The Holy Eucharist: Did You Know?

We as Catholic Christians possess a great treasure. No other denomination has been given so great a gift. This treasure is the Living God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus, who is TRULY present to us in the Holy Eucharist.
Last year a Pew Poll found that 70% of Catholics and 80% of young Catholics do not believe in the Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. This weekly treatise will be an effort to delve more deeply into this “Mystery of Mysteries”.

We shall explore why the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the Eucharist as “The Living Heart of the Church” and why Vatican II pronounced the Eucharist to be “The Source and Summit of the Christian Life”.  We’ll look at the graces we receive in Holy Communion.  What happens to us when we come to Mass and receive the Sacred Host. What are the eternal promises that Christ as made to those who receive Him in this Sacrament? And we shall also examine the insights which the Saints were given into the mystic realities of the Blessed Sacrament. St. Jerome said that “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”  Perhaps ignorance of the Holy Eucharist is also ignorance of Christ….and on a most profound level. This series will hopefully enhance our love, gratitude and appreciation for this most gracious gift of Divine love.


September 19, 2021
This coming week we celebrate the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. It was upon that cross that Our Lord poured forth His blood so that we might have eternal life in Heaven. During this week we should recall this quote from St. Catherine of Siena.  “Your Blood was shed, O Christ, by the fire of love.” We cannot begin to comprehend the depth of Divine Love, which prompted Jesus to embrace His cross on Calvary. Even now we cannot comprehend the depth of His love, when He gives us His Body and Blood in the Holy Eucharist.

Reflection:  St. Teresa of Calcutta stated, “When we look upon the Cross, we know how much Jesus loved us then. When we look upon the Blessed Sacrament, we know how much He loves us now.”  On Calvary Jesus was offered on the Cross in a bloody manner to forgive our sins. He is offered at every Mass in an un-bloody manner.  Are you aware that you are at the foot of the cross at every Mass you attend?

PREVIOUS WEEKS:
September 12, 2021
Blessed Carlos Acutis, the 15 year old, first Millennial to be beatified by the Church, had a passionate love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. After receiving his First Holy Communion, he recognized that Jesus was truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.  He said, “To be always united to Jesus is my program of life.” Wise beyond his years, he also stated, “The more Eucharist we receive, the more we will become like Christ.”

Reflection:   As Catholic Christians do we recognize the importance of the Holy Eucharist in our life? Blessed Carlos couldn’t understand why there were crowds at concerts and games, but not before Jesus in the tabernacle. He said, “Find God and you will find the meaning of life.” He also said, “The real battle is with ourselves.”

September 5, 2021
St. Jean Vianney, the Cure of Ars, the patron saint of parish priests, knew the power of prayer before the tabernacle. When he first arrived in Ars after the French Revolution, his parish was in ruins. Hardly anyone attended Mass. He began to rebuild the faith of his people by first spending long hours in adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Within a few years, his sanctity had spread throughout France and he spent 18 hours a day hearing confessions. So many came to Ars that the French railroad had to build tracks to bring the pilgrims to his Church. During his priesthood it is estimated that 250,000 people were converted because of his faithful witness and his love of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. 

Reflection:  St. Jean Vianney understood the power of the Holy Eucharist. He understood the power of prayer. When we kneel in humble adoration of Our Lord after reception of the Holy Eucharist, do we also understand that our prayers are intimately heard by Jesus? St. Jean Vianney wrote, “I often think that when we come to adore Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we should obtain everything we want, if we would ask for it with a very lively faith and a very pure heart.”

August 29, 2021
When Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary and revealed to her His Sacred Heart, He said to her, “I have heard thy sighs, and the desires of thy heart are so pleasing to Me, that had I not instituted My Divine Sacrament of Love, I would do so now for love of three, so as to have the pleasure of dwelling in thy soul and of taking My loving repose in thy heart.”  Such tender, loving words from Our Lord!

Reflection: Can you imagine if Jesus was saying these words to you? When we receive Holy Communion in the state of grace and with a sincere longing to be united to Him, Our Lord is indeed saying these words to each of us as well. What joy should be ours to know that we are so loved by our God that he delights in our reception of Him in Holy Communion.

August 22, 2021
In the Holy Eucharist Christ wishes to share the Divine Life of the Blessed Trinity with the world of believers. He wishes to feed and nourish His people in a transforming union of Divine love. The graces given to us are not only meant for our personal sanctification, but are given so that we may go out and transform the world as lay people. This is our task.

Reflection: How does your intimate encounter with Christ in the Holy Eucharist change you? As a result, how do you take the treasures of grace and share them with those whom you meet in everyday life? To do so, is to be a Eucharistic people. To do so is to live the Eucharist!

August 15, 2021
“O Lord, You are as truly present under the sacramental species as You are in heaven at the right hand of the Father. Because I have and possess this great wonder, I do not long for, want, or desire any other.”  St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, a Carmelite mystic, wrote this as a confirmation of her living faith in the true Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Reflection:  Do you believe that Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist? This is a profoundly personal question. It is a question that Jesus asks you each time you approach Him to receive Holy Communion. What is your answer? Do you have or lack a living faith? Do you believe Jesus when He revealed the gift of Himself as “the Living Bread” to His disciples?  Or like some of His disciples, do you turn away and leave Him?

August 8, 2021
Have you ever seriously considered what your number one priority is in life?  Is sainthood at the top of your list? Consider the importance of that being your primary goal because that goal will last for an eternity. We have only two permanent destinations once we leave this earthly life: Heaven or Hell.  By the choices we make every day, we choose exactly where we shall spend our eternity.

We can only comprehend the importance of our choice in the light of Divine Wisdom. As St. Pope John Paul II wrote, “Be a person for whom the Holy Mass, Communion and Eucharistic Adoration are the center and summit of your whole life.”
 
Reflection:  By centering your life with faithful love and devotion on the mystery of the Holy Eucharist, you will assure your choice for Heaven. Why not make that decision today as you receive Jesus in Holy Communion? Ask Him for the grace to desire Him above everything else. He will be so pleased to grant you those graces necessary to achieve your goal.

August 1, 2021
Upon entering the Church are you aware of the angels who are present to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 335) teaches us that at each Mass we participate with angels to adore the Blessed Trinity. 

One of the titles of the Holy Eucharist is “the Bread of angels". Yet several saints have said that if angels could be jealous of men, they would be so because we can receive the Blessed Sacrament and they cannot. So the above title refers to the fact that upon reception of the Holy Eucharist, we can emulate the holiness of angels since Jesus fills us with an abundance of His grace and a share in His Divine Life.

Reflection:  When we are sinners, how can we fulfill the command of Jesus to “be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”?  It is possible only because of the Holy Eucharist, where Jesus transforms us into Himself.  In the Blessed Sacrament we become “one body and one spirit in Christ.” (1 Cor. 12: 12-13)

July 25, 2021
Are you aware of the fact that at every Mass we are in the presence of saints and angels who are united with us in the Heavenly Liturgy of worship, praise and thanksgiving to God? (CCC 1326)
As a result, when we participate in the Mass and receive Holy Communion,  we become connected to the entire Mystical Body of Christ.  This Mystical Body includes the Church Militant (those of us living), the Church Suffering (those departed souls in Purgatory) and the Church triumphant (those in Heaven).

Reflection:  By each reception of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament we participate more perfectly in the Heavenly Liturgy and are able to intercede for our loved ones in the Mystical Body of Christ. By doing so we are able to perfect God’s Divine Plan for peace and salvation. In this way we each play an important part in God’s plans for humanity.

July 18, 2021
“Each time you approach the Blessed Sacrament remember that Jesus has been waiting for you for 20 centuries.”  So wrote St. Josemaria Escriva .  Christ desires, longs for and waits for each of us to receive Him worthily and lovingly with reverence and devotion. St. Theresa of Calcutta used to equate Christ’s final words on the Cross of “I thirst”, as the thirst that He has for each soul to know, love and adore Him. We cannot quench that thirst more intimately in life than in our reception of the Holy Eucharist.

Reflection:    Jesus told St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, “I have a burning thirst to be honored by men in the Blessed Sacrament.”  Upon receiving Holy Communion recall with humility that you have the Living God within you. Do you also thirst for union with Him ?

July 11, 2021
The source of our Life, Faith, Charity and Virtue are all contained in the Holy Eucharist. Why? Simply because CHRIST is the source of all that is good, true, pure and beautiful.
St. Peter Julian Eymard stated, “Let us never forget that an age prospers or dwindles in proportion to its devotion to the Eucharist. This is the measure of its spiritual life.”

Reflection:   The evils, turmoil, injustices, violence and ugliness which permeate our world can trace their roots back to a lack of love, reverence, prayer and respect for God. As our society embraces a more pagan lifestyle, the only sure source of recourse can be found in a return to the worship of God. God does not need our worship, but we humans certainly need to worship Him. And knowing this, Jesus is there waiting for us in the tabernacle of every Catholic Church and in every Communion Host.


July 4, 2021
Consider that when we receive Holy Communion we are receiving not only the Body of Christ in the Sacred Host, but also Christ’s Most Precious Blood.  The Eucharist is the whole Christ. It is His Body, His Blood, His Soul and His Divinity….and thus He gives His all to us.
July is dedicated to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. St. John Vianney wrote, “Upon receiving Holy Communion, the adorable Blood of Jesus Christ really flows in our veins and His Flesh is really blended with ours.” The graces which are available to us upon the reception of Holy Communion are limitless.

Reflection:  Each drop of Christ’s Precious Blood contains our salvation, our joy and our invitation to an abundance of grace. After each reception of Holy Communion may our hearts, minds and souls be open to receive this sacred treasure of Divine Love.

June 27, 2021
Will you allow God to love you? You were made for intimacy with Him. In the Blessed Sacrament we have the earthly fulfillment of intimacy with Christ and the foretaste of the wedding feast of Heaven. St. Teresa of Calcutta taught that, “The Heart of Jesus is an open heart. Spend your time there.”

Reflection:  As summer vacation time approaches, why not consider spending some time resting in the Sacred Heart of Jesus?  The Church is open for adoration daily. Stop in for a visit and spend some time delighting Jesus in the tabernacle with your presence. Allow Him to love you….to fill your hunger for God.

June 20, 2021
The Church teaches in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that the Holy Eucharist is “the LIVING HEART of the Church”.  Therefore, when we receive Holy Communion we are receiving the living Sacred Heart of Jesus. But Jesus is a gentleman and will never force us to be aware of His Presence in the Sacred Host.
In his book, “Fire Within”, Father Thomas Dubay writes, “God bestows a more or less depth of Communion with Himself according to our degree of readiness for it. It depends upon our own receptiveness.” (p. 114)

Reflection:  If you find that receiving Holy Communion has become a dry routine for you, consider how you are approaching the Living God in the hidden humility of the small, white, consecrated Host. What is your degree of receptiveness to the fullness of LOVE that you have just received?

June 13, 2021
Why do you come to Mass?  Do you come because it is a Church requirement? Do you come for the homily? Do you come for the music? Perhaps you come for the fellowship?  The Church teaches that the preeminent reason to come to Mass is the HOLY EUCHARIST.
We celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus this month.  When Christ appeared to St. Margaret Mary and revealed to her His Sacred Heart, He said, “Behold the heart which has so loved mankind and is so little loved in return.”
In the Holy Eucharist, we possess this living Sacred Heart of Jesus. He gives Himself totally to us heart to heart. In order to receive this Heart worthily, we must have a desire for union with Him. All true love ardently desires union.

Reflection: Do you desire union with Christ when you receive Holy Communion?  Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen wrote, “The highest unity in the Divine order is the unity of the soul and Christ in Communion.”  What an ineffable treasure we possess as Catholics.

June 6, 2021
St. Thomas Aquinas is one of the greatest and most brilliant minds in the roster of the saints. He was chosen to write the liturgy for the Feast of Corpus Christi, the feast we celebrate today. When he finished writing his treatise about the Holy Eucharist in his “Summa Theologia”, he was upset. He felt that he had not done justice to the subject. So he took his manuscript and placed it in front of the tabernacle and asked for God’s help. In prayer he heard a voice say, “You have written well of me, Thomas. What would you have as a reward?”  The saint replied, “Only YOU, Lord.”

Reflection:  St. Thomas understood that to possess the Divine intimacy of God, is to possess heaven. It is to possess everything.
Each of us is so deeply loved by God that we too are called to possess God in the sublime intimacy of the Holy Eucharist. After reception of Holy Communion, we are literally in Christ’s heavenly embrace. Are we aware of this, as we return to our pews to pray with recollection? As St. Augustine commented in his “Confessions”, “You were with me, Lord, but I was not with you.”

May 30, 2021
The Second Vatican Council called the Blessed Sacrament “the Sacrament of transforming intimacy”.  When we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, He pours forth graces upon us like a bubbling, inexhaustible fountain. Bishop Robert Barron describes this as “an intoxication of grace”. The purpose of this is to bring us into a closer union with Christ. As we become more like Jesus, the Heavenly Father recognizes in us the image of His Divine Son. The Holy Spirit, who sanctifies us, rejoices. To be filled with this grace is to share in the Divine Life of the Blessed Trinity.   
Reflection:  This “intoxication of grace” is the joy of the Holy Spirit. It is a personal foretaste of the heavenly banquet to which we are called. Each worthy reception of Holy Communion prepares us for a more profound experience of the glorious Beatific Vision of the Blessed Trinity, which we shall share with the angels and saints for all eternity.

May 23, 2021
The Blessed Mother conceived the Infant Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is also by the power of the Holy Spirit that our priests are able to consecrate the bread and wine at Mass into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus. Therefore through the Holy Spirit, the priests give us the Holy Eucharist.

The Holy Spirit is the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity.  This “Spiritus Sanctus” is the Love between the Heavenly Father and His Beloved Son, Jesus. The Father is the Creator. The Son is the Redeemer. The Holy Spirit is the Sanctifier. This Third Divine Person is the one who enables the sanctification of our souls. He does this in the most perfect way by enabling the priest to give us Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist.

Reflection:  Spend some time on Pentecost Sunday thanking the Holy Spirit for His great gifts of grace, which make us holy. Especially thank Him for making the Holy Eucharist possible from the very first Mass on Holy Thursday to the current Mass we are attending today.

May 16, 2021
When the priest, deacon or Eucharistic minister says, “THE BODY OF CHRIST” as we approach to receive Holy Communion, what does our “AMEN” mean?  That word is our consent.  We indeed affirm that we do believe that we are about to receive the true, physical and living resurrected Body of Jesus. 
It is also our commitment to be and to bring Jesus to others.  It is to take what we have been given and then give it as a gift in service to those whose lives we touch.

Reflection:  As we receive the sublime gift of Holy Communion, how do we take this gift and use these graces in our daily lives? We do this by bringing the living Christ into the lives of those with whom we live and work each day. Our sanctification is in our daily duty. The Holy Eucharist
enables us to do this with grace and love.

May 9, 2021
Do you know what the word “viaticum” means?  Viaticum refers to the last Holy Communion that a person is able to receive before departing this earthly life.  St. Thomas Aquinas defines viaticum as “food for the journey”.  It is Jesus journeying with the soul and accompanying the person on their journey into eternity. 

Reflection:   What a great comfort!  Imagine having the presence of Jesus with us as we die. Usually viaticum is given by the priest during the Sacrament of the Sick. It can also be given to the person outside of the Sacrament of the Sick by a deacon or Eucharistic minister. Being able to give that grace to a loved one is a gift beyond measure. Never hesitate to offer this treasure of grace to a loved one by calling the rectory. It is your gift of love to them for all eternity.

May 2, 2021
St. John Paul II wrote in his encyclical, “Ecclesia de Eucharistica”, that “The Eucharist is Christ’s presence par excellence….that the completeness and substantive presence of Jesus is unmatched.” St. Thomas Aquinas agrees in his “Summa Theologica”. He writes that in relation to the other sacraments, the Holy Eucharist “is greater than all others and perfects them.”  This is because in Holy Communion we have the LIVING PERSON of Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity.

Reflection:  Consider taking a few thoughtful moments when you are approaching the Lord to receive Him in Holy Communion. How aware are you of not WHAT, but WHOM you are about to receive in your outstretched hand?

April 25, 2021
The gift of the Holy Eucharist is precious beyond measure. Here is an insight into one aspect of the treasure of the Blessed Sacrament from St. Maximillian Kolbe, the martyr of Auschwitz. St. Maximillian volunteered to die in the place of a married prisoner in a starvation bunker.

What gives anyone such selfless courage? “You come to me and unite Yourself intimately to me under the form of nourishment. Your Blood now runs in mine.  Your Soul, Incarnate God, compenetrates mine, giving courage and support”. (St. Maximillian Kolbe)

Relfection:  We can only begin to understand in some small manner, the Divine power which is present to us in the Blessed Sacrament.  St. Maximillian was given the grace of martyrdom and attributed this strength directly to the Holy Eucharist,
Why not return to Mass each Sunday to receive the true physical presence of the Jesus in the Holy Eucharist? We are all in great need of this spiritual nourishment, as we each bear our individual crosses in life.

April 18, 2021
“We have Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, but our poor eyes fail to see him. Let us once become interior souls and we shall immediately see Him.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard.)  This statement is a challenge! Are we daring enough to “enter our interior room”? To do this is to enter into silence. With all of the noise of the world whirling about us constantly and pressing in upon us, can we take the time for silent prayer? Can we be alone with God?

Reflection:  Please consider this to be an invitation to enter into the interior sanctuary of Jesus Eucharistic. This is a request to spend quiet time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. This is an inspiration from the Holy Spirit for us to rest in the living Heart of Christ in prayer and in peace.
When we receive Holy Communion Jesus is intimately present to us. What precious moments are given to us.  Do not waste them.

April 11, 2021 Sunday of Divine Mercy
Take a moment to find the image of Jesus, The Divine Mercy, displayed in our Church. This image was painted at the request of Our Lord. It depicts a vison of Christ as He appeared to St. Faustina. The vision shows red and white streams of light emanating from His Heart. As Jesus hung on the cross, a soldier pierced His side and immediately blood and water poured forth. The image shows these red beams, which denote the Precious Blood and the white beams, which denote the waters of Baptism.
In another vision, St. Faustina saw these same beams of heavenly red and white light, but this time they were coming from the Holy Eucharist and enveloping the entire world.
This indicates that the flow of merciful graces from Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament pours forth from His Heart and envelops all. 

Reflection:  Jesus asked that beneath the image of The Divine Mercy the words, “Jesus, I trust in You.” should be written. He promised that the more a soul trusted in His Mercy, the more He would give to the soul. He revealed to St. Faustina that the greatest attribute of God is MERCY.

When we receive the Holy Eucharist, how much to de trust that Christ is truly present to us as an intimate, personal and loving friend? Jesus assures us in the Divine Mercy of the Holy Eucharist that He is Love and Mercy incarnate.  Take time after the reception of Holy Communion to be with Him in grateful prayer.

April 4, 2021, Easter
ALLELULIA!  “Our Sacramental Lord will comfort us in life, sustain us in death and show us His unveiled beauty in eternity.” (Blessed Crescentia of Kaufbeuren)

Reflection:  Each time that we receive Holy Communion we receive the Risen Lord.  The word “EUCHARIST” means “THANKSGIVING”.  As Christ has given Himself totally to us, let us give Him what is best in ourselves: our whole heart, whole mind and whole soul. The purpose of the Holy Eucharist is a sacred TRANSFORMATION i.e. that we may be transformed into Christ.