Devotion for today: Great Saints on the Great Gift

Today we read the words of great saints concerning the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Scripture for meditation: John 6:58
“This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless, the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever.

Scripture for reflection: 1Corinthians:11:27-29

This means that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord. A man should examine himself first; only then should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. He who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks a judgment on himself.
 

Joan Carroll Cruz tells us in her book Eucharistic Miracles, Tan Books, 1987: …And St. Justin (d. 165) declared: We call this food “Eucharist,” of which no one should partake who does not believe in the truth of our doctrine, who has not been cleansed by the regeneration and remission of his sins and whose life is not in conformity with the precepts of Jesus Christ. Because we do not partake of this as ordinary food and drink, and since in virtue of the word of God, Jesus Christ incarnate takes flesh and blood for our redemption. We know also that this food which in the natural order would become our flesh and blood, being consecrated in the prayer which contains His own divine words, is the flesh and blood of the same Jesus made man.… St. Anthony of Padua (11-05-1231) affirmed: We must firmly believe and declare openly that the same body that was born of the Virgin, which was hung on the Cross, lay in the tomb, rose on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, was given in food to the Apostles, and now the Church truly consecrates and distributes it to the faithful…. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) has been called the “Eucharistic Doctor”… declared on his deathbed: If in this world there by any knowledge of this Mystery keener than that of faith, I wish now to affirm that I believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in this Sacrament, truly God and truly man, the Son of God, the Son of the Virgin Mary. This I believe and hold for true and certain.

Prayer: I believe that Thou, O Jesus, art in the Most Holy Sacrament! I love Thee and desire Thee! Come into my heart. I embrace Thee: oh, never leave me! (St. Alphonsus Liguori, The Holy Eucharist)

 My thoughts: The great Saints make it quite clear that several considerations must be made before receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. First, do we truly believe this is Christ? As Catholics, we hold firm to Christ’s words that this truly is His body and blood. That is why Holy Communion is not offered to anyone who does not believe in the Real Presence. It is not being exclusive: it is simply stating that this is no ordinary food. This is Christ to be given to those who believe it is Christ. Otherwise, there is no logic in receiving it. Second: are we spiritually prepared to receive the Eucharist? We do not come to the dinner table in dirty clothes to eat with dirty hands: neither, then should we approach the Banquet table with dirty souls.  We must examine our consciences, be repentant and ask God to forgive our sins, and make a good Act of Contrition. If we have mortal sin on our souls, we must go to confession before receiving Our Lord. Third, we really must want to live our lives as good Christians. It is unthinkable that we would take Christ into our bodies and souls and then treat our neighbors with contempt or without mercy. If we have asked for forgiveness, we must extend it; if we have asked God to feed our souls, we must feed our brothers. Christ in us means we are Christ to others.

 
Our prayer to God: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHKQYFgkcB8&feature=related

Devotion for today: This is My Body; This is My Blood

Scripture for meditation: Corinthians 11:23-26
Brothers and Sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

Scripture for reflection: John 15:4

“Live in me, and I will live in you.”

Joan Carroll Cruz tells us in her book Eucharistic Miracles, Tan Books, 1987): The holy Catholic Church teaches that at the moment of the Consecration of the Mass, the bread and wine on the altar truly become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The bread and wine cease to exist, though the appearances and properties…of bread and wine remain. This momentous change is known as transubstantiation – change of substance. The consecrated Host and the Precious Blood under the form of wine are given the adoration that is reserved for God alone, since they are, indeed, Almighty God Himself…. The opinions that Christ is only in the Eucharistic elements as in a sign, or that Christ is received only spiritually, were condemned by the Council of Trent. (Trent, Session XIII, canons 1, 6, 8, Oct. 11, 1551). Our Lord is present as long as the appearances of bread and wine remain…. Thus Our Lord is present in a communicant for about 15 minutes, and one should adore Him within oneself as long as He is sacramentally present. A famous story is told about St. Philip Neri, who saw a woman who had received Holy Communion leave the church right after Mass, disregarding Christ within her. The saint sent two altar boys with lighted candles to accompany her, as she was still a living tabernacle of the All-Holy God.

Prayer: God our Father, let us not be gripped in the fear of our own imaginations, let us not be attached to our own ideas of how things are supposed to be. Let us face the reality of our lives with the certainty that all reality and all of our lives belong to you. Let the Real Presence of the Eucharist be the beginning of our welcoming your real presence in all of reality. (Magnificat, Holy Week, 2012).

My thoughts: Many Catholics do not believe in the real presence of God in the Eucharist. Not possible, they say. I guess if one had the concept of a physical God, or even of a definable God, or a limited God, then one would be right about this. I marvel, however, that anyone is bold enough to think that God can be accurately defined by man, limited in size and space by man, or subjected to the same rules of physics that confine man. God is beyond our imaginations. He can do and does what no mere man can explain. That is why He was able to give us Himself in the Eucharist. That is why, too, we must venerate the Body of Christ in us when we receive Him in Holy Communion. We must listen to St. Philip Neri, mentioned in the commentary above, and spend time after Communion praising, thanking, petitioning and begging forgiveness. God physically dwells in us for about 15 minutes. That is not too long to spend with Him. His spiritual presence, however, remains in us forever. We truly are never alone when we become frequent communicants.  

Our prayer to God: Let us end our practice of leaving Mass as soon as the final blessing is given and the last verse of the hymn is sung, and begin to remain in the church for a few more minutes just talking to God. I have a feeling we will begin to live a new life, one more conscious of the presence of God in our hearts, minds, souls and bodies. As we come to realize more and more that He lives in us, we will then be able to live more easily in Him.

The Feast Of Mercy

http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/mercy/feast.htm

During the course of Jesus' revelations to Saint Faustina on the Divine Mercy He asked on numerous occasions that a feast day be dedicated to the Divine Mercy and that this feast be celebrated on the Sunday after Easter. The liturgical texts of that day, the 2nd Sunday of Easter, concern the institution of the Sacrament of Penance, the Tribunal of the Divine Mercy, and are thus already suited to the request of Our Lord. This Feast, which had already been granted to the nation of Poland and been celebrated within Vatican City, was granted to the Universal Church by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the canonization of Sr. Faustina on 30 April 2000. In a decree dated 23 May 2000, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments stated that "throughout the world the Second Sunday of Easter will receive the name Divine Mercy Sunday, a perennial invitation to the Christian world to face, with confidence in divine benevolence, the difficulties and trials that mankind will experience in the years to come." These papal acts represent the highest endorsement that the Church can give to a private revelation, an act of papal infallibility proclaiming the certain sanctity of the mystic, and the granting of a universal feast, as requested by Our Lord to St. Faustina.

Concerning the Feast of Mercy Jesus said:

Whoever approaches the Fountain of Life on this day will be granted complete forgiveness of sins and punishment. (Diary 300)

I want the image solemnly blessed on the first Sunday after Easter, and I want it to be venerated publicly so that every soul may know about it. (Diary 341)

This Feast emerged from the very depths of My mercy, and it is confirmed in the vast depths of my tender mercies. (Diary 420)

On one occasion, I heard these words: My daughter, tell the whole world about My Inconceivable mercy. I desire that the Feast of Mercy be a refuge and shelter for all souls, and especially for poor sinners. On that day the very depths of My tender mercy are open. I pour out a whole ocean of graces upon those souls who approach the fount of My mercy. The soul that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion shall obtain complete forgiveness of sins and punishment.* [our emphasis] On that day all the divine floodgates through which grace flow are opened. Let no soul fear to draw near to Me, even though its sins be as scarlet. My mercy is so great that no mind, be it of man or of angel, will be able to fathom it throughout all eternity. Everything that exists has come forth from the very depths of My most tender mercy. Every soul in its relation to Me will I contemplate My love and mercy throughout eternity. The Feast of Mercy emerged from My very depths of tenderness. It is My desire that it be solemnly celebrated on the first Sunday after Easter. Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy. (Diary 699)

Yes, the first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must also be deeds of mercy, which are to arise out of love for Me. You are to show mercy to our neighbors always and everywhere. You must not shrink from this or try to absolve yourself from it. (Diary 742)

I want to grant complete pardon to the souls that will go to Confession and receive Holy Communion on the Feast of My mercy. (Diary 1109)

As you can see the Lord's desire for the Feast includes the solemn, public veneration of the Image of Divine Mercy by the Church, as well as personal acts of veneration and mercy. The great promise for the individual soul is that a devotional act of sacramental penance and Communion will obtain for that soul the plenitude of the divine mercy on the Feast.

*The Cardinal of Krakow, Cardinal Macharski, whose diocese is the center of the spread of the devotion and the sponsor of the Cause of Sr. Faustina, has written that we should use Lent as preparation for the Feast and confess even before Holy Week! So, it is clear that the confessional requirement does not have to be met on the Feast itself. That would be an impossible burden for the clergy if it did. The Communion requirement is easily met that day, however, since it is a day of obligation, being Sunday. We would only need confession again, if received earlier in Lenten or Easter Season, if we were in the state of mortal sin on the Feast.