Matthew 26:26: While
they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it
and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my
body."
Luke 24:35: And
they told what things were done in the way; and how they knew him in the
breaking of the bread.
I was listening to
a Catholic program one day when a woman called in and said she really had a
hard time seeing Jesus in the host. It looks like a host, it tastes like a
host, and when she tries to spend time in adoration, she just doesn’t see
anything but a host. Here is a thought. You are sitting in the “ordinary people class seats" on an airplane, having a wonderful
conversation with the gentleman next to you. From all appearances and from the
conversation, he seems like an ordinary “Joe” who enjoys sports and good
books, etc. When the plane lands, you ask for his business card so
you can send him an email with some information he had requested. When you see his name, you almost faint. You have been talking to a very famous person!
He smiles as you stare at the card, then at him. “What are you doing sitting
in this section?” you ask in amazement. “Well,” he replies, “I guess you
could say I am thoroughly enjoying being with you.” And with that, he gets off
the plane. Isn’t it
the same with us as we spend time with Jesus in the Eucharist? His true
identity is hidden, yet He is there. He told us He was there. Just as you never recognized this special person until you saw his card, we can only see
Jesus when we look with the eyes of faith. We know it is Jesus when we let Him
into our lives and see the remarkable difference He will make. Why does Jesus choose
to be present in the host? Well, among many reasons, “I guess you could say He
is just thoroughly enjoying being with you.” Believe it. Let’s take a look at the explanation Fr.
Robert Barron gives in his book “Catholicism”:
Like Ambrose of Milan, Aquinas saw the change as a
consequence of the power of Jesus’ words: “this is my body” and “this is the
cup of my blood.” As the language philosophers of the twentieth century have
helped us to see, not only are words descriptive; they can also be, under
certain circumstances, transformative: they can change the way things are. If someone walked up to you at a party
and said, “You’re under arrest,” you would assume that he was making a joke or
was deluded. But if a properly deputized and uniformed officer of the law told
you that you were under arrest, you would be, in point of fact, under arrest,
his words having effected what they enunciated….But those are only puny human
words. Consider the divine Word. In the Bible, God creates the whole of the
universe through the power of his word….God’s speech does not so much describe
the world as create it and constitute it….The night before he died, Jesus took
bread and said, “This is my body, which will be given for you” (Luke 22:19). In
the same way, after the meal, he took the cup and said, “This cup is the new
covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you” (Luke 22:20). Since Jesus’
word is the divine Word, it is not merely descriptive but transformative. It
creates, sustains, and changes reality at the most fundamental level. When at
the consecration the priest moves into the mode of first-person quotation, he
is not speaking in his own person but in the person of Jesus – and that’s why
those words change the elements.
No longer bread,
but Christ. Come, let us adore!
The Adoration of
Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament (part three)
3. Jesus You loved me unto death, and beyond it. You were
born for me. You lived for me. You died and rose for me. When You realized that
death would separate You from Me, Your love was inventive: You remained with me
and for me in the Most Blessed Sacrament. O be praised, Jesus, in this simple
bread, in this host! Be praised, You who are all-worthy of every praise and
glory!
Praise and glory to the Father who sent You to give
Yourself up to us and for us in this way! Praise and glory to the Holy Spirit
who, through Mary’s intercession, is crying for joy through me: Praise and
glory forever and ever!
Therefore, I adore You in every church in the world: Be
praised and glorified in every host!
Be praised and glorified in every Communion in which I
meet You. Be praised and glorified for all those meetings when I received You
without being fully aware that You had come to me, the living and true God. Be
praised and glorified for every moment which I have passed with You so far and
which I am going to pass with You in the future! Be praised and glorified in
all those who forget You, who do not adore You! Be praised in all who oppose or
persecute You! Be praised and glorified in all who receive You but do not think
of Your presence, nor live on it, but come back from Holy Communion or Mass as
if they had not met You at all! O, be praised and glorified because You are
alive now and want to present everyone around You with love and fullness of
life! (Remain in silence and let these words echo in you.)
Our Father, Hail
Mary, Glory Be…("Pray With the Heart" by Fr. Slavko Barbaric, Franciscan University Press,1988)
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