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.
Last year 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.

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.

PREVIOUS WEEKS:
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.”