Br. Joseph Martin Hagan, O.P.: Eyes, Stomachs, and Hearts

“Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” The admonition echoes across summer barbeques as overzealous eaters test the structural integrity of paper plates. But recently, this saying echoed for me in an unlikely place.

This summer, I visited a monastery of Dominican Nuns in North Guilford, Connecticut. Like many communities of our nuns, they devote themselves to perpetual adoration. During my visit, I knelt and stared at the Eucharist. I remembered the admonition about desiring too much food, but this time, it went: “your eyes are bigger than your heart.” In the Eucharist is the infinite love of Jesus Christ, a love that attracts my heart. But my heart—even at its best—is finite, let alone when it is constricted by sin.  ….