Eucharist - Jesus' Physical Embrace
In the Gospel, we hear that Jesus too
is seeking a union of heart, mind, soul, and life with His Beloved - you &
me.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life
within you."
When we share in the Body and Blood of
Christ in the Holy Eucharist, Jesus Himself comes to dwell within us.
God’s special gift to us makes Jesus
present to us not just externally, but internally as well.
Jesus comes to us to get inside us, to
live inside us, to come totally and completely into our lives, into our very
selves.
Bishop Edward Malesic once said the
following about the Eucharist.
"It was Jesus who said of the
bread, “Take, Eat. This is my body.” And He said of the wine. “This is my blood
of the covenant.”
Who am I to debate the words of Jesus? If he says over the bread, “This is my body,”
it is. And if he says over the wine,
“This is my blood,” Who am I to disagree?...
We believe that Jesus meant what He
said and said what He meant. We also
believe that, as God, Jesus has power behind His words, power to effect the
change He claimed over the bread and wine....
They are the same words spoken by a
priest at Mass today; and it is the power of Christ, acting in and through a
validly ordained priest, who is able to make this change in substance come
about on every altar in every Catholic Church even now."
That sums it up pretty well; It is
Truly Jesus because He says that it is His Body and His Blood.
On the night before His death, Jesus
gave us the Eucharist, His Physical Embrace, His Kiss, a sacrament in which He gives
us His total self, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
Through His Embrace, He gives us His Mercy,
Healing, Kindness, Forgiveness, and Love.
When you receive the Eucharist, Envision Him embracing you and giving
you all that you need from the inside out.
This communion with the Lord makes us
one Body, brings us eternal life, and sends us forth to be Christ's Body for
the life of the world.
In a few moments, you will see with what
great love and care the priest touches Jesus in the Host during Mass.
We should go out into the world and do
the same, because it is the same Jesus we will find there in the broken bodies
of the people we encounter.
Today we sit at the feet of Jesus, who
is present to us. We come to listen to
Him, learn from Him, be fed by Him, and unite ourselves to Him.
God’s Word made flesh, Christ Jesus, calls out to us once again here in this
church:
“Take and eat; this is my Body. Take
and drink, this is my blood.
I am marrying you, giving Myself to you
forever in love. Nothing can make Me not love you. I am yours forever!”
Remember, when you come down the aisle
to receive Holy Communion, you come as a Bride to receive the divine
Bridegroom, Jesus.
"God offers us a short route to
the possession of Himself. He cries out:
Love me and you will have me for you
would be unable to love me if you did not possess me already."
Praise Be Jesus Christ, the Living
Bread, Now and Forever, Amen!
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