Lent 2009
THE CHALICE OF LIFE
“Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?”
( Mt 20: 22)
The Chalice – a sign of joy and sacrifice
It is impossible to understand the full significance of the Eucharist without considering
the chalice, which is given ample space even by Jesus himself when he speaks of his
kingdom and the sacrifice which will seal the new and eternal covenant. «Nor do people
put new wine into old wineskins» (Mt 9:17). «Can you drink the cup that I am going to
drink?» (Mt 20:22).
Just those two sentences alone show the symbolic richness of the chalice and the wine,
for which a longer formula is used than for the bread in the institution of the Eucharist.
Thus the fundamental sacrificial significance of the Eucharist emerges: «Take this, all of
you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting
covenant. It will be shed for you and for all men so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in
memory of me». Words whose roots stem from the story of the people of Israel in whom
God became incarnate and in whom his message was made visible in the Lord Jesus, the
Word made flesh. For the people of Israel wine was a sign of life, of prosperity, of
God’s love, but above all, in the ritual context, it was a sign of the messianic promises
and their fulfilment at the end of time. (cf Am 9:14; Hos 2:24; Is 25:6).
It was not by chance that Jesus began his mission by changing the water into wine at
Cana to announce the beginning of a new era: God’s promises were about to be fulfilled.
But if the wine in the chalice is a sign of the messianic feast, it is also a sign of life’s
bitterness; bitterness that must be swallowed to the last drop: «Am I not to drink the
cup that the Father has given me?» (Jn 18:11). «Father, if you are willing, take this cup
away from me» (Lk 22:42).
It is in this ambivalence of the sign that the presence of the chalice must be interpreted
in the celebration of the Jewish Passover as well as in the celebration of the Christian
Eucharist where we remember a luminous gift which passes through a tedious exodus,
through the cross: «Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you drink this cup, you
are proclaiming his death» (1 Cor 11:26).
Self-Knowledge
A few days ago, one of the Sisters pointed out that Lent is a time of conversion. Another
added that conversion is not possible if the person doesn’t know herself because it is
impossible to change something that is unknown to us. This conversation showed us the
importance of self-knowledge.
Some spiritual guidelines can help us to establish self knowledge. One of these is the
metaphor of the Eucharistic chalice in human and Christian life. When Jesus asked his
friends James and John, the sons of Zebedee, “Can you drink the chalice that I am about
to drink?” (cfr. Mt 20: 20-23), He asked a question that went straight to the heart of the
human person’s life. To drink the chalice of life means to take it, lift it and drink it. It
is the celebration of the human person in its fullness. Can we take our life, lift up our
live and drink it, as Jesus did ?
A. Take the chalice – Before we drink the chalice, we must take it in our hands. And
symbolically, to take the chalice means to take our life in our hands. But we must know
what we are drinking and we must be able to talk about it. In the same way, it is not
enough to just live our lives. We must know why we are living. A life without reflection
is not worth living. Our greatest joy, like our greatest suffering in life does not come
from living our lives but much more so from the way we think and feel about our lives.
Reflection is essential for growth, for development and for change.
To take the cup of life in our hands means to reflect on the way we are living. This calls
for great courage because when we begin to look at our lives we can be frightened by
what we see, questions can arise that we cannot answer, doubts about matters that we
thought were safe. We may be tempted to say: “We are just getting on with life, all
this reflection only makes things more difficult.” When we drink the cup before taking it
in our hands we may simply get drunk and live a meaningless life.
Taking the cup of life in our hands is a stiff discipline. We are people who are thirsty and
we want to drink immediately, but first we must hold back and ask ourselves: “What is
in my cup?”
We must have the courage to say: “This is my life, it has been given to me, this is the
life that I must live to the best of my ability. My life is unique. No one else can ever
live it. I have my story, my family, my body, my character, my way of thinking,
speaking, behaving.”
Jesus stands before his enemies with great dignity and inner freedom. He holds in his
hands the chalice overflowing with sorrow, but also with joy. It is the joy of knowing
that what awaits him is the Father’s will and it will lead him to the fulfilment of his
mission. Our cup of sorrow is also our cup of joy. We often lose sight too easily of the
joy and speak about our sorrow as thought it was the only existing reality. It is precisely
what causes our sadness that can become fertile ground for joy. In fact it is only when
we realise that the cup of life is not only a cup of sorrow, but also a cup of joy, that we
can really drink it.
B – Lift the chalice – To lift the chalice is an invitation to affirm and celebrate life
together and encourage one another, to be grateful for the gifts we have received.
When each of us is able to steadily lift up our own cup, with its sorrow and joy, then we
will be able to hold it high so that others can see and be encouraged to lift up their lives
too. We Lift up our lives for others every time we speak or behave in a way that makes
our life a life for others. When we can lift up our cup and allow those around us to know
what it contains, they will be encouraged to lift up their cups and share their secrets
with us. The greatest healing often occurs when we do not feel isolated by our shame
and our fault and we discover that others feel as we do and think as we do; they have
the same fears, apprehension, worries as we have. We must be prepared to let others
know us if we want them to celebrate life with us.
C- Drink the chalice to the dregs. The cup that we hold and lift up must be drunk.
Drinking together is a sign of friendship, of intimacy, of peace. Our thirst is not always
the main reason for drinking. To drink the cup of life means to own it fully, interiorize
our unique existence with all its sorrows and joys. It is not easy to do it.
We often sense a deep protest against our destiny within us. We did not choose our
country, our parents, the colour of our skin. We did not even choose our character, our
intelligence, our physical appearance or our behaviour.
To drink our cup does not simply mean adapting to a bad situation and trying to make
the best of it. Drinking our cup is a way of life full of hope, courage and selfconfidence. It means holding our heads high, firmly rooted in the knowledge of who we
are and facing the reality around us. We can chose to drink the cup of life with the
profound conviction that in drinking it we will find our true freedom. We will thus
discover that the cup of sorrow and joy that we are drinking is the chalice of salvation.
Feedback from others as a help to self knowledge
The human person can only feel fulfilled with others. It is necessary to re-discover the
importance of others because that means to trust, to understand the sense of trust that
we place in others and consequently in ourselves.
Our very self image, the real one and the ideal one that we would want to be, the
evaluation of our possibilities that allows us to place ourselves between reality and our
projects, between today and tomorrow, would not be possible without a harmonious
rapport with others. Their reactions are a feedback, precious information which reflect
the dark and opaque image that others have of us. It is others who reveal us to
ourselves. A despot doesn’t realise he is a despot, we become aware of living like a
despot, not of being one. The reactions of others reveal it.
We should ask ourselves how often we use the word “I” when we speak; I think, I believe
I made, I will be… Stripping ourselves of this form of egocentrism means opening the
way to welcoming others.
Self esteem and self confidence are intertwined. Because I know that as a human
person I have a divine value, I can accept myself as I am, I can trust in the fact that I am
good and I will have the courage to present myself as I am. I can then seriously try to
know myself, which is the condition for conversion.
How to reach self knowledge
1. Personal silence. Create absolute silence for 15 minutes every day and listen to
what emerges within me. What thoughts, feelings, emotions, views? This will
speak for itself. Obviously if I am distracted all day, I will never reach deep
silence.
2. The Word of God. Read the Word of God every day in a real way. For example –
the Transfiguration. Jesus took only three disciple with him. Why? Can I go too?
No! The voice comes from the clouds. The voice that reveals me to myself will
come from the difficulties, the dark moments, if I listen carefully
3. Every day write down what comes to mind: fear, emotions, etc. After a few days I
will be able to re-read something of the past that will reveal myself.
4. Speak to someone about what I am living, not only my thoughts. In my encounter
with others I will discover myself.
Personal or comunità reflections
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What is the chalice of my life?
Do I hold it, lift it, drink it?.
What do I do to know myself better everyday?
How do I accept feedback from others?.