The Holy Eucharist: Did You Know?

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.

June 26, 2022
   Did you know that the word “Communion” comes from the Latin word “communio”, which means “to be in union with”.
   In today’s Mass readings we meet several people whom Jesus encounters in His ministry. He invites them to follow Him, but each one poses an excuse as to why they cannot do so. (Luke 9:51-62) Jesus is seeking those who wish to be in union with Him by following His teachings. 

Reflection:  Are you a “would be” follower of Jesus?  The Church uses the word “Communion” because “by this Sacrament we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in His Body and Blood to form a single body.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1331) By means of this Sacrament we become true followers of Christ. In the Holy Eucharist we are “united to the Heart of Jesus, are strengthened to live our lives, long for eternal life and are united to Our Lady and the saints in Heaven. (CCC 1419) By our saying “Yes” to follow Christ, the gifts of Holy Communion are opened like a treasure chest of grace before us.


PREVIOUS WEEKS:
June 19, 2022
“This is my Body that is given for you.” (Corinthians 11:24)   Celebrate the gift of the Holy Eucharist today with joy!  Never forget that we, as Catholics, truly possess the living, glorified Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in this Sacrament.  St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that the Holy Eucharist is the “Sacrament of Sacraments” because it contains the whole Christ. The Blessed Sacrament augments our union with Jesus, forgives our venial sins and helps to preserve us from grave (mortal) sins. (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1416)
Reception of the Holy Eucharist helps us to grow in the spiritual life. In “Evangeli Gaudium” Pope Francis tells us that the Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect, but powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” Jesus knows that we need Him in our journey through life. It is because of His Love and Mercy that Our Lord instituted the Holy Eucharist.

Reflection:  Especially recall today on this Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ that all saints have two outstanding characteristics.  The first is a deep love of the Holy Eucharist. The second is a loving devotion to Our Lady. Why not resolve today on this Feast to cultivate the heart of a saint by growing more profoundly in your love for Jesus in the Holy Eucharist?

June 12, 2022
Today we celebrate the great mystery of the Blessed Trinity.  We profess THREE Divine Persons in ONE God. Theologians attempt to explain this mystery by saying that God the Father looks at the Son Jesus with love and Jesus looks upon the Father with love.  This love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit. By its very nature all love seeks union. This love within the Holy Trinity is therefore the perfection of love and of union in one God. It remains for us an inscrutable mystery.

Reflection:    We do know that each of the Divine Persons has a specific task.  God the Father is our Creator. God the Son, Jesus, is our Redeemer. God the Holy Spirit is our Sanctifier. Let us rejoice that God is love and that we are made to enjoy this love eternally in Heaven by partaking of the Divine Life of Love within the Blessed Trinity.

June 5, 2022
We celebrate the great feast of Pentecost today, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Our Mass readings document this occasion, which Jesus promised, and which is poured out upon the Apostles and Our Blessed Mother. The symbols used in Scripture to indicate the presence of the Holy Spirit are wind and fire. The wind is sometimes referred to as “Ruha” (the Breath of God). Breath indicates life. It is the Holy Spirit which gives life to the Church and which gives life to our souls. It is the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us, giving us a share in Divine life. The other symbol for the Holy Spirit is fire. We pray to the Holy Spirit to enflame our hearts with the fire of Divine love.  It is the Holy Spirit who makes us passionate about living the Gospel.

It is also through the power of the Holy Spirit that the priest confects the Holy Eucharist. (Is able to change the bread and wine to become the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus during the Consecration of the Mass.)

Reflection:  We should long for the Holy Spirit.  We should pray to and for the Holy Spirit. It is the one prayer which God the Father cannot refuse.  “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:13) He who has the gifts of the Holy Spirit has everything.
Come, Holy Spirit, and enflame our hearts with the fire of your love. Send forth Your Spirit and renew the face of the Earth. Amen.

May 29, 2022
In today’s Gospel (John 17:20-26) our Lord prays for each of us, that we may be one with Him and with the Father in the love of the Holy Spirit as they are one. This perfect union with God is our goal. It is the reason why saints long to grow in the grace of sanctity. It is why we should strive to “be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect.”

Reflection:  The Church exists with all the Sacraments for the sanctification of our souls. Our goal in this life is to reach Heaven.  In the Holy Eucharist we embrace our Lord and our God just as He embraces us. It is the most perfect and loving encounter with the Blessed Trinity that we are given this side of Heaven.
Praised be Jesus Christ now and forever for this greatest of blessings.

May 22, 2022
In today’s Gospel (John 14:23-29) Jesus offers us a promise. “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”  In addition, Jesus also promises that the Father will send the Holy Spirit to teach us and remind us of all that Jesus has told us.

Reflection:  When we receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, we also know that the Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit are present to us. The Blessed Trinity comes to dwell within us and to fill us with the Divine life of grace. It is indeed therefore “the foretaste and the promise of the Paschal feast of heaven” to receive the Blessed Sacrament.

May 15, 2022
We have a reading at Mass this weekend from the Book of Revelation (21:1-5a). St. John hears a loud voice proclaim, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be His people and God himself will always be with them as their God.”

Reflection:  The above verse is confirmed throughout the world in every Catholic Church. God is truly dwelling with us in each tabernacle by His living Presence, the Holy Eucharist. Not only is He present in our tabernacles, but He desires to be present in each of our souls when we receive Him in Holy Communion. What an extraordinary gift we posses as Catholic Christians! It will take us all eternity to thank Him for our reception of just one Holy Communion.

May 8, 2022
We should be ever mindful of the love that unites the Sacred Heart of Jesus, alive in the Eucharist, with the Immaculate Heart of His Blessed Mother. Above all, it is Mary’s primary task to lead us to her Divine Son. She does this consistently. Let’s examine the Marian Apparitions of Fatima, whose anniversary we celebrate on May 13^th of this coming week.
Before Our Lady appeared to the three shepherd children, an angel appeared to them in preparation for her coming. The angel brought the Holy Eucharist to them. Prostrating himself before the Chalice and Host, which were suspended in the air, the angel taught the children this prayer. “My God, my God, I love You in the Most Blessed Sacrament.”

Reflection:   It is no coincidence that the first apparition of Fatima took place on May 13^th. This date is the Feast Day of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. Our Blessed Mother instilled a great love and devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament to the three little Fatima visionaries. And like the devoted Mother that she is, she will do the very same thing for us as well, if we cultivate a love of Our Lady and her holy rosary.

May 1, 2022
“Do you love Me?” This is the question which Jesus posses three times to Peter in today’s Gospel. (John 21:1-14) This same question is posed to us by Our Lord when we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus confided to St. Faustina, the saint of Divine Mercy, that people are distracted from His Presence in Holy Communion. They ignore Him and think of other things.

Reflection:   How do we prepare to receive Jesus in Holy Communion? Do we recognize Him in the Sacred Host? Do we speak to Him as our dearest friend, and as our Lord and God? How many times does our soul whisper intimately to Jesus, “Yes Lord, You know that I love You.”

April 24, 2022
Thomas doubts the resurrection of Jesus in our Gospel today. (John 20:19-31) But Jesus gently invites Thomas to see His wounded hands and to place his hand into the sword wound in His side. The wound in Christ’s side confirmed that He had already died.  When pierced by the soldier’s lance, blood and water gushed forth from Christ’s side.
In the Divine Mercy image of Jesus, which He revealed to St. Faustina, we can see streams of red and white light emanating from His side. (Google it.) The red is His Precious Blood in the Holy Eucharist. The white is the cleansing water of Baptism.  Both give us Divine Life.  Baptism makes us a beloved child of God. The Precious Blood washes us of our sins and nourishes us as we journey to Heaven.

Reflection:  Like Thomas, do you doubt the true Prescence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament? Do you doubt the great outpouring of Divine Mercy available to us in the Holy Eucharist at every Mass? Jesus gently invites us to union with Himself with each Holy Communion. He tenderly places us into His pierced Heart and pours out an abundance of grace and mercy upon us.

April 17, 2022 (Easter)
Alleluia! “He is not here, He has risen.” (Luke 24: 5) Why not travel with Mary Magdalene, St. Peter and St. John to see the empty tomb? Imagine the glorious surprise of finding the tomb empty and the burial cloth which covered Jesus’ face, neatly folded and left aside. (John 20:1-9)

Reflection:  The glorious resurrection of Jesus is the great triumph of the Cross. It is the great doctrine of Christianity. That same glorified, risen body of Our Lord is present to all of us Catholic Christians under the guise of the Holy Eucharist. In the Blessed Sacrament we find Our risen Lord and the promise of our own glorified body. Jesus wishes to become one with us in Holy Communion and offers to us the glories of eternal life. Alleluia!

April 10, 2022
This Sunday is the gateway to Holy Week. These days are the Christian’s “High Holy Days”, which correlate to the Jewish Passover. In the Hebrew tradition, the Israelites sacrificed an unblemished lamb, sprinkled the lamb’s blood on their door posts so that the angel of death would pass over them and then consumed the lamb in a sacred meal. Jesus is the unblemished Lamb of God. It is His Sacred Blood poured out for us upon the Cross, which brings us eternal life. It is in the Holy Mass that we partake of the Sacred Meal of the Holy Eucharist.

Reflection:  Do not miss the graces offered to you this coming week. Consider attending the services of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Holy Saturday Vigil Mass of Easter. With great and solemn reverence open your heart to the love of Our Lord, who gave us the Holy Eucharist on Holy Thursday and who confirmed this total gift of Himself to us the following day as He died on the Cross for love of us.

April 3, 2022
“I so ardently thirst to be loved by men in the Most Blessed Sacrament that this thirst devours Me.” These are the words that Jesus said to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. He then revealed to her His Heart, which was crowned with thorns. He explained to her that His enemies had placed this crown upon His head. But men had placed this crown on His Heart.

Reflection:  In today’s Gospel we have the story of the woman caught in adultery. (John 8:1-11) We see how deeply Christ thirsts for the soul of the woman to come to know Him as her merciful and forgiving Lord.
As we continue our Lenten journey, reflect on the insight of St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She said that the words, “I thirst.”, which Jesus uttered on the Cross, indicated His thirst for the love of mankind. When we receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, do we quench Our Lord’s thirst by our adoration, thanksgiving and love? Are we receptive of His intimate Divine Presence within us?

March 27, 2022
The logic of Divine Love and Mercy is offered to us this Sunday in the story of the prodigal son. (Luke 15:1-3, 11-32) This logic is beyond our human intellects to comprehend. We cannot fathom or plumb the depth of God the Father’s love in giving us His only Son to ransom us from our sins. Yet, He extends to us this profound gift of forgiveness and in doing so, He gives Jesus to us, His sinful children.

Reflection:  The Holy Eucharist cannot be separated from the Cross of Calvary. It is both a meal and a sacrifice. With both His Death on the Cross and the institution of the Holy Eucharist, Christ cannot give us anything more.  Our Lord poured out everything upon His cross.  In the Blessed Sacrament, He pours out all His love, mercy and forgiveness. We should celebrate this tremendous gift of salvation and rejoice with praise and profound thanksgiving. In the Eucharist, we receive the living God.

March 20, 2022
The Gospel reading this Sunday is from Luke 13:1-9. It contains the parable of the little, barren fig tree, which is not bearing any fruit. The gardener asks the orchard owner for more time to allow him to feed the tree, so that it may bear fruit. After cultivating and nurturing it, he will cut it down only if it does not bear fruit.

Reflection: Lent is the time to examine if we are that little barren tree in God’s Garden. Jesus is our loving gardener. He wishes to nurture and feed us with His own Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist. With patience and tenderness, He leads us to bear the abundant Fruits of the Holy Spirit in holiness of life. Now is the time to repent and accept His gift of conversion.

March 13, 2022
This Sunday’s Gospel speaks of the Transfiguration of Our Lord. (Luke 9:28-36) We see the radiant glory of Jesus revealed to Peter, James and John on Mount Tabor. Christ gives us a look into His divine nature, which has hitherto been hidden in His human nature. The three apostles have their faith greatly strengthened by witnessing this theophany.

Reflection:  In the same way that Christ’s glory was hidden in His human nature, He is also hidden to us under the appearances of the consecrated Bread and Wine in the Holy Eucharist. These simple human substances become His glorious Body and Blood in the Blessed Sacrament. Like the apostles on Mount Tabor, is our faith also strengthened in the belief that Jesus is truly present to us in each consecrated Host?
The more we receive the Holy Eucharist in faith and trust, the more Jesus can transform us into His own likeness.

March 6, 2022
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”. (Romans 10:8)   As we begin our Lenten journey towards Holy Week and Easter, recall that we are always journeying together with Jesus. As St. John taught at the opening of his gospel, Jesus is the Word. (John 1:1) He remains closer to us than we are to ourselves. Upon reception of Him in the Holy Eucharist, Our Lord truly is “in your mouth”.

Reflection:  Focusing on the true, real and substantial presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist should be a priority each time we are given the ineffable grace of His Divine Presence in Holy Communion. If we are aware that Jesus is with us so intimately, how can we refuse to then welcome Him “in our hearts” with praise, adoration and thanksgiving?  To grow in our love for the Holy Eucharist this Lent is to grow in the love of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

February 27, 2022
Did you ever wonder why Jesus gives us Eucharistic Miracles? Consider for example the Miracle of Lanciano in Italy. Like so many Catholics today, during Mass 800 years ago the priest doubted the real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. During the consecration the Host turned into a piece of flesh in his hands and the wine became blood in the chalice.

Reflection:  Now centuries later medical science has proven that the flesh is living heart muscle and that the blood is type AB and contains all the properties of freshly shed blood. (Please Google it.) Do you think that Our Lord wants to draw our attention?  
                                                                                                                           
Lent begins this week on Wednesday. What better way to spend this penitential season than by making reparation to the living Sacred Eucharistic Heart of Jesus for all the indifference by which He is offended in this Sacrament. Consider making a Lenten sacrifice to attend daily Mass or perhaps make a prayerful visit to the Blessed Sacrament.

February 20, 2022
St. Augustine believed that “If we live good lives, the times are also good. As we are, such are the times.” Looking at our present world order, perhaps we should consider how our lives can become better. The Holy Eucharist contains the answer to helping us grow in goodness and grace. By our reception of Holy Communion Jesus enables us to become more like Himself.

Reflection:  Imagine how abandoned Our Lord must feel as He remains in the tabernacles of our Churches. He is waiting to fill us with every good gift and yet so many have abandoned Him. Our society has become an increasingly pagan one. We turn away from the love and mercy of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. We ignore Him. Consider the anguish He must be feeling.  As He revealed His Sacred Heart to St. Margaret Mary, He said “Behold this Heart which has so loved mankind and which is so little loved in return.”  Recall that the Holy Eucharist is the living heart of the Church and many have forsaken Him.

February 13, 2022
“Blessed are they who are hungry, for they shall have their fill.” Luke 6: 21

 Reflection:  When you come to Mass, how hungry are you to be filled with the riches of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist? The more we long for the reception of Holy Communion and the more we desire to be united to Our Lord, the more graces, love, peace and joy will be ours. Much depends upon the disposition of our hearts. The graces which we receive are accordingly up to us.

February 6, 2022
St. Louise de Marrillac wrote, “With all of my heart I desire You, O Bread of Angels! Do not look on my unworthiness which separates me from You, but look on Your love which so often has invited me to approach You.” St. Louise exhibited a tender humility in expressing her unworthiness to receive the Holy Eucharist. She was aware that in Holy Communion, she was receiving the living God.
 
Reflection:  As we say the words, “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof...”, let us reflect on the fact that Jesus is ALIVE and PRESENT to us in the Blessed Sacrament. We are about to receive Him into our very being in a most personal and intimate way. How can we possibly be worthy of such a gift? How pleased Our Lord must be when He is welcomed by a humble heart. “Jesus, gentle, meek and humble of heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.”
January 30, 2022
“Give us this day our daily bread.” In teaching these words to us in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus was not only referring to our bodily need for daily food, but He was also teaching us the importance of spiritual nourishment. Our souls need the spiritual nourishment of the Holy Eucharist just as much as our bodies require physical sustenance.

Reflection:  The Holy Eucharist is true food for our souls. The Church teaches that each time a person receives Holy Communion worthily, the person’s ability to participate in the glorious joys of heaven is elevated. Jesus sanctifies us and makes us more and more like Himself.

January 23, 2022
The Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament of union. It is true food for the soul. It nourishes us and protects us from falling into mortal (serious) sin. It sensitizes us to even venial sin. It makes us aware of how offensive sin is to our loving God. It fills us with the desire to live the purity of heart, which Christ taught us in the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.”

Reflection:  The greatest lovers of the Holy Eucharist are those who have attained purity of heart:  the Saints. They are able to experience the foretaste and the promise of the pascal feast of heaven here on earth. They are able to see beyond the small, white, consecrated Host to see Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist. Recall that the Church teaches that all of us are called to be saints.

January 16, 2022
Each Mass has infinite value. This gift is so great that we should endeavor to make the Holy Mass the very center of our lives. “Know, O Christian, that the Mass is the holiest act. You cannot do anything to glorify God more, than by devoutly attending Mass.” (St. Peter Julian Eymard)

Reflection:  One of the effects of the Holy Mass and of the Holy Eucharist is to prepare us for the Beatific Vision in heaven. Even now we are able to share on earth in the intimate life of the Three Divine Persons through the Mass and Holy Communion. Only fools would turn away from such a glorious gift.
“Do everything you can for the sake of one Holy Communion.” (St. Mary Magdaline de Pazzi)        
January 9, 2022
“What is it, Lord, that You could have done for us, that You have not done?” (St. Bridget of Sweden)  The Holy Eucharist is the greatest Sacrament of all because it is truly Jesus present to us in the consecrated Host. Jesus nourishes us with His very own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. He pours out His love, mercy and innumerable graces each time we worthily receive Him in Holy Communion.

Reflection:  It is supremely important to receive the Blessed Sacrament. How can we afford to neglect the Holy Eucharist when Christ enriches our souls, nourishes and strengthens us and prepares us for an eternity of joy with the Blessed Trinity in Heaven?

January 2, 2022
The latest Pew Poll released this past December indicates that only 26% of Catholics attend Mass each week. In light of the love, which Christ offers us in the Holy Eucharist, perhaps our focus in the New Year should be on growing in our appreciation of our Catholic Faith’s most supreme gift.

Reflection: In the Holy Eucharist Jesus gives us everything.  He holds nothing back from us. All that He has, He gives to us. To quote Father Lawrence Lovasik in his book “THE BASIC BOOK ON THE EUCHARIST”, “You could not ask for more. Christ could not give you more.”
 Ultimately the Eucharist is not only about receiving Holy Communion, it is about transforming your life. Why not consider this to be an invitation to transform your life in 2022 through a greater love and devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament?

December 26, 2021
“The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it. Therefore, He came to dwell on Earth and Assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the food of our souls.”  St. John Vianney

Reflection:  The Holy Eucharist is the continuation of the Incarnation among us. We find in the tabernacle the same Infant Jesus, who was found in the manger for the Shepherds to adore.

O Come! Let us adore Him!

May you and your family be filled with the abundance of grace, which the Christ Child brings to us this Christmas and in every Holy Mass.

December 19, 2021
Did you know that the word “Bethlehem” means “House of Bread”? Were you aware that the word “manger” means “to eat” in French? These Biblical symbols prefigure the Holy Eucharist, which is the embodiment and the continuation of Christ’s Incarnation among us.

Reflection:  With our daily bread, our physical nourishment, we flourish. With the strength of the Bread of Life, the Holy Eucharist, our bodies and souls are fed with Divine grace to enable us to grow in our personal sanctification. In addition we are enabled to contribute to the sanctification of the world.
St. Damien, who ministered to the lepers, wrote, “The Eucharist is the bread that gives strength. It is at once the most eloquent proof of Christ’s love and the most powerful means of fostering His love in us.”

December 12, 2021
We are a now about halfway through Advent. When you next receive Jesus in Holy Communion, consider this quote from St Peter Julian Eymard. “Is not Our Lord as meek and humble in the Blessed Sacrament as He was during His life on earth?”

Reflection:  Whenever you approach the Blessed Sacrament, take a good look at the small, fragile, white, consecrated Host. Then consider the tremendous glory of all creation over which Christ reigns. What profound humility radiates from that tiny piece of consecrated bread in relation to the vastness and majesty of Creation.
Jesus, as we receive You into our hearts and souls with each Eucharist and as we prepare to commemorate Your birth in Bethlehem, please teach us meekness and humility. Come, Lord Jesus, come.

December 5, 2021
As we continue our Advent journey towards the precious gift of the Birth of Christ, the words of St. Angela of Foligno come to mind. “The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the GIFT of gifts and the GRACE of graces.”  There is no closer union possible between God and man on this Earth than the gift of the Incarnation. Jesus, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, willingly takes upon Himself our human nature.

Reflection:  The entire purpose of the Incarnation is our salvation. This is the reason why Jesus came into the world. God has created us for the eternal joy of Heaven. To attain Heaven is to be a saint. When you receive Jesus in Holy Communion, why not ask Him to make you a saint? The frequent, reverent reception of the Holy Eucharist is the surest path to sanctity. Leon Bloy, a French author and convert wrote, “The only tragedy in life is not to be a saint.”