Deacon James Keating and Kris McGregor explores how the Eucharist is central to the Christian life, shaping both conscience and spiritual formation. Dcn. Keating describes the Mass as the intimate meeting place where minds are renewed, hearts are healed, and access to God’s own life is offered as close as one’s parish church. He likens growth in appreciating the Eucharist to marriage—initial understanding is limited, but with time, deeper dimensions of love and commitment unfold. As spiritual maturity develops, the Mass becomes not an obligation but a deep desire, with daily participation seen as a joy rather than a burden. The Eucharist can be viewed as the unfolding of “the way of mystery,” a lifelong, step-by-step journey into God’s redemptive love, where sacraments are encounters with Christ acting in the heart.

The Paschal Mystery is God’s astonishing generosity in sharing His own happiness with humanity through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. Redemption is God’s healing of humanity’s wound of distrust, restoring friendship and communion with Him through the sacramental life. This union is not achieved all at once but unfolds gradually, with human cooperation in grace being the drama of life. Keating highlights the Trinity’s eternal communion of love and God’s profound desire to dwell with humanity, even calling us friends through Christ. The Eucharist reveals both God’s lordship and His intimate friendship, grounding discipleship in gratitude, trust, and awe before the mystery of divine love made present in bread and wine.

Deacon James Keating, Ph.D., is a professor of Spiritual Theology and serves as a spiritual director at Kenrick Glennon Seminary in St. Louis, MO.

Check out Deacon Keating’s “Discerning Heart” page

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