Every Sunday Is Easter

 

Jesus Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday morning. Every Sunday since, believers have gathered to celebrate and re-live the joy of the resurrection. In fact, not one Sunday has passed since that day without Christians somewhere in the world getting together to read the Scriptures and break the bread of Eucharist. The resurrection is the center of our Sunday worship and gives meaning to what we do together.

 Every Mass is meant to be not only a commemoration of that first Easter Sunday but an experience of what heaven will be like. Every Sunday, Christians gather around the table of the Lord to hear His voice just as the disciples did. The Risen Lord speaks directly to us in the Scripture. He calls out to us to follow Him, to live as He did and to experience the joy that comes from giving ourselves over to Him.

 We also gather around the Lord’s table to share a meal with Him. He gives His Body and Blood to us in the form of bread and wine so that His Risen life can be ours. He gives Himself to nourish us. Every Sunday we not only remember the resurrection but we experience it for ourselves in a hidden way.

 We also experience the presence of the Risen Lord in the community that gathers for worship. At every Mass, the presence of Christ is palpable in the joy that fills the church, especially on Easter. Every Sunday may not be as festive as Easter is, however we still experience our Lord alive in the people who surround us.

 If we were to take a second to look around us, we would notice that the assembly at Mass is unlike any other we take part in. For the most part, we cannot tell who is wealthy and who is poor. There are no special seats for dignitaries or business leaders. In this place the poor sit next to the rich and the sinner rubs elbows with the saint. It is a foretaste of the life God wants for us in which the distinctions that normally separate us from one another melt away and we can experience real communion with others no matter how different from us they may be. We experience the longing of our hearts to be loved as we are and to be free to love others in return. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the first step in a long journey of bringing all people together in faith, hope and love.

He Has Done All Things Well

For over 70 years, Alcoholics Anonymous has helped people from all over the world overcome addictions to alcohol, drugs and other destructive behaviors. Through a program comprised of 12 steps, the addicts learn to combat the spiritual sickness at the root of their compulsions by confessing that they are powerless to change their behavior and by giving control of their lives over to a "higher power". As they make their way through the other steps and achieve a certain level of serenity and healing, they learn that it is not enough for them to simply stop drinking or using drugs. If they are to know true and lasting healing, they cannot keep their stories to themselves. Rather, they have to reach out to others with the good news that their addictions can be overcome.  It is part of the healing process itself to help bring others to experience healing in their own lives.

The same is true with those who are healed by Jesus. They are so overcome with joy after their encounter with him that they have to tell everyone about it. It is interesting that throughout the gospel of Mark, Jesus commands people not to tell anyone who he is and what he has done for them. It seems strange to us that Jesus would want to hide his identity, but he needed it to be clear to the people that he would not be a political Messiah who would liberate them from Roman rule, but a suffering servant who would free all people from the tyranny of sin. When he tells the apostles not to tell anyone who he is, they obey him. Even the demons whom he casts out obey him when he tells them to keep quiet. But those whom Jesus heals, though they are warned sternly not to spread the word, cannot help but go around telling everyone they meet about the powerful prophet who restored them to health. For them, telling the story of Jesus' healing power is part of the healing process itself.

Today's gospel is no different. Jesus opens the ears of a deaf man and heals his speech impediment. Throughout his whole life he was unable to hear the sounds all around him. Now the first voice he hears is that of Jesus commanding his ears to be opened. During his life he probably spoke only when necessary because he was ashamed of his speech impediment. Now, with his tongue loosened by Jesus, he cannot help but tell everyone about the miracle that God performed in his life. His first clear words were praise of God for the gift of healing he received in Jesus. How could he now be expected to keep silent about the great work God performed in his life?

Jesus continues to be in our midst exercising his healing powers. Though it is rare, it still happens that people are cured of diseases or physical impairments through the power of prayer. Most often, however, the healings we experience through faith are of an emotional or spiritual nature. Because of our own prayers or those of others, we may find ourselves finally able to forgive someone who has hurt us. Or we may find the strength to let go of a burden of anger which we were carrying for many years. Or we may simply be overcome with a sense of God's infinite mercy and believe that our sins have been forgiving. No matter how we may experience it, each of us here has been touched by Jesus and healed. Now it is up to us to tell others about it so that they too may meet Jesus, the healer. If we want to hold on to the healing we have received, and if we want it to deepen in our lives, we must spread the word.

It could also be that many of us have been waiting for a healing that just has not come yet. Whether the cure we are seeking is for ourselves or someone we love, we have prayed, offered up Masses and asked others to pray for us, but God has not chosen to touch us with his healing power as yet. It could be that, for reasons only he can know, he wants us to bear that suffering so that we can grow to be more like his Son. Or it could be that he wants us first to bear witness to what he has already done for us to others. Many times when we take the opportunity to speak to others about the wonders God has worked in our lives, we look back and see that the healing has already been granted to us. We just have not noticed it. If we are seeking a healing and have tried everything from prayer to counseling to try to get it, could it be that God is asking us to try one more thing - making known to others the good things Jesus has already done for us?

Before we approach this altar to receive the Body of Christ, we will pray: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed." The Eucharist is the greatest source of healing for our body, mind and spirit. The man in today's gospel was privileged to have Jesus touch his ears and his tongue, but we have the awesome gift of receiving him into our entire body. If we approach him with faith, he will open our ears to hear his word and loosen our tongues to proclaim his praises. If we seek a healing, he knows it and most certainly will want to grant it to us in some form or another. It will then be up to us to spread the word that our God heals and saves.

Precious Sundays

When Roy turned 52 years old, he was struck by how short life is. He had already lived 52 years and they had gone by so quickly. He reflected on how much time he had wasted, how he had taken for granted that there would always be enough time to accomplish his goals in life. The years just seemed to all slip through his hands and he wondered to himself what he had to show for it. He wondered to himself what he could do to make the most of the time he had left.

Sitting down at his desk, Roy figured that the average male lives to be 72 years old, which meant that he had about 20 years left. As there are 52 Saturdays in a year, he calculated that he had about 1040 Saturdays left in his life. So, the next Saturday morning, he went to every toy store in town and bought all their marbles until he had exactly 1040. Then he put a large glass vase on his desk and filled them with the marbles. Every Saturday he would take one of those marbles out and throw it away to remind himself of how little time he had left and not to waste it.

When Roy called his local Catholic radio station to tell his story, it was on the day he had taken the last marble from the vase. He was about to wake his wife up so that they could pick up their grandchildren and go out for breakfast. He explained how the marbles had taught him to cherish his family and all the beauty around him. Now that he was down to his last one, he was going to go out and by another 1040 marbles in hopes that he will live to his ninety-second birthday. All the while, he promised himself never to take another day for granted.

(adapted from a story told on Glen’s Story Corner on Relevant Radio)

In today’s second reading, Saint Paul warns us, “Watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity, because the days are evil.” God has given us this day and every day of our lives as a unique opportunity to do good, to enjoy His creation and to love the people around us. We will never have this day again. There is no way to get it back. Therefore, we need to make the most of it, to not waste it and to treat it as a precious gift. None of us knows how much time we or our loved ones have left. We never know when our goodbyes might be our last. We need to make the most of every opportunity God gives us each day.

In the story, Roy used the marbles to count how many Saturdays he had left. However, I’d like to challenge us to think about how many Sundays we have left. How many more opportunities will we have to gather around this altar to hear God’s word proclaimed in the assembly of the faithful and to receive Jesus’ Body and Blood? God willing, we will have thousands more. However, it is possible that this will be our last.

At Blessed Mother Teresa’s chapel in Calcutta, in the area where the priest prepares for Mass, there is a sign that reads, “O, priest of God, say this Mass as if it were your first Mass. Say this Mass as if it were your only Mass. Say this Mass as if it were your last Mass.” That is powerful advice for priests but it is equally powerful for us who gather to celebrate. Imagine the devotion, wonder and joy we would experience if every Sunday we celebrated as if it were our first Mass, our only Mass or our last Mass! And, for all we know, it could very well be our last one. With God’s help, we need to make the most of this opportunity to be united with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ through the miracle of Holy Communion.

All of us want to live life to the fullest. We all want to believe that we have made the most of the opportunities offered to us and experienced all the joys of life. However, what does it mean to live life to the fullest? Jesus tells us in today’s gospel. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Living life to the fullest means receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus. Jesus is the one who created us. He is the one who breathed life into us. Most importantly, He is the one who died for our sins and rose from the dead to give us the promise of everlasting life. Every Sunday - in fact, every day - He offers Himself to us in Holy Communion so that we can receive His very life. Unlike our human lives which will come to an end, the eternal life Jesus offers us will carry us through into heaven. What other way can there be to live life to the fullest than to receive the eternal life that Jesus offers us at every Mass?

Jesus goes on to say, “...unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” Those are powerful words which we should all take seriously. When we miss Mass on Sunday, we miss an opportunity to have God’s life within us. When we allow sin to make us unworthy to receive the Eucharist, we begin to die inside. All the pleasures and riches in the world mean nothing if we are not drawing life from Jesus.

If there is a sin on your conscience which is keeping you from receiving communion, I urge you to go to confession as soon as possible and have your sin forgiven. If you are in a relationship or marriage which is keeping you from receiving communion, I encourage you to meet with a deacon or priest and begin the process of having it blessed by the Church. You will not be judged but welcomed with joy. Whatever situation you may find yourself in, do what you need to do to make it right. Do not let another Sunday go by without receiving Jesus’ Body and Blood.

Today is the day the Lord has made. We rejoice and are glad in it. Every day is a gift from the Lord which He gives us to live to the fullest. In particular, every Sunday is a special opportunity to gather with this community of faith and encounter our Risen Lord in the Bible and in the Eucharist. As Saint Paul says, “the days are evil”. We need the life that can only be found in Jesus who gives His flesh for the life of the world.

The Miracle Of Lanciano

Over twelve hundred years ago, in the small Italian town of Lanciano, a monk was celebrating Mass in the parish of Saint Legontian. Having been a priest several years, he was beginning to struggle in his faith. Especially difficult for him was the Church’s teaching on the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Does the bread and wine offered at Mass really become the Body and Blood of the Son of God? How is this possible? Is it not more reasonable to believe that they are only symbols?

With this doubt in his heart, he prepared the gifts on the altar and began to recite the Eucharistic prayer. As he repeated Jesus’ words, “This is my body...This is my blood.” something miraculous happened. The bread which he held in his hands turned into real human flesh and the wine turned into real blood in the chalice.

News of the miracle spread throughout the world. When the pope learned of it, he instituted the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ which we continue to celebrate every summer, two weeks after the feast of Pentecost.

The flesh and blood which appeared on the altar that day over twelve hundred years ago are still visible in that church in Lanciano. Although over twelve centuries have passed, the flesh and blood have not decayed. They are as fresh as the day they miraculously appeared.

Over the years, the flesh and blood have been tested by scientists the most recent being in 1971. Two professors from the University of Siena examined them and found that the flesh was human heart tissue and the blood was also human with the same blood type as the flesh. Both the heart tissue and the blood were determined to be as fresh as they would have been had they been just recently taken from a human body. After examining the chemical structure, they found no traces of preservatives such as formaldehyde to explain why the heart tissue and blood had no signs of decomposition. Finally, they concluded that there was no scientific explanation for the events that took place in Lanciano.  Their findings were published in one of Italy’s foremost journals of medicine.

The miracle at Lanciano is only one of many eucharistic miracles that Jesus offers us to strengthen our faith in His real presence in the Blessed Sacrament. However, the fact is that a true miracle takes place every day on altars all over the world - simple bread and wine become the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God .

When we receive the Eucharist, we are truly receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. It is not just a symbol. It is not just a way of remembering all He did to save us. Rather it is the source and summit of our Christian life. It is our intimate union with our God and Savior. It is the promise of His real presence with His Church until the end of time.

It is very tempting for us in this age which is always looking for a scientific explanation for everything to doubt that the miracle of the Eucharist can take place. Like the monk in Lanciano, we want to reduce communion to a mere symbol and a simple remembrance of Jesus. However, that is not at all what Jesus taught. He told the apostles very plainly at the Last Supper, “This is my Body...This is my Blood.” Furthermore, none of the early Christians living in the first few centuries after Jesus’ death ever taught that the Eucharist was merely a symbol. All throughout the history of the Church, there was agreement that when we receive communion, we are receiving the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Nonetheless, Jesus understands that this is a difficult teaching for many to grasp and comprehend. As we see in today’s gospel, in His own day many people rejected and were even repulsed by Jesus’ words that He would give them His flesh to eat and His blood to drink. A quarrel even broke out as He was spelling it all out for them. Rather than tell them He was only speaking symbolically, he re-emphasizes his meaning: “My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.”

If we find ourselves struggling with doubts about this teaching, it is time to turn to Jesus in prayer. Only by faith can we come to embrace this mystery. And faith only comes as a gift through Jesus. We cannot come to such faith only by thinking things through, though that also is important. The only way to come to not only believe but love Jesus present in the Eucharist is to take time in silent meditation before the tabernacle or, even better, before our Lord in Eucharistic Adoration. Sitting in His presence, this wonderful truth becomes seared into our hearts and minds. We are touched and transformed in an invisible way by His presence. Experiencing the peace that only He can give, doubt melts away and it becomes clear to us that Jesus meant what He said when He told us, “This is my Body.... This is my blood.”

Jesus promised to be with us always until the end of the world. That promise is fulfilled in the mystery of the Eucharist. We have the honor today of receiving His Body. Let us ask Him to deepen our faith in this miracle so that we may receive it worthily and be transformed in love even as He has loved us.

Jesus - The Bread Of Life

There is an ache and a restlessness that haunts us throughout our lives. We can reach a certain degree of happiness and fulfillment, but there will always be something missing from it. We always want to be more and to do more. The widespread abuse of alcohol and drugs, the breakdown of marriages and the aimlessness of so many young people testify to the fact that people everywhere are groping for more in life but do not know where to find it.

As Christians, we interpret this restlessness as our desire for God. We believe that when God created us he ripped a hole in our soul that only he could sew back up. He left an emptiness within us that only he could fill. We also know that during our lifetime this emptiness will never be filled until we are with God in our heavenly homeland. In fact, one of the reasons why religious women, brothers and priests do not get married is so that they can stand as signs of the truth that we cannot find total fulfillment in our earthly lives.

The Bible describes this emptiness as a hunger and uses many images of food and of meals to show how God alone can satisfy that hunger. In the first reading, Wisdom is pictured as a woman preparing a banquet for all those tired of seeking happiness in foolish pursuits. The psalm response, "Taste and see the goodness of the Lord", speaks of God's beauty and goodness in terms of delicious foods. Though the second reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians does not talk specifically about food, he hints at the same idea. When he warns us not to get drunk on wine but to be filled with the Holy Spirit, he is saying in effect, "Do not turn to alcohol to cure your loneliness but turn to the Spirit who alone is capable of filling that emptiness." Finally, in the gospel reading, Jesus calls himself "the living bread come down from heaven." He is the one sent by God to fill up this hunger we all suffer from. He tells us that his flesh is "real food" and his blood "real drink" meaning that it alone can really satisfy that emptiness that God left within us.

The Scriptures also use the image of food to describe our relationship with God because it is so vital to our lives. Just as we cannot live without food, so we cannot live with God. Just as our body requires bread to sustain it, so our souls require God to nourish the gift of eternal life.

This theme is also weaved throughout today's gospel. Jesus promises that whoever eats the bread of life - a bread which is his very body - will never suffer death. That is quite a claim to make! No wonder the crowd listening to Jesus found it hard to understand and accept. Could anyone seriously offer a cure for death, a promise of immortality? Could anyone offer an escape from what we fear most? But that is exactly the bold claim that Jesus is making: "Whoever eats this bread will live forever."

What is the eternal life Jesus promises us who eat his body and blood? What is this life that even survives death? It cannot be a human life because human life does not last forever. If it is eternal and comes from Jesus, it must be God's life, a divine life already living in us, already at work within us who have believed in his only Son and received his Body and Blood. For that reason, we can make the claim that we are God's dear children. Sons and daughters receive life from their parents. They have their parents' blood running in their veins. Just so, we are God's sons and daughters because we have the life of our heavenly Father living within us.

Besides the gift of life, children also receive many of their characteristics from their parents. They look like them, have many of their same talents and often act similarly. Just so, we who are the children of God, who have received eternal life through him, are to be imitators of God. We are to be people who follow the way of love that Jesus followed. The eternal life we receive from the Father manifests itself when we choose love rather than hate. When we have been hurt we do not seek revenge but to forgive. Following Jesus' way of love means that a man and a woman wait until they are in the committed relationship of marriage before making love rather than risk using the other as an object. To love as Jesus loved means we give to those around us the attention and care we would like others to show to us. We know that Jesus is truly living within us and that God's life is really at work in us when everything we say and do is marked by love.

We come to Jesus at this Mass today simply because we need him. Nothing else can satisfy the deepest craving of our heart for the love and life of God the Father which only Jesus can bring us.  Our heavenly Father has prepared a banquet for us, the Body and Blood of his Son, given to us out of love. And yet it is not enough for us to receive that love. We must also give it away to all those we meet. As God has fed us, so we are to feed others. Then the love and the life of God can take root in our hearts, and we can know the great joy that our hearts were created to contain.

Food For The Journey

It is a longstanding tradition that, before being put to death, a prisoner is given a last meal. It is a way of reminding the executioner that, despite the evil the prisoner may have committed, he is still a man to be treated with dignity and respect. The last meal is also seen as a gesture of reconciliation between the condemned man and his executioner who is simply acting as an agent of the state.

Unfortunately, the death penalty is still carried out in some parts of the world, including the United States. Last year, an inmate named Kenneth Williams was asked what he would like for his last meal before being put to death by lethal injection. In an incredible gesture, he replied that he would like to receive the Eucharist. Whereas a last meal is typically seen as an act of reconciliation between the prisoner and the executioner, Mr Williams made it also an act of reconciliation between himself and Jesus.

We must remember that Kenneth Williams found himself on death row because of several heinous crimes he committed. While driving a getaway car, he struck and killed a man. In another incident, he murdered a college girl. Finally, while trying to escape prison, he killed a deputy prison warden. However, despite the many crimes he committed, he found mercy in Jesus Christ. And, having been reconciled to Christ, he wanted his last act on earth to be communion with the Lord who spilled His blood for our salvation.

In today’s second reading from the Book of Hebrews, we read: “...Christ...entered the sanctuary...with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption…” Later on we read: “...the blood of Christ [will] cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.” The blood shed by Jesus on the cross has the power to save us from our sins. It is the very love and mercy of God poured out for us. No sin we commit is so great that it cannot be covered by the blood of Jesus. No sinner is so corrupt and depraved that the mercy of God cannot reach his soul. It is true for Kenneth Williams who experienced the love of God on death row. It is true for us no matter what sins we have committed and no matter how corrupt we believe we have become.

Jesus also had a last meal before He was executed. We read about His “Last Supper” in today’s gospel. Rather than approach this last meal as a time to indulge Himself, He used it as an opportunity to give even more of Himself to His disciples and to us. Offering thanks to the Father, He blessed ordinary bread and wine, transforming them into His Body and Blood. He also commanded the apostles to do this in His memory, so that the gift of His loving mercy could be extended down through the centuries.

Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. While every Sunday is a celebration of the Eucharist, we turn with particular focus to the love of Jesus made manifest in this great mystery. It has been the continuous, unchanged and firm belief of Christians from the apostles on down that the bread and wine we offer at Mass truly become the very Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is not merely a symbol of Jesus’ continued presence among us but the reality of His presence. It is not merely a memorial of His love but the reality of His love renewed for us again and again. Today’s feast is an opportunity for us to affirm our own faith in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and to recommit ourselves to worshiping Him and receiving Him worthily every Sunday and, if possible, every day.

Today’s readings, in particular, challenge us to focus on the Blood of Jesus. For practical reasons, it is more customary to receive the Eucharist in the form of bread. We offer the chalice less frequently to avoid spilling the Precious Blood or even sometimes for health reasons. However, whether we receive Holy Communion in the form of bread or in the form of wine, we always receive the entire Risen Lord.

When we focus on the blood of Christ, however, we are focusing on His loving mercy and the power of forgiveness made manifest through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. As we say during Mass, “When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, O Lord, until you come again.” At every celebration of the Eucharist, the saving graces of the cross are made present to us, including the forgiveness of sins.

Of course, for us to receive that forgiveness, we have to show that we are sorry. We do that by changing our lives. If we approach this great sacrament of Jesus’ merciful love without sorrow for our sins and a sincere attempt to bring our choices into line with God’s will for us, we would be receiving the Eucharist in vain. We would still be receiving Jesus but it would not have as powerful a transformative effect in our heart.

Imagine a friend hurts you and asks for your forgiveness. How would you feel if she then went and continued the same behavior that hurt you in the first place? How could your relationship be restored if she continued to hurt you no matter how many times she said she was sorry? Just the same, if we receive Jesus’ mercy without working on putting to an end the sinful behaviour that hurt Him in the first place, our intimacy with God cannot be restored.

Jesus showed His love for us by dying on the cross to save us. He spilled His blood for our salvation. In this Blessed Sacrament of Holy Communion, we receive that merciful love. Jesus’ desire to have a personal relationship with us is on full display in this great sacrament. For our part, we must change our hearts and our lives. When we have serious sin on our conscience, we should go to confession as quickly as possible so that we can receive Jesus worthily in the Blessed Sacrament. If we are in a situation that keeps us from being able to receive communion, we should meet with a deacon or priest as soon as possible to get the circumstances resolved so that we can approach the table of God’s healing mercy. What could be more important than receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? We should all be striving to receive the Eucharist worthily every Sunday if not every day if it is the last thing we do.

A New Covenant In Christ's Blood

To understand the Bible, we have to also understand the concept of “covenant”. All of Scripture is a chronicle of the covenant God wants to establish with His People, Israel, and, ultimately, with all people in every generation.  In fact the word “testament”,  as in “Old Testament” and “New Testament”, itself means “covenant”.

To put it simply, a covenant is an agreement by which two people who are otherwise not related create a family bond. It was common in Old Testament times that a weak king would make a covenant with a stronger king. This stronger king would then pledge to protect the weaker one as if he were his brother or son. Unlike a treaty which can be broken by one or the other party at any time or which only is in force for a certain period of time, a covenant cannot be broken and never expires. Just as a father never stops being a father or a daughter never stops being a daughter, the relationships that are created through a covenant remain always in force.

A beautiful example of this that we can all understand is the covenant of marriage. Through matrimony, a man and a woman who otherwise are unrelated become a new family. They pledge to be faithful to one another until they are separated by death. Once two separate, independent persons, they now become one flesh through the covenant of marriage.

Just so, God was not content to simply give life to the world. He wanted to enter into a relationship with the people He created. He wanted an intimate and personal friendship with us. By establishing a covenant with His people, He revealed His desire to draw all persons into His family.

Today’s first reading tells the story of the covenant God established with the people of Israel in the desert after He had liberated them from slavery in Egypt. God promised to be their God and the people, on their part, promised to keep His law. This new covenant relationship is sealed by the blood which Moses poured out on the altar. We call the relationship between family members “blood ties.” Just so, the pouring out of blood symbolizes that God and His people are now united in a blood tie through the covenant.

Though covenant is the central theme of the Bible, we only hear Jesus use the word once. It is at the Last Supper which we heard proclaimed in today’s gospel. The Last Supper takes place at the Feast of Passover when the Jewish people celebrated their liberation from slavery in Egypt and renewed the covenant that had been made through Moses in the desert. When Jesus picks up the cup filled with wine, He says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” While God made a covenant with the people of Israel through the blood that Moses poured out in the desert, Jesus made a new covenant with all those who believe in Him through the blood He poured out on the cross. These new blood ties no longer depend on nationality or race, but are made through faith in Jesus Christ. All who believe now can enter into this covenant relationship with God through Jesus. Through faith and baptism, we are brought into God’s family as His adopted children.

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. It is an opportunity for us to reflect on the great gift Jesus makes of Himself to His people, nourishing us on our journey through life. It is also an opportunity for us to reflect on the covenant He makes with us. Through the Eucharist, we become one flesh with God. We are united with Him and become related to Him just as a man and woman becoming one flesh through marriage and just as a son and daughter are related to their parents.

Whenever we receive the Eucharist, we are renewing our covenant relationship with Jesus. We are accepting Him once again as our Lord and Savior. We respond, “Amen”, because we believe that Jesus is truly present in the communion we receive. Our “Amen” also means that we accept the responsibilities that come with being a child of God. We pledge to follow the commandments He left us, in particular, the commandment of love. We also pledge to live this covenant relationship in the Church with all those who, like us, have been saved through the Blood of Christ.

The “Amen” we say when we receive communion is not something we should take lightly. Because we are renewing our covenant with Christ through the Eucharist, the “amen” we pronounce is like signing our signature to a legal document. None of us would do that without reading what it is we are agreeing to. Once we sign our name, the agreement is final. We cannot go back and say that we didn’t read it or didn’t understand it.

Just so, we should be sure we understand what the “amen” we say at Holy Communion means. It means that we truly believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist in more than a symbolic way. It means that we embrace all that the Church teaches. It means that we are striving to live a good and holy life. In particular, it means that we have no serious, unconfessed sins on our conscience. If we cannot say “yes” to any of these statements, then we cannot say “amen” to the communion we are about to receive. If we were to receive communion not believing in Jesus’ presence, not embracing the Church He established or not living a good, holy life, then it would be hypocritical for us to receive the Body of Christ.

God loves us. He wants an intimate and personal relationship with each of us. Through the Blood of Christ He has brought us into His family with all the privileges and responsibilities that come with being a child of God. Whenever we receive communion, we are renewing that covenant. Our “Amen” is an act of faith and a commitment to live as children of God. If that “yes” is difficult for us, we can pray for the grace to believe and the strength to live a good life. Then we can claim the inheritance waiting for us in heaven which is ours by covenant through the Blood of Christ.

A Communion In The Blood Of Christ

                           

Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, fought passionately on behalf of the poor. To serve the needy, she founded hospitality centers throughout the country which would give shelter to the homeless and provide meals for the hungry. Her concern, however, did not end with the bodily needs of those she ministered to. She also sought to meet their spiritual needs by offering retreats and daily Mass at her hospitality centers.

One morning, a young priest arrived to say Mass at her center in New York. Thinking he would make the Mass more relevant for those attending, he asked Dorothy for a coffee cup and proceeded to use it instead of a chalice to consecrate the blood of Christ. After Mass, Dorothy took the cup and buried it in the backyard. She understood that now that the cup had held the precious blood of our Savior, it could no longer be used for any other purpose. The young priest also got the message and went back to using a chalice for Mass.

At every Mass we use special gold and silver vessels for both the bread and the wine because something precious takes place in them. The bread and wine we offer become the Body and Blood of Jesus our Savior. They are not merely symbols but the real thing. So we set aside the finest vessels we can provide because of the love and reverence we have for our Lord’s Body and Blood.

Though we offer both bread and wine at every Mass, we typically only receive the bread. However in both the bread and the wine, the entire body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus is contained. So when we receive just the consecrated bread, we are receiving the whole sacrament. If it were to happen that at communion we were to run out of hosts, we could offer the cup of His Blood and we would still be receiving the whole Sacrament. When we receive the Eucharist, we are not just receiving pieces of Jesus. Rather He gives His whole self to us in the form of bread and wine.

Today's readings focus on the blood of Christ given to us in the form of wine.

In the Old Testament, blood was understood to be where our life force and energy resided. When you take the blood away from a person or animal, you also take away their life. In the same way, to shed one's blood was to give one's life. So when Jesus tells the apostles at the Last Supper that the cup He is giving them is His blood, they would have understood that it was His life that they were receiving.

In the same way, when we receive the Eucharist, it is the life of Christ that enters us. Communion is like a blood transfusion that we receive from Jesus replacing that which is lacking in our human life - namely, the ability to love and forgive unconditionally - and reviving our anemic spirit.

That is why Jesus tells us in John's gospel that unless we eat His Body and drink His Blood we will have no life in us. There is nowhere else to get the divine life that Jesus is offering us than through the Eucharist. Nothing else this world can offer can replace the very Body and Blood of Jesus. Nothing else can give us the life of our Savior. So we should never fail to come to this table as often as we can to share communion with our Lord who died to save us.

It is also significant that when we do receive the Blood of Christ, we receive it from a cup or a chalice. Drinking from a cup is part of the symbolic act we make in receiving the Blood of Christ. In Jesus' time, to drink from the cup meant sharing someone's destiny or fate. For instance, if a king offered you his cup, he was offering you a share in his kingdom, his wealth and his power. Just so, when James and John ask Jesus to sit at His right and left hand in the Kingdom of God, He asks them if they can drink the same cup of suffering He will drink. For Jesus, the only way to enter the Kingdom of God is to share the cup of unconditional love - a love that is willing to endure death, a love that He showed us by dying on the cross.

Whenever we drink from the chalice of Jesus' blood, then, we are sharing in His self-giving love. We remember His words, "If anyone would follow me, he must deny himself and pick up his cross." When we receive communion, we are not getting a handout but making a commitment to love our enemies, forgive those who hurt us and give to those in need just as He did. We also remember Jesus words, "If anyone would save his life he must lose it." When we receive Jesus' Body and Blood in the Eucharist we acknowledge that we must empty ourselves of our own lives, desires, plans and will to make room for the love, joy and power He wants to pour out into us.

When we gather for communion, then, we are doing much more than meeting an obligation or going through a monotonous routine. We are receiving Jesus, Himself. And we are saying "Amen" to His presence among us and, in particular, to His presence in the least of our brothers and sisters whom we must love and serve. Dorothy Day once said, "The real atheist is the one who cannot see God in his fellow human being." We cannot bow to Jesus on Sunday and refuse to help our sister or brother on Monday. By eating this bread and drinking this cup we proclaim that Jesus has died for us and for all. Now it is up to us to live the reality we celebrate until all the world is charged with the healing and saving presence of God.

Touching Jesus In The Eucharist

We all know someone like Frank.

Frank was the kind of person who loved to get into arguments with people. If you told him something was blue, he would argue with you that it was really red. If you told him that two plus two is four, he would tell you that it really equals three. Frank would just not accept  that anything was true or that he did not already have all the answers.

No one suffered more from Frank’s argumentativeness than his co-worker Ted. Ted was a devout Catholic and was not ashamed to let people know. Frank took every opportunity to let Ted know that he disagreed with just about everything the Church teaches. Because Ted was knowledgeable about his faith, he was able to answer most of Frank’s questions and objections. However, one day he lost patience with him and said, “Just admit it. You have so many doubts because you want an excuse for not believing in anything.”

For the first time, Frank had no answer. Ted’s words had touched a nerve in him, and he was left speechless. Looking into himself, he realized that Ted was right. He really did not believe in anything. And that realization left him feeling empty inside and afraid.

Not knowing where to begin to find some kind of faith, Frank bought a Bible and read the story of Doubting Thomas, one of the figures of the New Testament he could most sympathize with. Like Thomas, Frank wanted to see for himself, to know for certain. However, unlike Thomas, he was not able to see Jesus face to face, to touch Him or to put his finger in His wounds. He decided that he would have to do what seemed to be the next best thing. So for the first time in over twenty years, Frank decided to go to Mass.

When he walked into church, he was surprised by how much he felt at home, as if he belonged there and had never left. The young woman sitting next to him helped him find the songs and readings in the missalette. He was able to remember most of the responses, though he could not remember when to stand, sit and kneel. While the deacon preached, he tried to put aside his argumentative nature so that he could really listen to everything he was saying.

But the most moving part of the Mass for him was during the Eucharistic prayer. When the priest held up the host and said, “This is my body which will be given up for you”,  he heard the woman sitting next to him whisper, “My Lord and My God.” Those were the same words that Thomas had spoken when the Risen Jesus appeared to him! It all began to make sense. It was at Mass and, in particular, when receiving communion, that he could see for himself the Risen Lord. Through the gift of the Eucharist, he could touch Jesus’ Body and Blood just as Thomas had done. With that insight from the Holy Spirit,  Frank went from doubting to believing. He had seen for himself that Jesus is real, and his life would never be the same.

Jesus tells us that each one of us is blessed because we believe without seeing. We have not seen Jesus with our physical eyes, but with the eyes of faith. We know that He is real not because we have touched Him but because He has touched us. That gift of faith given to us in our baptism and nourished through God’s word and the sacraments sustains us during our earthly life until we can see our Risen Lord face to face in the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is important for us to reflect from time to time on how precious this gift of faith is. Many people, like Frank, experience profound doubts and carry burdensome questions about the meaning of their lives and the purpose of their suffering without knowing where to find answers. Many people feel utterly alone with the crushing anxiety and overwhelming despair they experience without knowing where to find comfort. Though our faith certainly does not take away our suffering or answer all our questions for us, it does give us a place to go where we can begin to find some understanding and some sense of meaning. It gives us hope that, though we do not have everything figured out, God is in control and our destiny is in His loving hands.

Saint Thomas teaches us what we should do when we experience doubt, temptation and confusion. We should go to Jesus. He is always there for us. He is always by our side. He wants us to know Him and to live an abundantly blessed life. Through His Church, He has provided us with many means of drawing close to Him and receiving grace upon grace including the forgiveness of our sins. Going straight to Jesus, most especially by participating in Mass, will make our burden lighter and our way smoother.

Today, we celebrate the Feast of the Divine Mercy. We remember that Jesus has His arms wide open waiting to receive anyone who comes to Him. As He told Saint Faustina, “The greater the sinner, the more right He has to my forgiveness and mercy.” If we have been holding back because of fear and doubt, now is the time to put it all in Jesus’ hands and run to Him so that we can receive faith and hope. He will never turn us away.

Jesus' Ongoing Presence

In 1932, a popular magazine asked the English author, G.K. Chesterton, to write an article with the title, “How Would Jesus Solve the World’s Problems If He Were Alive Today?”. In his usual style, Chesterton surprised the editors by answering the question in an unexpected way. He wrote that Jesus is indeed still alive today. He makes His presence known on altars all over the world. And He is indeed still helping to solve the world’s problems by inspiring the hearts of those who believe in Him and moving their hands to help their neighbors in need.

Tonight, we gather here to celebrate Jesus’ ongoing presence in our world. We commemorate the supper He shared with His apostles in which He left us the gift of His Body and Blood. Though we call this meal, “The Last Supper”, it really should be called “The First Supper”, because it was a meal that, from then on, would be repeated throughout history right down to this very night. On this altar and on altars all over the world, our Risen Lord Jesus reveals Himself to us in the bread and wine we offer. Not only does He reveal Himself, but He offers Himself to us once again. We receive His Body into our bodies so that we can be united with Him always.

Jesus is still alive among us. He brings comfort to those in sorrow. Many times people sit quietly in this church pouring their troubles out before Jesus in the Eucharist. They pray for their children, they agonize over their jobs and they sob over the loved ones they have lost. Encountering Jesus in this tabernacle, they bring Him their fears and He gives them faith. They bring Him their despair and He inspires them with hope. They bring Him their cold hearts and He fires them up with a burning love. All this takes place here and throughout the world because of the tremendous gift of the Eucharist which Jesus left to us on this Holy Thursday night.

In today’s world, it can be difficult to believe that Jesus can really be present in the form of bread and wine. We disbelieve what we cannot see for ourselves. As a result, we tend to treat the Eucharist as merely a symbol of Jesus’ presence rather than what it really is, His true Body and Blood. However, when we approach Mass with that attitude, we miss out on all the graces that Jesus wants to offer us in this Blessed Sacrament. We miss out on the comfort of His presence in our hearts. We miss out on being touched by the love He has for us. We miss out on the transforming power of His love. Whenever we find ourselves doubting the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, we must beg God to open our eyes so that we can receive all that He has to give us through this most holy mystery He instituted for us on this Holy Thursday night.

Jesus is still alive and active in the world today through the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. However, there is another mysterious way in which He makes His presence known in today’s world. It is through us who believe in Him. When we receive Holy Communion, we become His Body. As such, we bring His presence out into the world. It is up to us to bring Jesus’ comfort to those who are mourning. It is up to us to feed the hungry. It is up to us, through the power we receive in the Eucharist, to serve our sisters and brothers in need.

Jesus makes this clear in tonight’s gospel by washing His apostles’ feet. In doing so He left them and us an example to follow. If we believe that Jesus humbles Himself enough to offer Himself to us in the form of bread and wine, then we must become humble enough to offer ourselves to one another no matter how dirty the job. Only in that way can Christ’s presence radiate from this place of worship to a suffering world. As Saint Teresa of Avila put it in her beautiful poem, “Christ has no hands now but ours.”

Jesus is alive and active in the world today through the Eucharist we celebrate and through the service that Christians offer on behalf of the poor. This is the night when we celebrate that loving presence and commit ourselves more earnestly to work on behalf of those who are longing to know the consolation that only God can give.

It is an ancient tradition on this Holy Thursday night to end our celebration by spending an hour in prayer before our Lord in the Eucharist. Just as He asked His disciples to stay awake one hour with Him as He agonized over the cruel death He would suffer, He asks us to do so as well. During that time, let us ask to experience the comfort that comes from believing that He is present in our midst. Let us also ask Him to strengthen our hands to do His work. Then, there will be no question that He is alive and present in this suffering world.

Jesus Came To Bring Us God

From the bottom of my heart, I want to wish all of you a blessed Christmas.

This day is always filled with a joy that runs deep within our spirits. That joy is an echo of the song of the angels proclaiming to the shepherds that Jesus, the Saviour is born. It rises up from the depth of our soul. Jesus is born! The good news inspires us to gather here this morning and celebrate the gift of God made known to us in this newborn King.

Christmas day has inspired some of the most beautiful music ever written. Most of us know all these carols by heart and have been humming them to ourselves throughout these past weeks. We look forward to singing them at parties or when we gather for Mass. For many of us, Christmas hymns rank among our favorite songs. It is not just because those songs bring back memories of our childhood or conjure up images of holiday bliss, but because they speak to a core truth of human existence. When we were in the dark, Jesus came to bring us light. When we were lost, Jesus came to find us. When we were enslaved to sin, Jesus came to set us free. That is the true meaning of this feast. That is the true reason we gather here today. It is the cause of our joy.

Pope Benedict XVI in his book, Jesus of Nazareth, asked a question that most of us may have asked from time to time. What difference did Jesus’ make? Since His birth there is still suffering and sin. He was not able yet to put an end to wars or to violence. What did Jesus come to bring, then? Our Holy Father gives a simple yet profound answer, “Jesus came to bring us God.” As our second reading from the letter to the Hebrews puts it, Jesus is the exact representation of the Father’s being. Whoever sees Jesus, sees God. Whoever listens to Jesus, listens to God.

Because of the birth of Jesus, God is never far from us. He is at our side in good times and in bad times. It is true that we continue to suffer. However, now God suffers with us. It is true that we continue to fall into temptation. But now our Heavenly Father graciously forgives us through the blood of His Son. It is true that all of us will one day die, but we can hold onto the hope of eternal life held out to us through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The human heart desires nothing less than God Himself. Now a real friendship with God is possible for each of us because of the miracle of this Christmas day.

How, then, can we experience the joy of Christmas every day throughout the year? How can the blessings of Jesus’ birth be ours when the decorations come down and the dark winter drags our spirits down? We experience the gift of Jesus all year long simply by going to Mass. Whenever we gather to celebrate the Eucharist, Jesus Himself is present in our midst. It is His voice we hear when the Scriptures are proclaimed. He Himself is teaching us and imparting His wisdom to us, just as He did to His disciples. In a most remarkable way, we receive Jesus in the gift of His Body and Blood. At Mass, the bread and wine become truly the Body and Blood of Christ. It is no mere symbol or representation but the real Body and Blood of Jesus. The One whom the shepherds left their fields to see and whom the wise men traveled far to behold comes to us in the miracle of the Eucharist. Right here the blessing of Christmas is made real every Sunday, indeed every day.

That means that no matter how inspiring the preaching is, no matter how holy the priest or deacon is, no matter how well the choir sings, we receive the same awesome gift at every Mass. Why would we ever want to miss out on it? What could fill us with more grace and blessings than going to Mass would? Why would we want to settle for less?

The good news is simply this, “God sent His only Son into the world that whoever believes in Him may not die but have eternal life.” God loves each and every one of us. And He wants us to know how much He loves us. He could think of no better way of showing His love than by sending His only Son to share our broken human condition and, eventually, to die. God loves us not because of anything we have done or could do. God loves us simply because He is love itself. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us more or to make Him love us less. All this He has revealed to us through His Son whose birth we celebrate today.

There is a reason that we were all called here today just as there was a reason that the shepherds were called to the manger and the wise man were drawn to Bethlehem by the star. God wants to speak to our hearts. He wants to urge us to stop striving after what cannot fully satisfy us. He wants to plead with us to stop trying to make it on our own. He wants to reassure us that we do not have to struggle alone. This day, our Heavenly Father wants us to turn to His Son, the One He sent to save us. He wants us to find in Him true and lasting joy. And He wants us to share that joy with others. That is the meaning of this Christmas day. That is what makes this day and every day blessed. Jesus, our Saviour, is with us. Let heaven and nature sing!

He Remembers Every Communion

In his book, Visits to the Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint Alphonsus Liguori tells the story of Sister Paula Maresca, a saintly nun who founded a convent in Naples. While in prayer, she had a vision of Jesus holding a golden vessel. In that vessel, Jesus kept every communion she had ever made.

Let us think about that for a minute. Imagine Jesus holding a golden vessel with every communion you have ever made. Because He is All-Knowing, we can believe that He does recall every time we have gone to Mass and received His precious Body and Blood. He remembers what we were wearing. He could tell us what was on our mind at the time and what was going on in our lives. Because He is All-Loving, we can trust that He cherishes all those communions we have made the way a lover cherishes letters from his beloved. Even if we were not in the best state of mind, heart or soul when we received, we can trust that He gave Himself fully to us nonetheless and that He looked forward to and relished every time we received the Blessed Sacrament of His Body and Blood.

Our goal in life, then, should be to live up to the great love that Jesus has for us, especially the love that He shows us in the Eucharist. If He gives Himself totally to us, we must strive to give ourselves totally to Him. If He looks forward to our receiving communion, then we must make sure that we meet Him in this Sacrament with the same anticipation and joy that He shows toward us. We should cherish receiving Jesus in communion just as He cherishes the moments when He gives Himself to us.

What can we do, then, to ensure that we are worthy to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and that we can grow in anticipation and enthusiasm to partake of His Body and Blood?

The first step is to go to confession frequently. The Church requires us to go to confession at least once a year, usually during Lent in preparation to receive communion at Easter. However, most spiritual directors would agree that we should be going at least once a month. And, if we are aware that we have committed serious sins, then we should go to confession as soon as possible.

Why is the Sacrament of Confession so important? Because it is there that we experience the mercy of Our Lord. We present ourselves to Jesus in the person of the priest and bare our souls to Him. In so doing, we do not find judgment or condemnation but understanding and forgiveness. In the sacrament of mercy, we fall in love with God who is eager to welcome the sinner. Then we begin looking forward to experiencing His love in a more intimate way when He gives us His Body and Blood to us in the Eucharist.

Also, the Sacrament of Penance cleanses our soul so that it is a more dignified place to receive Jesus. If we were welcoming someone we loved into our home, the first thing we would do would be to tidy up. Because we are receiving the most important person of all in Holy Communion, we should show the same concern that our souls be clean for Him. That is what the Sacrament of Confession does for us. And, if we strive to confess our sins at least once a month, we can be sure that our heart will be a more fitting place to welcome our Savior.

The second thing we should be doing to ensure that we receive Jesus worthily is observe the one hour fast before communion. That is to say, we should be refraining from all food and drink, except for water, one hour before receiving communion. It is important to note that we calculate that time not one hour before Mass starts but before we receive communion. That is, if I am going to 10:00 am Mass, it is likely that I’ll receive communion around 10:30 am or so, so I will not have anything to eat or drink, including coffee, from 9:30 am on.

Why is this rule so important? Because, by fasting from food and water just before Mass, we are already focusing our minds on receiving Jesus in communion. Even though we may be rushing to get to church, we are orienting our hearts to reflect on Whom we will be receiving there. Fasting, even for that short amount of time, can stir up excitement and anticipation for partaking in communion which will make our reception of the Blessed Sacrament even more fruitful.

The third practice that will help us receive Jesus more worthily is Eucharistic adoration, that is, the devotion of sitting in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. Whenever we do so, we adore Jesus who is present in the tabernacle. We marvel at how much He loved us, not only to die on the cross for us but to give us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The more we pray before the Blessed Sacrament, the more we will grow in the desire to receive Him sacramentally in the Eucharist. And, the more we receive Him in the Eucharist, the more we will wish to praise Him in Eucharistic adoration. In so doing, we will experience much more joy and enthusiasm about the Blessed Sacrament.

Jesus cherishes the moments when we receive Him in the Eucharist. He literally died to make these moments possible. Shouldn’t we also be doing our part to make these moments as intimate and fruitful as possible by going to confession frequently, observing an hour of fast before receiving communion and adoring Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament whenever possible? Then we will make our hearts a worthy place for our Lord and Savior. And we will bring that love and joy into our world - especially to those who are unaware of the blessings that are awaiting them in the gift of the Body and Blood of Christ given for the salvation of all humanity. 

Stories Of Love And Devotion

One Sunday morning, at the end of Mass, as the congregation was filing out of church, they noticed a woman jumping up and down on the front lawn and shouting, “I hate God! I hate God!” Several men rushed over to see if they could calm her down. Looking down, they noticed something shocking. She had been jumping on the host she received at Mass. It turned out that the woman was mentally ill and, after going to communion, she spat the host on the ground. While one of the men ran in to get the priest, the others began gathering as much of the host as they could find and eating it. By the time the priest had arrived, all of the host had been consumed by the men who went above the call of duty to rescue it, even to the point of eating dirt and grass.

A Eucharistic minister was serving at Mass one Sunday morning when a young child came up to her. He received communion very reverently, blessing himself after he had stepped to the side. However, he began to turn pale and started coughing violently. All of a sudden, he vomited in the aisle. While his mother was attending to him, the Eucharistic minister noticed the host lying in the pool of vomit. Without hesitation, she rushed over and put the host in her mouth rather than allow it to lay on the floor. She is another example of someone going beyond the call of duty out of love and reverence for our Lord present in the Eucharist.

Finally, a young woman from Korea was visiting a basilica in Rome. The magnificent architecture and beautiful paintings were very moving to her. In her heart, she felt that this was no ordinary place. Though she had not been raised with any religion, she felt as though she wanted to pray and sat in a pew behind several others who were attending Mass. As they got up to receive communion, she was moved by how reverently and piously each person received our Lord in the Eucharist. Again, she could tell that this was no ordinary ceremony or ritual. In fact, God moved in her heart so much in that moment that she decided to look into the Catholic faith and was baptized at the Easter Vigil two years later.

These stories all point to the power of faith in Jesus’ real presence in the Holy Eucharist. When Jesus says, “...my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink,” we take Him literally. When we receive Holy Communion we are truly receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is no mere symbol. It is the real thing. If it were merely a symbol, would those men have worked so desperately to get every piece of the host out of the ground to consume it? Would that woman pick a host out of a young boy’s vomit if it were only a representation of Jesus’ body? Would the young Korean woman be so moved if all the people were receiving was a dry piece of bread? Of course not. The Eucharist is truly Jesus, “the bread come down from heaven”, fulfilling His promise to be with us all days.

These stories also point to the profound love that believers have for our Lord in the Eucharist. It is a love that is so deep that they were willing to put their comfort and even their health at risk. Such a love cannot be taught. Rather, it comes from hours of prayer and meditation on the gift of the Eucharist. It comes from sitting in front of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, praising Him and contemplating His love. It comes from receiving communion as frequently as possible with a humble, contrite heart. Finally, it comes from telling others about the awesome gift we as Catholics are privileged to celebrate and receive.

In today’s world, it is common to have doubts about religious truths, especially one as profound as Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist. Sadly, Catholics are not immune to having such doubts. However, I beg all of you to not allow doubt to rob you of the wonderful gift of communion with Jesus that is offered to you at every Mass. If you have trouble believing, ask Jesus for the gift of faith. If you have trouble making sense of it all, ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of understanding. Do whatever it takes - speak to a priest, read a book - but especially pray. Whatever you do, do not deprive yourself of this incredible gift that Jesus died in order to bring to us.

Those of us who do believe and appreciate the wonderful gift of the Eucharist should support with prayer those who are searching. But we also can ask ourselves what type of an example we are to others. When we receive, do we do so with profound love and reverence? If that young Korean woman saw us receiving communion, would she know by our prayerfulness and awe that it is no mere piece of bread that we are receiving? Would anyone who saw us also want to imitate our love for Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist? These are questions which should always be on our mind during Mass as we prepare for communion. They are the questions Jesus will ask us when we stand face to face before Him at the hour of our death. Did we really love and appreciate the great gift He left us in His Body and Blood?