
of his hands were full of the ubiquitous iPhone and TV remote.
He looked at me with a blank stare. I said, “Put down
those things and take this. I need your hands!” Reluctantly,
he put them down and nodded in understanding.
Often when we come to the Eucharist, the Lord is ready
to give us something important. “Take it; this is my body.”
We need to have open hands in order to receive. Just like my
nephew, we need to let go of what we are holding to receive
the Lord into our hands and our hearts.
In his book With Open Hands, Henry Nouwen speaks of
the Eucharist and of our need to be open to the grace of God.
In his experience, most Catholics come to the Eucharist with
clenched fists—a very powerful and startling accusation!
But often our fists are clenched, holding onto our busyness,
anger, unforgiveness, or self-pity. As long as we come
with hearts and hands full, we cannot truly receive what the
Lord is offering us at this table.
We are called to pour out whatever we are holding. We
say, “Lord, this is what I am today” and we pray, “Lord, give
me your strength. Let me become what I receive, your Body
broken for others, your Blood poured out for others.”
We must come with open hands and open hearts.

Fr. Brendan McGuire

Brendan McGuire is pastor of St. Simon Parish, Los Altos,
California, and author of a book of Sunday homilies, Weaving the
Divine Thread.