In today's first reading, Exodus 24:3-8, after Moses gave the people the ten commandments, the people promised that they would "do everything that the Lord told us." Moses ratified the people's covenant by sprinkling them with the blood of young bulls that were sacrificed to the Lord. As he sprinkled the blood upon the people, Moses said: "This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of his."
At every Catholic Mass, the priest says, at the consecration, may "..the Holy Spirit graciously sanctify these offerings (bread and wine) that they may become the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the celebration of this great mystery, which he left us as an eternal covenant." Each of us, then, in Holy Communion, consume the Body and Blood of Jesus. Jesus' blood mingles with our blood in our body. We are not simply sprinkled with Jesus' blood. No, we consume it and say, in the Memorial Acclamation: "When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come." We acknowledge the New Covenant sealed for us in Jesus' death and resurrection and, ultimately, ours as well! God offers us the free gift of salvation--He held nothing back that we would come to know our union and God and embrace being disciples of the Lord according to His Word. In Holy Communion, we gratefully accept God's total gift of Himself for our salvation. Likewise, we promise to "do everything that the Lord told us" in the sacred reading of the Liturgy of the Word, which precedes the Liturgy of the Eucharist at every Catholic Mass.
Let us, with Mary, Jesus' Mother, pray, as she did in the Magnificat:
"My being proclaims your greatness,
and my spirit finds joy in you, God my Savior.
For you have looked upon me, your servant, in my lowliness;
all ages to come shall call me blessed.
God, you who are mighty, have done great things for me," in sharing your Body and Blood with me as the New Covenant. "Holy is your name."
In this holy sacrament of the Eucharist, you have "raised the lowly to high places."
Thank you, Lord, for having handed down this faith to me from my parents! I pray that my faith in the Eucharist grows ever more stronger! Thank you!
Showing posts with label the Eucharist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the Eucharist. Show all posts
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Monday, January 21, 2019
Christ our High Priest and and all Priests: Our Representatives before God
Today's first reading, Hebrews 5: 1-10, speaks to us of the priesthood, reminding us that every "high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins....No one take this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: 'You are my son: this day I have begotten you';....Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him."
When talking to the priest who said Mass for us this morning, he said that he deeply cherishes his priesthood. It means the world to him. What a calling to be made our "representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered in obedience to Jesus, when, taking the bread and wine in his sacred hands, Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper: "This is my body given for you; do this in memory of me. This is my blood poured out for you; do this in memory of me." In memory of Jesus' passion and death and resurrection, the priest consecrates the bread and wine at every Mass, calling upon the Holy Spirit to transform these gifts into the body and blood of Jesus at the words of consecration. In unison with the priest, we then offer these gifts to God as a sacrificial offering for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
Every second of every day, somewhere in the world, in Catholic Churches, this sacrificial offering is made. Jesus then feeds us in Holy Communion with this sacred food--His body and blood-- nourishing us in body, mind and spirit according to our needs and those we acknowledge; deepening our faith, hope and love according to our requests; purifying/cleansing us of the sins of which we repent; strengthening us, making us whole, healing the brokenness about which we speak to Him and helping others whom we bring to Him in intercessory prayer!
Oh, the intimacy and nearness of our God!
When talking to the priest who said Mass for us this morning, he said that he deeply cherishes his priesthood. It means the world to him. What a calling to be made our "representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins." The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered in obedience to Jesus, when, taking the bread and wine in his sacred hands, Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper: "This is my body given for you; do this in memory of me. This is my blood poured out for you; do this in memory of me." In memory of Jesus' passion and death and resurrection, the priest consecrates the bread and wine at every Mass, calling upon the Holy Spirit to transform these gifts into the body and blood of Jesus at the words of consecration. In unison with the priest, we then offer these gifts to God as a sacrificial offering for our sins and the sins of the whole world.
Every second of every day, somewhere in the world, in Catholic Churches, this sacrificial offering is made. Jesus then feeds us in Holy Communion with this sacred food--His body and blood-- nourishing us in body, mind and spirit according to our needs and those we acknowledge; deepening our faith, hope and love according to our requests; purifying/cleansing us of the sins of which we repent; strengthening us, making us whole, healing the brokenness about which we speak to Him and helping others whom we bring to Him in intercessory prayer!
Oh, the intimacy and nearness of our God!
Saturday, April 21, 2018
The New and Eternal Covenant Given by Jesus
In the last three Gospels of this week, John 6: 44-51, John 6: 52-59 and today's, John 6: 60-69, Jesus tells the people that He is "the living bread that came down from heaven" (Jn 6: 57). Whoever "eats this bread," Jesus says, "will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world" (John 6: 51). In John 6: 52-59, the Jews are quarreling and asking: "'How can this man give us His Flesh to eat?' Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of man and drink His Blood you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him'....These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum" (John6: 54-59).
In today's Gospel, John 6: 60-69, many of the disciples of stopped following Jesus, saying: "This saying is hard; who can accept it" (John 6:60)? Jesus knows what the people are quarreling about and says to them: "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before. It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe" (John 6: 60-63). To this very day many people walk away because they do not believe the words of Jesus concerning the Holy Eucharist celebrated by Catholics.
The Spirit that overshadowed Mary when the second person of the Blessed Trinity took on human nature is the same Spirit that overshadows the bread and wine at Mass when the priest utters the words of consecration: "This is my Body; this is my Blood". The ordinary bread and wine become the body and blood, the soul and divinity of Jesus. Just as many of the disciples of Jesus stopped following Him when he said to them "unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you" so, too, today do many people abandon their Catholic faith, saying: "I won't believe" or "I don't believe!"
May my faith, and yours, remain strong in Jesus' words, said by Jesus Himself in the person of the priest. "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body given up for you....Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me" (Eucharistic Prayer II--The Word Among Us, May 2018, p. L15).
In today's Gospel, John 6: 60-69, many of the disciples of stopped following Jesus, saying: "This saying is hard; who can accept it" (John 6:60)? Jesus knows what the people are quarreling about and says to them: "Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before. It is the Spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe" (John 6: 60-63). To this very day many people walk away because they do not believe the words of Jesus concerning the Holy Eucharist celebrated by Catholics.
The Spirit that overshadowed Mary when the second person of the Blessed Trinity took on human nature is the same Spirit that overshadows the bread and wine at Mass when the priest utters the words of consecration: "This is my Body; this is my Blood". The ordinary bread and wine become the body and blood, the soul and divinity of Jesus. Just as many of the disciples of Jesus stopped following Him when he said to them "unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you" so, too, today do many people abandon their Catholic faith, saying: "I won't believe" or "I don't believe!"
May my faith, and yours, remain strong in Jesus' words, said by Jesus Himself in the person of the priest. "Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my Body given up for you....Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me" (Eucharistic Prayer II--The Word Among Us, May 2018, p. L15).
Sunday, April 1, 2018
Alleluia! the Lord is Risen!
Alleluia! Jesus has risen just as He said He would!
Let's reflect upon that first Easter morn. On Friday, the women watched the Son of God, Jesus, their Master, die a torturous death on the cross. They were probably present in the crowd when Pilate had Jesus scourged and crowned with thorns; when Pilate asked the crowd whom he should release to them: Barabbas, a hardened criminal, or an innocent man Jesus, King of Jews? The crowd shouted: "Barabbas!" "Crucify Jesus". These same women probably met Jesus on the way to Calvary and stood beneath or near the cross with Mary, Jesus' mother.
It is now Sunday morning, the third day after Jesus' crucifixion The women rush to the tomb to anoint Jesus body. On the way, they wonder who will roll back the huge stone in front of the grave. To their amazement, they find the stone rolled back, the tomb empty, and the clothes in which Jesus' body was wrapped in burial neatly folded. Their fear: someone stole the body! Suddenly an angel appears and says to them:"Why are you looking for Jesus here? He told you that, on the third day, he would rise again. Go tell Peter that Jesus is risen and will meet him and the other apostles in Galilee!"
Peter tells us in today's first reading, Acts 10: 34a, 37-43, "We are witnesses of all that he[Jesus] did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man (Jesus) God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible...to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead."
Imagine losing someone you love--a beloved spouse, a dear parent, a cherished sibling, an incredible son, a darling daughter--in a horrible crime, a crime you witnessed. And imagine three days later that someone who witnessed the death with you, comes to you and says: Your parent or sibling or your son or your daughter, or your spouse is alive and will meet you at such and such an address! How would you feel? And how fast would you run to the designated place!
In the case of Easter morning, it is the Incarnate Son of God, God made man, Jesus crucified cruelly on the cross on Friday who rose from the dead and is alive on Sunday. "Go meet Him in Galilee, the angel says, "just where He said He would meet you!" Crushing sorrow immediately changed into ecstatic joy!
Our Lord and God, Jesus, our Savior, is alive and dwells among us! The night before Jesus went to his death, Jesus left us the Eucharist, saying to those at the Last Supper and to us: "Take and eat! This is my body given up for you." "Take and drink! This is my blood poured out for you!" At every Catholic Mass, we have the privilege of receiving the body and the blood of Jesus, our sins washed clean by Jesus' blood and our spirits strengthen and nourished by His body!
JESUS IS RISEN! ALLELUIA!
Let's reflect upon that first Easter morn. On Friday, the women watched the Son of God, Jesus, their Master, die a torturous death on the cross. They were probably present in the crowd when Pilate had Jesus scourged and crowned with thorns; when Pilate asked the crowd whom he should release to them: Barabbas, a hardened criminal, or an innocent man Jesus, King of Jews? The crowd shouted: "Barabbas!" "Crucify Jesus". These same women probably met Jesus on the way to Calvary and stood beneath or near the cross with Mary, Jesus' mother.
It is now Sunday morning, the third day after Jesus' crucifixion The women rush to the tomb to anoint Jesus body. On the way, they wonder who will roll back the huge stone in front of the grave. To their amazement, they find the stone rolled back, the tomb empty, and the clothes in which Jesus' body was wrapped in burial neatly folded. Their fear: someone stole the body! Suddenly an angel appears and says to them:"Why are you looking for Jesus here? He told you that, on the third day, he would rise again. Go tell Peter that Jesus is risen and will meet him and the other apostles in Galilee!"
Peter tells us in today's first reading, Acts 10: 34a, 37-43, "We are witnesses of all that he[Jesus] did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man (Jesus) God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible...to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead."
Imagine losing someone you love--a beloved spouse, a dear parent, a cherished sibling, an incredible son, a darling daughter--in a horrible crime, a crime you witnessed. And imagine three days later that someone who witnessed the death with you, comes to you and says: Your parent or sibling or your son or your daughter, or your spouse is alive and will meet you at such and such an address! How would you feel? And how fast would you run to the designated place!
In the case of Easter morning, it is the Incarnate Son of God, God made man, Jesus crucified cruelly on the cross on Friday who rose from the dead and is alive on Sunday. "Go meet Him in Galilee, the angel says, "just where He said He would meet you!" Crushing sorrow immediately changed into ecstatic joy!
Our Lord and God, Jesus, our Savior, is alive and dwells among us! The night before Jesus went to his death, Jesus left us the Eucharist, saying to those at the Last Supper and to us: "Take and eat! This is my body given up for you." "Take and drink! This is my blood poured out for you!" At every Catholic Mass, we have the privilege of receiving the body and the blood of Jesus, our sins washed clean by Jesus' blood and our spirits strengthen and nourished by His body!
JESUS IS RISEN! ALLELUIA!
Thursday, March 22, 2018
God's Everlasting Covenant
"The Lord remembers His covenant forever," we pray in today's responsorial psalm. The New Covenant is sealed in Jesus' blood poured out for us on the cross on the first Good Friday. Just as in the Covenant expressed in the Old Testament to the people of Israel to inherit the land of Canaan, so, in the New Covenant, we who believe in Jesus and keep His Commandments are promised an eternal inheritance, a home in heaven with God forever, as we past from this life into eternity.
Holy Week is a time to remember the wondrous deeds of the Lord--His total self-emptying love upon the cross to secure our salvation. On that first Good Friday, we have been redeemed, made whole, purified in Jesus' blood. Jesus gave His life for you and me. Jesus died for you and me. Jesus gave His back to be scourged for you and me. Jesus allowed His head to be crowned with thorns for you and me. Jesus walked the hill to Calvary carrying the cross on which He would be crucified for you and me.
We Catholics believe that every Eucharist recalls these saving acts of our salvation. We believe that Jesus' self-emptying, sacrificial love is made present to us at every Eucharist. The very words of Jesus at the Last Supper, when giving the bread and the wine to the Apostles and saying "'Take it,...,this is my body"....This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many," is repeated by the priest at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We Catholics believe that, when the priest says "This is my body," "This is my blood" that the bread and wine used at every Mass are changed into Jesus' body and blood, just as they were when Jesus spoke those words at the Last Supper.
Today's responsorial psalm reminds us that "The Lord remembers his covenant forever." Let us also always remember the wondrous deeds of the Lord at the Last Supper in giving us the Eucharist for our daily food and on Good Friday offering His life on the cross to secure our eternal salvation.
Holy Week is a time to remember the wondrous deeds of the Lord--His total self-emptying love upon the cross to secure our salvation. On that first Good Friday, we have been redeemed, made whole, purified in Jesus' blood. Jesus gave His life for you and me. Jesus died for you and me. Jesus gave His back to be scourged for you and me. Jesus allowed His head to be crowned with thorns for you and me. Jesus walked the hill to Calvary carrying the cross on which He would be crucified for you and me.
We Catholics believe that every Eucharist recalls these saving acts of our salvation. We believe that Jesus' self-emptying, sacrificial love is made present to us at every Eucharist. The very words of Jesus at the Last Supper, when giving the bread and the wine to the Apostles and saying "'Take it,...,this is my body"....This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many," is repeated by the priest at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We Catholics believe that, when the priest says "This is my body," "This is my blood" that the bread and wine used at every Mass are changed into Jesus' body and blood, just as they were when Jesus spoke those words at the Last Supper.
Today's responsorial psalm reminds us that "The Lord remembers his covenant forever." Let us also always remember the wondrous deeds of the Lord at the Last Supper in giving us the Eucharist for our daily food and on Good Friday offering His life on the cross to secure our eternal salvation.
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