While the altar is the foundation of our spiritual life together, the golden chalice that sits on the altar is the focus of our activity. We uncover the chalice, raise it to the heavens, we fill the chalice with substance. And the chalice becomes the place where His grace pours in.

Within every human heart there is also a chalice, an inner chalice. This inner chalice is our spirit, our attention, the very core of our sense of self. And just as we lift the chalice at the altar as an offering to God; our sacred service teaches us that if we are to become true human beings we must also learn to turn and lift our spirits to Him, to the divine that lives and weaves in every moment. For our spirits are like empty cups, they are filled with whatever we pour into them.

But so often, in our daily lives, the cups of our spirits are turned downwards, filling them with things that would distract us from the divine. We fill our spirits with worries, judgments, media, and malls. We are drawn to shiny things that promise a better life, and yet leave us drained and hollow, filled with a substance that leads only to further craving.

This is why the Act of Consecration and our inner life of prayer is so important to the human soul. For our service is a training ground where we learn to turn the chalice of our spirits to that which fills us with a substance that truly nourishes, truly sustains. For the hope is that one day communion penetrates our whole lives, that every human spirit becomes priest. This is because the deepest desire of the human spirit, the chalice of the heart, is to be constantly filled with God in whatever we do, wherever we are.

May He fill us!

This contemplation by Rev. Evans is inspired by our Eucharist practice.