+ Two weeks ago we celebrated the great Gift of God the Father:
the Holy Spirit. The Spirit came with great might and force and
the Apostles were filled to overflowing with LOVE and APOSTOLIC ZEAL – and they
were off to convert the whole world.
Today we celebrate the
significance of the great gift of God’s the Son in his Eucharistic Presence –
that would seal his promise to be with his Church – and all of its members –
including us – until the end of time.
In order to properly nourish
the transformed spirits in his new disciples of all ages the thought occurred
to Jesus for them to do something very familiar, very understandable, but much
more than just symbolic:
he
knew that he himself needed to be a real part of the fiber of these disciple’s
beings: and so he took ordinary bread and ordinary wine – common table food for
all generations - and by pronouncing words over them and distributing them he
changed their essence into his own essence, their substance into his own
substance, for the life of his brothers and sisters, and for their salvation:
so that we could communicate them and be strengthened and empowered by what we
eat and drink at this and every Mass to live and love in his person.
This was truly an astounding
thing, an amazing fact, a reality that defies ordinary nature (and can be
comprehended only by faith): but one that can easily be taken for granted and
even ignored and forgotten by a great many in this day and age. And this is
truly sad. The very God of heaven wants to help out his human creations in a
most profound and intimate way; but he can’t do it unless they come to the
altar, present themselves for worship, and take and eat and drink what he
gives.
And this eating and drinking
is not optional by any means: Jesus is very serious when he says that you must eat and drink of my Body and Blood
if you would have eternal life. And eat and drink – in some way – we must –
if we are to call ourselves Catholic, if we are to consider ourselves
disciples.
We pray today for a greater
appreciation for the Blessed Eucharist that we share and that we reserve for
the sick and for prayer. When we consider that it is the very Creator, Redeemer
and Sanctifier of the Entire Universe and all its parts and all it contains:
there ought to be enough food for thought and meditation for hours, days,
weeks, months – if not years!
I am
the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this
bread will live forever!
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