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.

Recently, 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.

March 26, 2023
This week’s theme: The Consolation of the Eucharist
We read the glorious miracle of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead today. (John 11:1-45) How deeply touching are the words that “Jesus wept” upon learning that Lazarus, His friend, had died. We know that each of us must experience the profound sadness of some loss in life: the death of a loved one, a suffering of illness, a disappointment in family life, etc. We know that Our Lord weeps with us as well. He has not left us alone in our sorrows but gives us the great consolation of the Holy Eucharist. Through this gift of Himself, Our Lord accompanies us through all of our bitter trials throughout life to the very moment of our own death.

Reflection:  One saint who understood the consolation of Holy Communion was Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani. This 19^th century Benedictine sister had a passionate love for Jesus Eucharistic. She kept a beautiful diary entitled “The Mystical garden of the soul that loves Jesus and Mary”.  She was beatified by St. Pope John Paull II in 2001. As she lay dying, Blessed Maria dragged herself from her death bed to attend one last Mass. Shortly after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, she died. Blessed Maria obviously knew that the greatest consolation of all could be found only in one place: upon the bosom of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.


PREVIOUS WEEKS:
March 19, 2023
This week’s theme: Seeing the Reality of the True Presence
Today’s Gospel is the story of the man born blind and the miracle of Jesus restoring his sight. (John 9:1-41) We know that many Catholics no longer believe in the real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. Sadly, the majority (70% by the latest Pew Poll) believe that the Holy Eucharist is only a symbol.
Interestingly many Protestant Pentecostal preachers are beginning to believe in the true Presence. Benny Hinn, a Pentecostal healing evangelist publicly stated, “More people are healed in a Catholic church than Pentecostal churches. That’s an absolute fact…. because Catholic people revere the Eucharist. Jesus didn’t say, “This is a symbol of my body.”  He said, “This is my body.” (See “National Catholic Register” February 22, 2023  “What Does Eucharistic Revival Look Like?” by Mary Healy.)

Reflection:  Are you one of the Catholics who is blind to the true Prescence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Do you think that you are receiving only a symbol, when you receive Holy Communion? Is the story of the blind man in today’s Gospel a reflection on your lack of belief?
Why not in humility ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you when you next receive Holy Communion? St. Teresa of Avila stated that all of her greatest spiritual experiences occurred after the reception of the Holy Eucharist. God loves you and can give you the gift of Faith in His divine Eucharistic Prescence. If you sincerely ask Him in prayer, you too will see.

March 12, 2023
This week’s theme: Thirst
The focus in today’s gospel is on the Samaritan woman at the well. (John 4: 5-42) We find Jesus asking the Samaritan woman to give Him a drink of water. As the story progresses Jesus has the occasion to say to her, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying this to you, …you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. Whoever drinks the water that I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Reflection:  This “living water” is a share in the Divine Life of the Blessed Trinity i.e., Grace. We are never more fully alive than when we are in the state of grace and sharing in the eternal life of the Trinity. When we receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, He quenches our thirst by filling us with sanctifying grace.
If we are not in the state of grace because of mortal (serious) sin, we should not receive Holy Communion until we have received the sacrament of Penance (confession). Lent is the perfect time to return to this sacrament of peace and reconciliation. If you’ve been away from the Church, consider a return.  Peace and grace will flood your soul with joy.

March 5, 2023
This week’s theme: A Taste of Transcendence.
We read in today’s gospel (Matthew 17:1-9) the wonderous story of Christ’s Transfiguration. Here Our Lord lifts the veil of His human nature and reveals to his disciples (and to us) a vision of the glorified reality of His divine nature. It is an insight into the hypostatic union: the truth that Jesus is truly both human and divine. God the Father is heard saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”

Reflection:  The Transfiguration is one of the Luminous Mysteries of the Holy Rosary. In his reflection on this mystery, Bishop Robert Barron asks how this mystery can relate to us. He mentions that this glorious transformation of Jesus, who appears radiant with the brilliant light of divine holiness, reminds us that we too are called to become true sons and daughters of God the Father. We too are called to holiness. We too are called to share in the life of the Blessed Trinity: the life of grace. We too are called to union with God for all eternity.
The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the most powerful means by which we can achieve this sanctification. Christ gives Himself totally to us in Holy Communion. We, in return, should give ourselves totally to Him:  allowing ourselves to be open to receive the fullness of the Divine Life, which Jesus so greatly desires to share with us.

February 26, 2023
This week’s theme:  Overcoming the Trials of Life
Today we begin our journey into Lent. Our readings take us with Jesus for 40 days into the desert. (Matthew 4: 1-11) Here Jesus is tempted by Satan. Christ teaches us how to overcome temptations as He suffered the physical trials of hunger and thirst. In obedience and fidelity to His heavenly Father, Jesus demonstrates how we too can persevere through the trials and temptations of life. We must depend totally on God.

Reflection:  There is a little-known saint who demonstrates how the Holy Eucharist can assist us to overcome temptations during great trials. St. Alice of Schaerbeek was a young woman who suffered from leprosy. She was confined for life to a small hut for fear that others would contract her disease.
How did she overcome the many temptations which must have afflicted her during her life? These are her words,” The Eucharist removes my pains, my cares…. (It) warms, cheers, soothes, contents and renews my whole being.”  
Why not make a commitment this Lent to spend some time in prayer before Jesus in His Sacrament of Divine Love? There is no better way to grow closer to Him this Lent than to spend time with Him.

February 19, 2023
This week’s theme: Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Today’s Mass readings exhort us to “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”.  The perfection that is referred to here is that we love our neighbor with the very love of God. In order to achieve this, we need the virtue of humility. We are unable to achieve perfection without understanding that it is God’s grace which accomplishes all virtues within us. By ourselves, we are unable to achieve anything.

Reflection:  St. Faustina, the saint of Divine Mercy, displayed her humility in these words, “Whatever good is within me is due to the Holy Eucharist.” She recognized that it was Christ in the Blessed Sacrament who supplied every grace necessary for her to achieve any goodness in her life.

February 12, 2023
This week’s theme: The Gift of Faith
The readings this Sunday emphasize obedience to God’s Commandments. In order to embrace and live the Commandments, we need God’s grace. This grace is given through the gift of Faith, which we so often take for granted.
 St. Josephine Bakhita is a stunning example. As a young child Josephine was kidnapped from Sudan, sold into slavery and tortured. At age 21, she was bought by a kind family from Italy. There she was exposed to Catholicism, converted and joined the Canossian Sisters. St. Josephine spent many hours in Eucharistic Adoration. When one sister asked her how she could spend so many hours in Eucharistic Adoration, St. Josephine replied. “Our Lord has always been so good to me….If I were to stay on my knees for my entire life, I still would not be able to express my gratitude sufficiently.”

Reflection:  What are the graces which God has showered upon you? Has He enabled you to stive to live the Commandments by pouring out His grace upon you through the gift of the Catholic Faith?   Like St. Bakhita, why not spend some quiet time on your knees in adoration for your gift of Faith.

February 5, 2023
This week’s theme: The Secret of the Gift.
Jesus encourages us to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” in today’s Gospel. (Matthew 5:13-16) It is the Holy Eucharist which enables us to live these commands. Here in the Eucharist, we find an abundance of strength. Here we find the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which compels us “to give the gift that we’ve been given as a gift.”

Reflection: St. Pope John Paul II wrote of the “secret of the gift”. This secret is the selfless giving of ourselves to others.  Caryll Houselander summed up this concept perfectly with the words,  “Love is only given in man’s gift of himself.” Only through the power of the Holy Eucharist is the grace given for us to live a life of true sacrifice for others. In so doing we become the radiant light of God’s love at work in this darkened world.

January 29, 2023
We read The Beatitudes from Matthew 5:1-12 for our Gospel today. These are Our Lord’s teachings on how to both be happy in this life and in the next. If you are seeking peace, live the Beatitudes. One of them deals with meekness. Meekness in this sense is synonymous with humility. In order to believe that Jesus is truly present to us in the Holy Eucharist and is not just a symbol, we must cultivate the virtue of humility.

Reflection:  Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto thine own. Let us see You in your profound humility in the fragility of the small, white consecrated Host.
We know that St. Thomas Aquinas wrote the “Lauda Sion Salvatorem” in the 13^th century to celebrate that every particle of the consecrated Host and every drop in the consecrated chalice contains the TOTAL presence of Christ. During that time period many erroneous ideas about the Holy Eucharist were rampant. Does that echo again in today’s world?

January 22, 2023
This week’s theme: In the Beginning was the Word
This Sunday we celebrate a relatively new Feast: The Sunday of the Word of God. The emphasis is on celebrating the sacred Scriptures. Recall that the words of Scripture are the words of Jesus. When we spend time with the words of Scripture, we are also spending time with Jesus, who is the Incarnate Word of God.

Reflection:  St. Jerome wrote, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Let us not be ignorant of Jesus by not recognizing Him in both the Sacred Scriptures and in the reality of His Divine Prescence in the Holy Eucharist. In the Scriptures Christ is there to teach us in His words. In the Eucharist He is there Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity to nourish and sanctify us.

January 15, 2023
This week’s theme: Jesus, the Lamb of God
Today’s Gospel is from John 1:29-34. Here we see St. John the Baptist proclaim that Jesus is the Lamb of God. “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Jews of that day wouldn’t fail to recognize the connection that John was making between the Passover Lamb, who was sacrificed to atone for sin and Jesus, the innocent, spotless victim who would be sacrificed on the Cross for our salvation.

Reflection:  During the Mass just before we receive Holy Communion, we hear these words, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are we who are called to His supper.” The Church echoes the words of John to recall the great sacrifice which Christ has made for us to atone for our sinfulness. But it also asks us to rejoice that we are called to receive Him in Holy Communion in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
As Catholic Christians we are blessed beyond telling to so intimately be united to Our Lord, as we are,  when we receive Him in Holy Communion.

January 8, 2023
This week’s theme:  Jesus reveals Himself to the Gentiles
When the Wise Men traveled from afar to find the newborn King of the Jews, the first thing they did, upon finding Him, was to adore Him. The brought Him precious gifts and rejoiced at being able to be in His presence.

Reflection:  Did you know that adoration literally means “mouth to mouth”? Do you adore Jesus when you receive Him in Holy Communion via your mouth? In the Song of Songs there is a verse (1:2) which says, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.” Jesus Himself is the kiss. In the Eucharist He will speak uniquely to you most lovingly, if you listen to Him in the depths of your heart.
 As the Wise Men brought Him gifts, bring Him the gift of your heart and as they rejoiced in finding Him, rejoice in His Presence to you in Holy Communion.

January 1, 2023
This week’s theme:  Our Lady and the Blessed Sacrament
Father Martingnetti, the head of Campus Ministry at Ave Maria University wrote, “I personally believe that Our Lady is the best one to teach us Eucharistic reverence.  Consider how tenderly she held and loved Our Lord especially in His infancy. Imitate her gentle, loving reverence at every Mass when you come forward to receive Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Reflection:   Welcome Jesus when you receive Him in Holy Communion and ask that you may receive Him with all the love, adoration, humility, praise, thanksgiving and reverence of Our Blessed Mother’s heart. Imagine the joy with which she received her Divine Son in Holy Communion from the Apostles.

December 25, 2022
This week’s theme: Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to men of goodwill.
“Gloria in excelsis Deo” (Glory to God in the highest.) are the words sung by the choirs of angels to welcome the birth of the Infant Jesus. (Luke 2: 14) May we give joyful praise and thanksgiving together with the angels for the gift of our salvation: our Infant King.

Reflection: The ANGELS PROCLAIMED GOOD NEWS OF GREAT JOY! Today we find Him not in the manger, but in every tabernacle throughout the world. May the Infant Jesus always bring you an abundance of His peace and joy, as you receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. A Blessed Christmas to all!

December 18, 2022
This week’s theme: Trust
St. Joseph trusts in God’s mysterious plan for salvation in today’s Gospel. (Matthew 1:18-24) Joseph came to believe that Mary had conceived her Child through the power of the Holy Spirit. St. Joseph therefore took Mary into his home with Faith.

Reflection:  We too are called to trust as St. Joseph did. Do you trust that it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is present to you in the consecrated Host? How strong is your Faith in the Word of God i.e., Jesus, the LIVING WORD?

December 11, 2022
This week’s theme: Doubt
In today’s Gospel John the Baptist has his doubts about Jesus. He sends his disciples to ask Our Lord, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”

Reflection:  Do you doubt the real, substantial Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? In humility ask Our Lord today after you receive Him in Holy Communion to reveal His loving Presence to you. Do you doubt His love for you, as you gaze upon the crucifix?  Do you doubt His desire to come to dwell in the very depths of your heart, as you approach Him in the Holy Eucharist?

December 4, 2022
This week’s theme: Are we ready to receive Him?
St. Teresa of Calcutta wrote, “Are we ready to receive Him? Before the birth of Jesus, His parents asked for a simple dwelling place, but there was none. If Mary and Joseph were looking for a home for Jesus, would they choose YOUR heart, and all it holds? Let us pray that we shall be able to welcome Jesus at Christmas.”
Reflection:  Are you ready to receive Jesus today in Holy Communion? He comes to dwell in your heart in a most personal and intimate way when you receive Him. Spend some minutes after each Holy Communion in humble reflection and in thanksgiving. Talk to Jesus heart to Heart. Give Him the gift of your presence since He is truly present to you.

November 27, 2022
This week’s theme:  Stay awake to Whom is Present in the Eucharist
As we begin Advent, our Mass readings emphasis the necessity of staying awake to the realities of the spiritual. As we begin our preparation for the Birth of Christ, let us strive to be more conscious of the great gift of the Incarnation: the hypostatic union of God and man in Jesus. Let us also “stay awake” whenever we receive Holy Communion and realize who is truly present to us in the consecrated Host.
Reflection: This Advent as we approach the altar to receive Holy Communion, let us take time and try to prepare for the reception of this sublime gift. Let us try to grow in goodness and grace during Advent. The Blessed Sacrament is after all the of the continuation of the Incarnation among us. In the words of St. Ephraem, “We have the chalice of your Precious Blood, filled with life and light. The purer we are, the more we receive.”

November 20, 2022
This week’s theme:  Christ, Our Eucharistic King of the Universe
Today we celebrate the Feast of Christ the King of the Universe. It is good to recall that we “…were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the precious blood of Christ.” (1 PT 1:18-19). He is the Beginning and the End of all that is created. Everything has been created through Him, for Him and in Him. All majesty, all thanksgiving and all glory are His.

Reflection: We know that Our Blessed Mother promised the three children of Fatima that “In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” What will be the Triumph of Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart? It will be the Reign of Jesus’ Sacred Eucharistic Heart. For thus all nations will adore His Divine Presence in the Holy Eucharist.  Peace and harmony will then flourish, and mankind will truly become united in the Kingdom of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
November 13, 2022
This week’s theme:  The  Eucharistic Prince of Peace
In today’s Gospel from St. Luke 21:5-19 Jesus speaks of the end times. This is an appropriate reading since we are approaching the end of the liturgical year and begin to anticipate Advent later this month.
The prophetic words that Jesus speaks today can be very troubling. However, we should not give in to fear. As St. Padre Pio wrote, “Always remain close to the Catholic Church, because it alone can give you true peace, since it alone posses Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the true Prince of Peace.”

Reflection: To have true peace of heart, mind, body and soul is to possess an intimate personal relationship with Our Lord. We can find no easier pathway to peace than in the reverent reception of the truly present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ,  which Jesus lovingly offers to us in His Blessed Sacrament.

November 6, 2022
This week’s theme: The Eucharist and the Transcendent
Our Lord teaches us in today’s Gospel that in Heaven we shall live “like angels” and “be children of God”.
(Luke 20:27-38) Our Lord gives us the opportunity to worthily receive Him in the Blessed Sacrament so that we may already here on Earth share in “the foretaste and the promise of the Pascal Feast of Heaven.”
St Jean Vianney wrote that if “The angels could envy us one thing, it would be our ability to receive Jesus in Holy Communion.”

Reflection:  We should always keep in mind that there is a transcendent aspect present in the seven Sacraments. There is both the imminent and the transcendent present.  In the Holy Eucharist the imminent is the Sacred, consecrated Host which we see, touch and consume. The transcendent is what lies beyond our senses in the spiritual realm yet is just as real.  We should be open to an encounter with that transcendence.  The spiritual intimacy and love which Christ offers us, when we are in union with Him after Holy Communion, has a heavenly aspect which can lead us to a more profound experience of the reality of the spiritual.
As Bishop Robert Barron stated, we should strive to, “Treasure the transcendent”.

October 30, 2022
This week’s theme:  The Precious Blood of Jesus and the Holy Souls in Purgatory
St. Gertrude the Great was given the following prayer by God in a mystical vision. She was told that it would release many souls from Purgatory.  “Eternal Father, I offer You the Most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with all of the Masses said throughout the world this day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.”
Please note that it is the Blood of Christ and the Holy Mass, which is so efficacious that souls will be released from their suffering and gain the glory of heaven.

Reflection: This coming week on November 2^nd we officially remember our dearly beloved departed family members and friends. We should strive to pray for them during Mass and ask that Our Lord’s Most Precious Blood in the Holy Eucharist gain for them the joys of heaven.

October 23, 2022
This week’s theme:  Bearing Good Fruit
Today’s Gospel calls us to repentance and reminds us of the barren fig tree. (Luke 13: 1-9) Here we find a wonderful example of God’s merciful patience with each of us. The Holy Spirit is the sanctifier of our souls. Have you ever considered how patient God is in working within each soul to bring us to salvation? In order to produce “good fruit”, we need to become more Christlike. The Holy Eucharist was given to us by Our Lord to accomplish this transformation.

Reflection:  St. Peter Julian Eymard wrote, “Jesus has prepared not just one Host, but one for everyday of our life. The Hosts are ready. Let us not forfeit even one of them.” This saint understood the great value of Holy Communion. He knew that the principal fruit of receiving Holy Communion is our intimate union with Christ.
Through this union Jesus enables us to produce the good fruits of a Christian life including the practice of  the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy.

October 16, 2022
This week’s theme:  Prayer and Faith in the Holy Eucharist
Jesus exhorts us in the Gospel this week not to lose Faith and to continue to pray always. (Luke 18:1-8). Our Lord closes this parable of the widow and the unjust judge with the words, “And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?” Such a sad statement!

Reflection:  We know that the Pew Pole has documented that only 30% of Catholics believe in the true Presence of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Some do not understand that the Mass is the most intense encounter between us and Our Lord that is possible this side of heaven. Some have never developed a personal relationship with Christ. To do this, prayer is needed. How important is prayer to you? St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “Love to pray. Prayer enlarges the heart until it is capable of containing God’s gift of Himself.”

October 9, 2022
This week’s theme: Profound Appreciation
The familiar story in today’s Gospel of Jesus healing the ten lepers (Luke 17: 11-19) gives us an insight into how profoundly thankful we should be for all our blessings. And as Catholic Christians we should be especially thankful for the Holy Eucharist.  Just as one leper returned to give praise, honor, worship and thanksgiving to Jesus for having healed him, so should we too do the same.

Reflection:  The story is told of Bishop Sheen’s travels with a Protestant Minister on a bus. As they passed a Catholic Church, Bishop Sheen made the sign of the Cross. The Minister asked him why. Bishop Sheen explained that the Church’s tabernacle contained the Living Presence of Jesus. The Minister responded, “If I believed what you believe, I would enter that church, prostrate myself and never stop adoring Christ.”
What is your response after your reception of Holy Communion, since Jesus has just come to dwell within your very being with His healing, merciful, loving graces?

October 2, 2022
This week’s theme:  Holy Communion: The Source of Our Goodness
We celebrate the Feast Day of St. Faustina, the Apostle of Divine Mercy, this coming week on October 5^th. She had a great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Faustina attributed everything that was good in her soul to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. She wrote in her diary, “Whatever is good within me is because of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

Reflection:  Reflect upon the last words of today’s Gospel from Luke 17:10, “So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say ‘We are worthless slaves; we have only done what we ought to have done.”  We can appreciate why St. Faustina attributed everything positive and good to Jesus Eucharistic. Because of the Incarnation an abundance of grace flows to us. Whatever we accomplish as followers of Christ is due to that grace.  It is God’s grace which enables us to live our lives and become Christ to others.

September 25, 2022
This week’s theme: The Importance of Receiving Holy Communion
There are two different saints quoted here this week.
St. Teresa of Calcutta taught, “We must not separate ourselves from The Eucharist. The moment we do so, something shatters.” St. John Vianney penned, “Not to go to Communion is like someone dying of thirst beside a spring.”
Reflection:  Both saints are emphasizing the tremendous value of the worthy reception of Jesus in Holy Communion.  What is “shattering” is the precious, loving bond of grace between us and our Loving God. We spiritually die by choosing to live apart from God, when we chose serious sin. To receive Jesus worthily, we must be in the state of grace with no serious, mortal sin unconfessed. When was the last time you received the sacrament of penance? Why not come home to the loving embrace of Jesus, who is passionately longing for you to return to Him?

September 18, 2022
This week’s theme: Battle Fatigue
There was a recent news story about some in the secular media calling the Holy Rosary an instrument of violence and terrorism against society. A Catholic artist published a cartoon showing a caricature of “Dirty Harry”, who was holding a rosary up to a cowering figure of Satan with the caption, “Go ahead. Make my day!”.
YES indeed! The rosary is our weapon for the battle against evil, as was proclaimed by Our Blessed Mother, St. Pio and Pope St. John Paul II among many other saints.

Reflection:  Are you praying the rosary daily? Perhaps what is needed is a spark to light our hearts on fire with a love for Our Lady and her daily rosary request for world peace. If you need some inspiration, please consider the words of St. John Damascene, “The Eucharist is a fire which inflames us.” Why not turn to Jesus in prayer after Holy Communion and ask for this grace, which will so please His Mother.

September 11, 2022
This week’s theme: Adoration and Prayers for the World
We are all familiar with the parable of the Lost Son in today’s Gospel. (Luke 15: 1-32)
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could reach out and touch each lost soul with Divine grace and cause them to return to the arms of Our Loving Heavenly Father?

Reflection:  Are you aware that Jesus made such a promise to St. Faustina, as recorded in her writings, “The Diary of Saint Faustina”? He promised that for every hour a person spends in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, He would give a grace to EACH SOUL in the WORLD!
Pope St. John Paul II confirms this outpouring of Christ’s Mercy in the Holy Eucharist. He wrote, “Anyone who prays to the Savior (before the Blessed Sacrament) draws the whole world with hm and raises it to God.”  When was the last time that you stopped in for a visit to Jesus Eucharistic present to us and for us in the tabernacle of every Catholic church?

September 4, 2022

This week’s theme: The tender graces of the Eucharist
“If I can give you any advice, I beg you to get closer to the Eucharist and to Jesus. We must pray to Jesus to give us that tenderness of the Eucharist.” St. Teresa of Calcutta

Reflection:  In today’s Gospel Luke 14:25-33 we see Jesus using the image of constructing a tower and the calculations that are needed to accomplish the task. This is a symbol of how we need to prepare to accomplish the task of following Jesus in our lives.
Where can we find the riches of grace, which will enable us to do this?  St. Teresa’s quote above answers that question: It is in the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus.  To live the Gospel, we must have a true tenderness of heart towards others. Recently Father McHugh gave a homily at daily Mass. He described the Christian Faith as being “an interior Faith from the heart”.  i.e. What pours out from our hearts generates our actions.
As Blessed Pope Paul VI commented, “Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the LIVING HEART of each of our parishes.” Currently we especially need to recognize that Christ is truly present to us in the tabernacle to teach us love, kindness , compassion and tenderness of heart to all whom we meet each day.