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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.
PREVIOUS WEEKS:
March 10, 2024
We hear in today’s Gospel reading (John 3:14-21) the very famous scriptural quote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” This is a teaching on the Incarnation.
Bishop Barron commented on the Incarnation of Jesus taking on our human flesh, while still retaining his Godhead. (i.e. the mystery of the Hypostatic Union: Jesus is BOTH God and man.} He quotes from St. Thomas Aquinas that “The Incarnation is the purest indication of God’s goodness. God moves towards us and He becomes the other with love.”
Reflection: The Holy Eucharist is only possible because of the Incarnation. The consecrated Host is the continuation of the Incarnation among us. By giving us His living Prescence in Holy Communion, God moves intimately towards us with profound love. And because it is the nature of love to seek union, Jesus becomes one with us in love in the Holy Eucharist.
March 3, 2024
In today’s Gospel (John 2:13-25) Jesus uses a prophetic symbol. He refers to the future of the resurrection of His body after being laid in the tomb for three days. He tells the temple priests, “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.” They think Jesus is referring to the temple building and deride Him. We however know that Our Lord was referring to the Temple of His Body and His resurrection.
Reflection: When was the last time that you spent some silent time in prayer with Jesus in the Temple i.e. the present Temple of His Body, the Holy Eucharist? Lent is a great time to make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament whenever you pass a Catholic Church. Stop the noisy din of life and spend some quiet time with Our Lord. “God’s first language is silence.”-St. John of the Cross
February 25, 2024
Did you know that it takes about 15-20 minutes for a consecrated Host to dissolve in your stomach? For those few minutes, you literally have the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Savior and Redeemer within you.
Reflection: One day a lady approached St. Teresa of Avila and said, “If only I had lived in the time of Jesus… If only I had seen Jesus….If only I had talked with Jesus…” St. Teresa replied, “But do we not have in the Eucharist the living, true and real Jesus present to us?” Why not take advantage of the precious few minutes that Jesus is residing within you in the Eucharist?
February 18, 2024
Bishop Robert Barron states that when we receive the Holy Eucharist, “We are infused with the Divine Life of Christ.” Our worthy reception of Holy Communion has a tremendous effect upon our souls.
In the sacrament of Baptism, we become children of God. In the sacrament of the Eucharist, we are filled with the life of God, which is sanctifying grace. By this means we are deified and are made holy children of God.
Reflection: The depth of the grace that we receive in this sacrament is dependent upon us. How focused are we in our prayer after the reception of Holy Communion? The amount of grace that we receive depends upon our openness to Jesus, who is truly present within us.
February 11, 2024
At the young age of 18, St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, a Carmelite nun, had great insight into the value of the Eucharist. She wrote, “I want this heavenly bread.” As she recognized the Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, she was filled with a longing desire to receive Him in Holy Communion.
Reflection: As we approach Holy Communion, how much desire do we have to receive Jesus and to welcome Him with love, gratitude and appreciation for this great sacrament of His Divine Love for us? Because of the Eucharist, your interior life thrives, and the Life of the Blessed Trinity is increased in your soul i.e. sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is your entrance pass into heaven.
February 4, 2024
Did you ever wonder about the Divine Wisdom of God in giving us the Holy Eucharist? We know that St. Thomas Aquinas wrote the following reflection in his “Short Summa”. He stated, “Among the various indicators that make the holiness of God known to men, the most convincing sign is the holiness of men, who are sanctified by the Divine indwelling.” One of the proofs of God’s holiness then is His giving of Himself totally to us in the loving intimacy of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Upon our worthy reception of Jesus in Holy Communion, the Divine indwelling resides within each of us.
Reflection: How does the Divine indwelling of Jesus within you, after your personal reception of Holy Communion, affect you? Are you reflecting the holiness of God in your life?
January 28, 2024
We are not called to leave the Mass and to be the same as we previously were before attending Mass. We are sent out to bring that prayerful, intimate experience of the presence of Jesus, that we have just received in the Holy Eucharist, out into the world.
Reflection: The experience of receiving Christ in Holy Communion should change our lives and our world. Remain in the Presence and see how He changes everything.
January 21, 2024
The Eucharist is a way of life. It’s walking through life with Christ as our own intimate companion. He is there with us through every minute of our lives. Stay in His presence and know the consolation and peace to which Jesus invites us in His gift of the Blessed Sacrament.
Reflection: Consider Christ’s invitation to you personally to grow in His Love each time you receive Him in Holy Communion. His grace enlightens the mind and strengthens the will, as He accompanies us through the daily trials of life.
January 14, 2024
A layman and French author, Leon Bloy, wrote these words in his novel “La Femme”: “The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life is not to become a saint.”
Reflection: If you haven’t yet made a New Year’s resolution, perhaps ponder Leon Bloy’s quote above and seriously prioritize it as your preeminent priority.
January 7, 2024
Today we celebrate the Epiphany of Our Lord. As the Wisemen recognized His star in the East and traveled a great distance to find and adore the Infant Jesus, so we too should make a Faith journey to recognize that same Jesus hidden under the guise of consecrated Bread in the Sacred Host of Holy Communion.
Reflection: Christ gives us the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist to sanctify us. We literally receive Him into our bodies and souls. Our Lord could not give us more love than to unite Himself with us in this most intimate manner.
December 31, 2023
Reflect upon the bonds of love which were shared by Jesus, Mary and Joseph in their humble home in Nazareth. The Holy Family is the model of what each of our families should strive to exemplify. Jesus’ presence was a continuous source of grace for Mary and Joseph.
Reflection: . Our Lord’s Eucharistic grace and presence is also available to each of our families. “Jesus is a living person always present among us. Love Jesus present in the Eucharist.” St John Paul II
December 24, 2023
The Lord wishes to unite Himself to His people in the most intimate way: by becoming our vey food. This food nourishes us from life into eternity. Jesus, the Blessed Sacrament, desires to become one with us.
My prayer for you is that you may experience the sweetness of the Infant Jesus when you receive Him this Christmas in Holy Communion and with each reception of Him thereafter in the Holy Eucharist.
A blessed Christmas to you and your loved ones.
December 17, 2023
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I say rejoice. Indeed the Lord is near.” This is our entrance antiphon today and we should note that our priest is wearing rose colored vestments to reflect the joyful nearness of the coming of Jesus’ birth.
Reflection: One of the Advent names of Jesus is EMMANUEL. Emmanuel literally means “God is with us.” God is never more with us today than through His Presence in the Holy Eucharist. When you receive Holy Communion, are you aware that you are literally not only touching God, but receiving Him into the very depths of your being? In today’s Gospel St. John the Baptist says, “I am not worthy to untie his sandal straps.” How far more unworthy are we to receive Jesus into our very selves?
December 10, 2023
We hear St. John the Baptist speak to us in today’s gospel of Mark 1:8. “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the Love which exists between the Father and the Son. We receive the Holy Spirit at Baptism and at our Confirmation. But the Holy Spirit is also present when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. The three Divine Persons of the Blessed Trinity are always present to each other in the unity of our one, triune God.
During the Consecration of the Blessed Sacrament, the priest extends his hands over the bread and wine and prays to the Holy Spirit. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, the transformation (transubstantiation) of the bread and wine takes place and becomes the Body and Blood of Jesus.
Reflection: Are you spiritually stagnant and need to be set afire with the love and gifts of the Holy Spirit? Advent is a good time to rekindle our prayer life, our penances and our reception of the sacraments. Ask the Holy Spirit, by whom Our Lady conceived the Infant Jesus, to prepare our hearts to receive Jesus anew this Christmas and with every Holy Communion we receive.
December 3, 2023
Today is the First Sunday of Advent. We begin our spiritual preparations for the great Feast of Christmas. Frequently this season becomes a rushed hustle and bustle of “not enough time” to get everything done. In contrast to our frequently frenetic Advents, St. Padre Pio’s Masses would last for several hours. The reason was his vibrant, living Faith. At the Consecration, St. Pio would not see the Holy Eucharist under the usual forms of bread and wine. Instead, this saint would see the Infant Jesus laying there in place of the Sacred Host and Precious Blood. He was so captured by the vision that he would be caught up in praise, thanksgiving and adoration of the Divine Child.
Reflection: This Advent might be the time to grow in OUR living Faith. We now have evening adoration of the Blessed Sacrament here at St. Ann’s each Tuesday evening from 6:00-7:30 (in addition to 9:30-10:30 each Monday). Why not seize this golden opportunity to spend some time with the same Infant Jesus, whom St Pio saw in the Holy Eucharist. What a loving and intimate way to prepare ourselves for Christmas!