“Growing in the Love for the Holy Eucharist and deepening our faith and conviction in Him!”

(Based on Acts 9:1-20 and Jn 6:52-59- Friday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time)

A person once came to a Catholic Priest, wanting to make fun of his faith and beliefs.

He especially wanted to take a dig at the Church’s understanding of the Holy Eucharist.

And so he asked, “How can ordinary bread and wine turn into the Body and Blood of Christ?”

The Priest answered, “Well, it’s simple to understand… The food that you eat daily, does it not change into your body and blood? Then how much more is it not possible for Christ to do the same?”

But the person did not give up.

He asked, “But how can the entire body of Christ be in such a small host? It sounds so kiddish to me!”

“Does not the whole vast landscape fit into your little eye?”, replied the priest.

The answer made a lot of sense…
But the person still persisted and said,”How can the same Christ be present in all your churches, at the same time?”

The priest then took a mirror and let the person look into it.

He then let the mirror fall to the ground and break and said “There is only one of you and yet you can find your face reflected in each piece of that broken mirror at the same time.”

These were some of the simple yet practical applications that were offered to let the Great Mystery of the Holy Eucharist be understood.

The Holy Eucharist – the Body and Blood of Jesus – is the greatest treasure that the Church offers to Her children…

Yet, the Holy Eucharist sometimes, also becomes the great barrier for people to misunderstand and misinterpret the Church.

The same was true even in the time of Jesus.

The mention of His Body and Blood caused great division, misunderstanding and led to the misinterpretation of Jesus.

The Gospel of the Day is an account of the Lord declaring the necessity of being partakers of His Body and Blood to be having a share in eternal life.

Jesus continues His discourse on He being the “Bread of Life”.

The Lord surprises His hearers by saying that He is “the bread that came down from heaven” (Jn 6:51a)

He shocks them even further by saying that “the bread that I give is my flesh for the world” (Jn 6:51b)

This caused a dispute among the people, ” How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” (Jn 6:52)

The bold declaration of the Lord that He would give His Flesh and His Blood as food and drink, caused a huge scandal among His listeners and it cause deep divisions and disputes.

The same is so much true in our own world, when the Church declares the Holy Eucharist to be the True and Real Body and Blood of the Lord, there is so much dispute and division caused.

Not many are able to accept this understanding
Not many are convinced of this teaching
Not many even believe this to be true
Not many are passionate either

The Catechism of the Church declares that “the mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species is unique”
“In the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.”

The questions now arise before us…

My belief and understanding of this most Precious and Treasured Gift of the Holy Eucharist – “the source and summit of Christian Life”
… Do I believe with conviction that Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Eucharist?
… Do I celebrate and participate in the Holy Mass with this Divine Fervour?

What is the effect that this Sacrament of Total Self-giving on me?
… Does the reception of Jesus, the Love Incarnate, make me in turn to be more loving towards others and do I make deliberate choices to extend love to all?
… Does the sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist impel me also to make sacrifices – even tiny, insignificant, unnoticed – for the cause and good of others?

My contribution to spread the good news of the Holy Eucharist to others
… Am I being a person who radiates the love of the Eucharist to others, by my conscious efforts to be respectful, reverent and devoted in the Chapel or Church and also become aware of the Lord’s Presence, when passing by Churches or handling Sacred objects?
… Do I tell to other people about this exciting, real presence of God in the Holy Eucharist, to other people, especially the sick, the suffering and those in distress, that they may experience the Real and True healing presence of the Lord?

Let us grow in the Love for the Holy Eucharist and deepen our faith and conviction in Him.

As St Francis de Sales tells us…
“When the bee has gathered the dew of heaven and the earth’s sweetest nectar from the flowers, it turns it into honey and hastens to its hive…
… In the same way, the priest, having taken from the altar, the Son of God (who is as the dew from heaven, and true son of Mary, flower of our humanity), gives him to you as delicious food.

When you have received Him, stir up your heart to do Him homage; speak to Him about your spiritual life, gazing upon Him in your soul where He is present for your happiness…
… Welcome Him as warmly as possible, and behave outwardly in such a way that your actions may give proof to all of His Presence.”

May Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist always be praised…
… and may our Blessed Mother Mary, the Mother of the Eucharist, intercede for us!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY – Marriage under the regime of sin

Nevertheless, the order of creation persists, though seriously disturbed.
To heal the wounds of sin, man and woman need the help of the grace that God in his infinite mercy never refuses them.

Without his help man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives for which God created them “in the beginning.” (CCC #1607)