“Behold.” The word says what it saw.  Underused but trustworthy. The curtain’s been lifted. There are no strings attached, and there is no agenda. Just that one, spoken word that startles you from whatever you were thinking or doing, “Behold.”

It’s a new word in the Catholic Mass that replaces (ready for this!) “This.” Doesn’t that sound like a good change from this unchanging Church? Which word captures and holds your breath, even for a moment – “Behold” or “This”?

“‘This'” is your dinner bill.” Now that usage makes sense. A waiter doesn’t deliver the bill to you saying, “Behold!” unless you’re paying for a party of ten.

“Behold, the Lamb of God…” says the priest now at Mass who once only said, “This is the Lamb of God.”

When the Body of Christ is raised before receiving it, what other word could possibly describe and what other word rightly describes what is shown before you except…you got it, “Behold.”

“Behold…”

• the wafer that you’ve eaten countless times is new this day because it is a new day
• a degree of alertness is called for because something extraordinary is happening right before your very eyes
• in Western movies, they say “beholding” because now there’s a bond between the giver and the receiver

“Behold.” If only we could use that word in the presence of another person. Meeting a good friend at the airport and saying, “Behold, it’s wonderful to see you again.” Someone is near death, and you say, “Behold, a new life lies before you.” A youngster earns a gold star on her oddly-shaped elephant drawing, and you say, “Behold, this earns the refrigerator door!” Pilate even unknowingly uses the word to present the savior of the world.

Let’s begin each day, or at least after a couple cups of coffee with “Behold.” “Behold” what lies before us in both challenges and successes, those who stand alongside us and what we allow to live within us. Because the word “behold” can only begin and end with God.

Books by Fr. Joe Jagodensky, SDS. All available on Amazon.com
“Soulful Muse,”
inspirational reflections on the Catholic Church and U.S. culture
“Living Faith’s Mysteries,”
inspirational reflections on the Christian seasons
of Advent/Christmas & Lent/Easter – a great seasonal gift
“Spiritual Wonderings and Wanderings,”
inspirational reflections on the Catholic Church and U.S. culture
“Letters From My Cats,”
a collection of letters written by my cats over twenty years
“Bowling Through Life’s Stages with a Christian perspective,”
Bowling as a metaphor for religion and growing up