It’s the dawning of a new year

This picture represents the dawning of a new day. It depicts a journey from darkness into the light and, in that light, the gift that awaits us. It is a journey, like our lives.

The greyness of the Triumphal Arch at the top and darkness at the bottom give us the feeling of coldness, even emptiness. We walk forward because the dazzling light attracts us and are greeted as we walk through the Triumphal Arch with a heavenly host of angels surrounding the Holy Trinity. God the Father is at the top in the clouds. He is resting his arm on the earth and presenting heaven with his other arm. In the center Jesus, the son, is shown in His Eucharistic Presence in the monstrance. Between the Father and the Son we see the Holy Spirit represented by the dove.

These three images form a line of sight from the top down where our eyes are fixed intently on the Lord. Actually, the light mesmerizes us if we focus our eyes on the monstrance in the center with the angels surrounding our Eucharistic Lord, as if there is a circular, spinning motion going on. This image, full of light and life, gives us a glimpse into heaven even though one would not need the Eucharist in heaven, since the Eucharist is to sustain us now until we meet Jesus face-to-face. The image of the Eucharist is to give us direction here and now.

We stand at the same level as the rising sun. A sign we are not yet in heaven but the path is shown. Jesus in the Eucharist is our way to the Father, and in this picture, heaven revolves around this truth. So too it should be with the Eucharistic Lord in our life. Let us begin the New Year with this image as it is the dawning of a new day, a new way, a path to follow.