Our One Great Act of Fidelity: Waiting for Christ in the Eucharist

This work on the Eucharist is classic Rolheiser!It is remarkably deep and yet clear enough that a child could understand the concepts. His eloquence is beautifully demonstrated in his discussion of the Eucharist. Wonderful book for anyone wanting to have a truly Eucharistic spirituality.

There are so many examples in the book of the Eucharist as gratitude. The essence of this sacrament is certainly a grateful heart that knows, loves and serves the Lord in all that we are and do. His presence in the Eucharist energizes our entire day and calls us to return to Him day after day. We come renewed and refreshed by His love for us. He constantly blesses us with graces and blessings to bring to our work place to assist others in becoming stronger and more thoughtful disciples that want others to know and love Him also. The Eucharistic gratitude of knowing that our 'neighbor' is working as hard as we are to bring Christ to the world. Rohlheiser has wonderful words and thoughts to express his understanding of Eucharist as a thanksgiving, a holy longing for His presence. Saint Augustine's sermons on the Eucharist is a good mediation for all as they incorporate that sense of gratitude and longing.

I have to say, I love this author. He has a mixture of wonderful ideas with a wonderful heart and presence. It is just soothing and calming to read his books. He seems to come from a deeply loving place. Just the way he expresses his ideas is so healing. And he also seems to touch on cornerstone topics. I think he know the key aspects of a vibrant spirituality and focuses there. I read many Christian books and two of his books, prayer our deepest longing and this one have markedly transformed my spiritual life. Whereas I’ve read hours upon hours of other authors without nearly as much effect. Blessedly, I somehow stumbled upon him when I first became a Christian and thank God, because I feel he has set me on the right track.

I am an Assemblies of God Minister. I get much of my spiritual formation teaching from Catholic writers. I am sorry to say that much of my tradition is somewhat shallow, focusing only on surface behavior management stuff. I appreciate the rich spiritual writing of Rolheiser and this book is no exception. While we AG folks do not practice the "actual presence" of the Eucharist (this book may change your thinking a bit) I really appreciate the way Rolheiser explains the tradition from multiple perspectives. I was very impressed with the inclusion of the sermons of Augustine at the end. Loved this book! Highly recommend it!

This book is well written for the non-scholar. It looks at Jesus thru the eyes of the Old Testament - what is called today the First Testament.The book describes the image of bridegroom and bride as describing the relationship of God to the People of Israel as seem in Exodus and the Prophets. The New Testament and esp the Gospel of John now use this symbol to describe the relationship of Jesus to the Church...The book is easily read and understood and offers much for meditative reflection.

I am a Pastoral Minister and have taught classes on the Eucharist and so I felt I was well informed. Rohlheiser's Our One Great Act of Fidelity is insightful and inspirational. It is also challenging. The book challenges us to look beyond our own personal relationship with God and to make the gift of Eucharist alive in every aspect of our lives. These are not new ideas but Rohlheiser invites us to see Eucharist with new eyes and to take that understanding to change and invigorate all aspects of our lives. Our One Great Act of Fidelity would be a useful and inspirationsl book for a book discussion group.

This is the book I was looking for, a comprehensive way of viewing the most important sacrament left to us. No nonsense about “Real Presence,” but a deep understanding of how Eucharist is meant to work in the life of the church, and Augustine’s three sermons, too!

I enjoyed OUR ONE GREAT ACT of FIDELITY more than the previous book I read,Forgotten Among the Lilies. It was much more open and universal than the first book I read by Father Ronald Rolheiser. In this book, I disagreed with less issues mentioned by this intellectual writer. This book armed me with many great sources of inspiration. I now receive Father's Daily Reflections.

“If you have received this well, you are what you have received.” - St AugustineRolheiser offers a beautiful text of exploration of the mystery of the Table of the Lord. The book is explicitly Roman Catholic, but if that’s not your tradition, like me, don’t let that dissuade you from reading. What you encounter here is an appeal to take Eucharist seriously, as something beyond mere symbol and rather a sacrament that draws us into the mystery of God. But not just a church mystery, rather something that shapes every part of our lives.“One Great Act…” is divided into five sections.Part one explores how the incarnation is reflected and present in the character and practice of Eucharist. Rolheiser explains how Eucharist can be understood and why it remains central to church tradition. In his practice it’s a daily observance, but even if you don’t want to take communion that regularly there is much to learn here.Part two is worth the price of the book alone. 11 different dimensions of the Eucharist are explored, each of them a fascinating read. God’s embrace, Unity, Sacrifice, Mystery, Health, Patience and more are considered. The two standout chapters in this section (and the book) are 11 and 12. The former looks at Jesus’ actions of foot washing in John 13 as a model of mature discipleship, while chapter 12 sees Eucharist as an invitation to Justice.Part three offers four spiritual aspects of the Eucharist: Receive, Give thanks, Break, and Share. Again, valuable content throughout. This four part spirituality is useful even if, unlike Rolheiser, you don’t engage with Eucharist as often as he does. Ironically, of course, if you don’t have Eucharist regularly in your tradition it’s likely that taking Eucharist regularly by yourself would be easily feasible. In which case you may then, if impacted by the book, want to consider how you could engage more with the spirituality he explains here.Part 4 is essentially the conclusion and explores how Eucharist is our one great act of fidelity. the chapter feels repetitive until you realise it is the conclusion!The reason being that part 5 is actually just three sermons from Augustine. I say just to indicate not the inferiority of this part but rather that they are offered without commentary. They are each stunning and another highlight of this book. Feel free to buy the book and begin here before reading the book from the start.All in all this is a beautiful reflection on the centre of Christian ritual and liturgy. Deserved of the title “modern classic” I’d happily invite anyone interested in the Eucharist, regardless of tradition, to read this and reflect.

THIS IS THE BEST EXPLANATION OF THE REAL MEANING OF EUCHARIST IN OUR DAILY LIVES! I INTEND TO READ IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND START A STUDY GROUP WITH SEVERAL FRIENDS TO DISCUSS THE DIFFERENT CHAPTERS.

Enhanced and affirmed the centrality of Holy Communion in Christian spiritual formation. To read it was a blessing. I recommend it.

very good

We enjoyed several of the reflections on The Eucharist. But,for us it fell short of the bigger vision and the inclusivity which is so needed in our world to-day. We wonder if the author has his eye more on the Curia than on The Truth?