Piercing My Inane

Please forgive, when my mind wanders a bit,
While holding the cup and wafer of bread;
Lord, I try my best to imagine it,
Your passion, on Golgotha's hill of dread.
But my thoughts tarry amid the mundane;
To the nape* in front they want to attend,
Or how many tiles in the window pane,
Or if on the juice, the deacons did stint!
Yet the Spirit does my conscience stir,
Piercing my inane**; Christ's suff'ring I view;
I share the pain of crucifixion's myrrh***,
Then once again, His broken flesh I chew!
Thank you, Lord, for the sacrament of tables,
That my presence at the cross enables!

*nape = back of the neck; **inane = unspiritual thoughts;
***myrrh = bitterness

What some call the "Lord's Supper", Catholics call the "Eucharist", is a sacrament of every church.

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, given for you; do this in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19)

Jesus often referred to Himself as the "bread of life", and strange as it sounds, told people that eternal life required them to "eat His flesh" and "drink His blood". Churches have set up a worship procedure called a sacrament which is repeatedly observed in which a bread wafer and grape juice or wine are ingested by believers in obedience to His command. Most protestants view these items as symbolic of His flesh and blood, while our Catholic brethren believe they miraculously become actual flesh and blood at the moment of blessing by a priest. To them, Jesus is present in body with them each time the sacrament is observed. Non-Catholics, on the other hand, are expected to focus their whole beings on Him on the cross. For all believers, the ceremony is a solemn and central part of worship, intended to bring them closer to the goal of making Christ a continuous dominating influence in life.

The poem illustrates how the participant is expected to empty his mind of all everyday unspiritual thoughts with Jesus Christ filling it entirely, and how difficult that is. Psychologically, it shows him how far he falls short of loving Christ with all his mind, heart, soul, being.