Bread of Life

BREAD OF LIFE
 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. (john 6: 50)
The miracle of God’s physical presence to us at every Mass is the truest testament to Christ’s love for us and His desire for each of us to have a personal relationship with Him. Jesus Christ celebrated the first Mass with His disciples at the Last Supper, the night before He died. He commanded His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). The celebration of the Mass then became the main form of worship in the early Church, as a reenactment of the Last Supper, as Christ had commanded. Each and every Mass since commemorates Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross through the Holy Eucharist. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass—instituted by Christ and practiced by the early Church—with the whole community of Catholics around the world…and in heaven.

THE REAL PRESENCE

Why does the Catholic Church believe Christ is really present in the Eucharist?
The Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence is the belief that Jesus Christ is literally, not symbolically, present in the Holy Eucharist—body, blood, soul and divinity. Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because Jesus tells us this is true in the Bible:

“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” - John 6:48-56
Furthermore, the early Church Fathers either imply or directly state that the bread and wine offered in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is really the body and blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, the doctrine of the Real Presence that Catholics believe today was believed by the earliest Christians 2,000 years ago!

This miracle of God’s physical presence to us at every Mass is the truest testament to Christ’s love for us and His desire for each of us to have a personal relationship with Him.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

ONE QUESTION

In the whole of life on this earth, there is only one question that you must be concerned about. Nothing else really matters - Not money, not sex, not drugs, not pleasure, not comfort, not vacation time, not power, not promotions at work, not anything else. If we can't answer yes to this question without hesitation and without doubt, then you and I MUST reorient our lives accordingly.

The penalty for not answering yes to this question is great; that is, being trapped forever in the fires of hell, along with the worst of the worst who ever lived. Everybody already in heaven answered yes to this question while they were alive on earth, albeit with different degrees of effort.

To answer yes to this question, we must carry on a daily conversation with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Creator. Conversation is not just asking Him for stuff. Conversation is a two way street. So how does Jesus talk to us? Through His Word in the Bible. Jesus IS the Word made flesh, after all. By reading and studying Him through His Word, we begin to see what He expects of us, and it is not fornication, lust, gluttony, greed, abortion, anger, etc.

Rather, it is humility, purity, meekness, love, kindness, etc., EVEN TO THOSE WE DON'T LIKE. He forgave His torturers and murderers from the cross; He expects no less of us. And after reading His Word, then we pray to Jesus about our life, about our needs, and always with thanksgiving, adoration, and contrition for our many sins, thus completing the conversation.

An Olympic athlete doesn't just show up at the Games and say "Here I am". Rather, he or she practices 8 or 9 hours a day to get a piece of gold, silver, or bronze. They deny themselves many pleasures of life for years in order to subdue their bodies and to polish their particular talent. We as followers of Jesus Christ should do no less in our pursuit of heaven, which is worth much more than gold, silver, or bronze. After all, EVERYONE in heaven is a saint. Do we really think that we can attain heaven if we "just show up" and say "Here I am"?

Jesus Christ Himself said that "not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father" (Matthew 7:21). Therefore, we MUST DO HIS WILL and not jut sit around and go with the flow of secular society. G.K Chesterton once said that only dead bodies float with the current; it takes live ones to swim upstream. So look alive already!! In Matthew 22:11-14, we learn that we can't get into heaven if we don't have the proper wedding garment (holiness):

"But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, `Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, `Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.' For many are called, but few are chosen."
St. John Vianney once said

"If people would do for God what they do for the world, what a great number of Christians would go to Heaven!"
And ain't it the truth! People in this world travel thousands of miles in numerous countries to attain personal wealth, attend sporting events, and for personal pleasure. People suffer mightily starting up new businesses. We, as adopted sons and daughters of the King of Kings, are royalty in Heaven, and we need to start acting like it NOW while we are alive on earth. After all, Jesus has already established His Kingdom here on earth in Matthew 16:19. Jesus said that whatever we do for the poor, we do to Him (Matthew 25:40). How many of us ignore the poor (and thus ignore Jesus) and hope that they just go away and leave us alone so that we can get back to our big screen TVs and the big game?

So what exactly is this one big question that we need to be concerned about?

IS JESUS REALLY YOUR LORD AND MASTER?

And if the answer is yes, do you act like it? Do you really know Jesus, or do you just know "about" Jesus? Are you really a Catholic and set apart from the world? John 14:30 talks about Satan being the ruler of this world. To overcome him, do you meditate on the Passion of Jesus daily, especially through the Holy Rosary? If Jesus is your Lord and Master, do you try to receive Him into your body by attending daily Mass and daily Communion as often as possible? Do you try to help the poor as much as possible? Do you pray for your enemies? What kind of books do you read, and what kind of movies do you watch? Do you subdue your body like Paul did (1 Corinthians 9:27) so that you can cut yourself loose from the weight of this world?

How often do you pray silently during the day, asking your Lord and Master to increase your faith and give you more grace to endure suffering? Do you TOTALLY trust Jesus to take care of you no matter what, or do you trust more in your pocketbook, your ingenuity, and your smarts? Do you realize that Jesus is sending you suffering to strengthen you and to test you to see if you really love him, or are you just going through the motions and paying Him lip service?

Matthew 15:8: "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me"
Look, no one is perfect, and no one can do all of the above things at once, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that you are making an initial effort to disassociate ourselves from the things of this world, and are trying to move, however gradual, toward the things of the next world, our real home. The more you make the effort to do the above things through prayer and sacrifice, the easier it becomes to do them all.

In fact, Jesus will make them second nature to us if we only ask Him for that gift! Christians are like aliens in a strange land here on earth, because what we value is not valuable to the world. The world values riches, unlimited sex, pleasure, pride, etc., and those things are anathema to Christians who value the message of the cross - Our supreme sacrifice for the good of others. Jesus Himself in Revelation 3:16 warns us all about being lukewarm to him:

"So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth."
There are those people in The Church who dissent from the teachings of the Church, proudly proclaiming that "WE ARE CHURCH". They say that dissent is a healthy thing, and that what The Church really needs to do is to have women priests, make homosexuality OK and no longer sinful, and in general to become more like the Episcopal Church, with women Bishops. This just in.....The Church is not a democracy, nor is it a political party. And dissent is just a code word for disobedience. And who was the very first dissenter? Satan, who proudly told God - "I WILL NOT SERVE". A 50 year old person being disobedient to our 2000 year old Holy Mother Church is the equivalent of a 1 year old being disobedient to a 40 year old mother, and who in their right mind thinks that that is a wonderful thing?

It is recommended that you ask yourself this one question daily, especially during times of trouble, but also during the good times. The more you answer yes to this question, the more satan will flee from you, and the closer Mother Mary will get to you, and that is a very GREAT thing, because, as Gabriel said, "The Lord IS with thee"! Jesus told us all in John 15:9:

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you; abide in my love."
So that means that Jesus loves each and every one of us as much as His Father, Our Father, loved Him. So now that you know that, what will your response be? Business as usual with your life, or a renewed commitment to know God, love God, and serve God in this life, so that you can be happy with Him in the next life?

19 comments:

Solid Rock or Sinking Sand said...

Very interesting post. I have given my life over to my Lord Jesus and was baptized into His name. However, by the words of your post, being I am not a Roman Catholic I am not going to make it to heaven. My prayers go out to you my friend. God bless, Lloyd

Unknown said...

Dear Lloyd,

Whether Catholics and non-Catholics realize it or not, anyone Baptized by the Catholic Church, or Baptized validly by the standard Church approved method by Church sanctioned non-Catholic denominations, or by individuals who have the intention of doing what the Church does, is Baptized into the Catholic Church, or if you prefer, the Church which Jesus Christ founded in Matthew 16:18.

What this means, is that all who meet the above requirements for Baptism, are joined to the Catholic Church, and are therefore, not outside of the Catholic Church, as the Council states.

This covers most protestant denominations, as most of them, but not all, are Church sanctioned.

I was saved, I am saved and I am being saved. Yes, but only GOD knows who they are.

God bless you
Michael Gormley

Anonymous said...

The true meaning of, "Outside of the Catholic Church, there is no Salvation", is, 'if you realize the Catholic Church is the True Church, and if you refuse to join it, then you have rejected the truth of the Church.

By rejecting the Church, you reject Jesus Christ who founded it'. Therefore you are... 'Outside of the Catholic Church and there is no salvation'.
See Hebrews 6:4-8.

Scooter said...

I don't believe there will be any "Methodists", "Baptists", "Catholics", "Presbyterians", "Lutherans",etc., etc., etc. in heaven. All these names will be gone for good and there will only be the one true church-the body of believers who have bowed their knee to Christ, have recognized His supreme authority and claim on their lives and have repented, believed in their heart and confessed with their mouth that Jesus is Lord. On the other hand there will be members in good standing of all the above denominations in hell because they trusted in their denomination as a good work first and foremost but did not know Christ. Matthew 7:23.
Serious business indeed.

Unknown said...

Dear Scooter,

"It is therefore, the Catholic Church alone which retains true worship.

This is the fountain of truth; this, the domicile of faith; this the temple of GOD.

Whoever does not enter there or whoever does not go out from here, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation...

Because, however, all the various groups of heretics are confident that they are the Christians, and think that theirs is the Catholic Church, let it be known: that is the true Church, in which there is confession and penance, and which takes a salubrious care of sins and wounds to which the weak flesh is subject."

Lactantius, The Divine Institutions, 304 A.D..

Are you a heretic, Scooter?

p160 said...

One is not free to ignore God's will. To the degree that you or your denomination pervert God's will to that of your own, you are at grave at risk.

If you are Catholic, being fully aware of the teaching of the Church and rejecting it – you too are at very grave risk.

None of us on earth today definitively knows our own fate. Our final judgment has not yet been determined.

Through His Son Jesus Christ, God has given us His Church to feed and tend us. There are many independent churches that operate in His name with sincere and faithful members.

Their hope is not unfounded, but their path is precarious. The surest path to salvation is through the Church Christ Himself created – the Catholic Church.

daveg4g said...

It is true that those who call upon the Lord will be saved (Cf. Romans 10:13), but the Scripture also says that we must also do the will of God; we are to love our fellow humans as God does by what we do, by our actions, by our deeds, by our works.

If we do all this, with the help of God's grace, then we will be saved!

a39greenway said...

The oldest documented use of the word Catholic to describe the church occurs circa 110 A.D.

The context in which it is used (by Saint Ignatius) implies that it was a well known, established term.

By 110 A.D. all the books that would become the Bible, had not yet been written.

Yet, the church was already being called a Catholic church.

It only makes sense. The Church being called Catholic is a natural consequence of its oneness and its holiness.

If the church is one, that is united, its members would be unified in fulfilling the great commission (to preach the gospel to everyone, everywhere).

If the church is holy, that is a reflection of God; it would desire the love of God for all of God's people as does the Catholic Church.

So, just as a church, that is not unified, cannot be God's church, just as a church, that is not holy, cannot be God's church and a church that is not universal is not fulfilling the great commission cannot be God's church - that is a sure fire sign that the Spirit is not at work in her and she cannot be the true church of God.

Scooter said...

Dear Michael,
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

My hope is not built on Lactantius or any other Catholic sage but on Christ alone. I suppose if that is your definition of a heretic I'm gladly that.

Scooter said...

Dear p160 you say: "None of us on earth today definitively knows our own fate. Our final judgment has not yet been determined."

Now the scriptures reveal to us that those who are in Christ can have absolute assurance that their sins are covered. The apostle Paul celebrates the present and future security of the saints (all believers)in the almighty love of God. See Romans 8:31-39. he rejoices in the certainty that God will complete the good work that he began in the lives of believers. (Phil. 1:6; 1 Cor. 1;8; 9:1; 1 Thessalonians 5:23, 24; 2 Thess. 3:3; 2 Tim. 1:12; 4:18. Thus there are ample scriptures that god points us to assurance for now and tomorrow. The regerate are saved through persevering in faith and christian living to the end (Heb.3:6; 6:11; 10:35-39) as God preserves them. Salvation is God's work from beginning to end. This should bring us much comfort for we don't have to depend on our puny efforts.
Blessings,
Scooter

Unknown said...

Dear Scooter,
Are you an automatic robot....you don't have a profile or BLOG!?

Why don't you reveal yourself instead of hiding under a "bushel basket?"

Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. (Matthew 5: 15)

p160 said...

Scooter said...
Dear p160 you say: "None of us on earth today definitively knows our own fate. Our final judgment has not yet been determined."

SCOOTER

Scooter is the Web "crawler" for the AltaVista public search engine. AltaVista once claimed that it was "the fastest known Web crawler in existence".

Scooter adheres to the rules of politeness for Web spiders that are specified in the Standard for Robot Exclusion (SRE.

It asks each server which files should be excluded from being indexed. It does not (or can not) go through firewall . And it uses a special algorithm for waiting between successive server requests so that it doesn't affect response time for other users.

In addition to AltaVista's free public search service, its parent company, Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) sells AltaVista for individual use (downloaded to your computer, it can search everything on your hard disk) and for enterprise intranet.

Canyon Shearer, DMin said...

O foolish Romanists! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. - Galatians 3:1-3, 5:4

Unknown said...

Dear Canyon,
You stand corrected!!

Galatians 3: 1 - 3

1 1 2 O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?

2 I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard? 3

3 Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? 4

Galatians 5: 1 - 4

1 1 2 For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.

2 It is I, Paul, who am telling you that if you have yourselves circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you.

3 Once again I declare to every man who has himself circumcised that he is bound to observe the entire law. 3

4 You are separated from Christ, you who are trying to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

Canyon Shearer, DMin said...

Oh you foolish Romanist.

Unknown said...

Dear Canyon,

22 17 But I say to you, whoever is angry 18 with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, 'Raqa,' will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna (Matthew 5: 22)

Canyon Shearer, DMin said...

Roman Catholics are not my brothers. See Psalm 139 for my feeling towards them.

Unknown said...

Dear Canyon,
I imagine you are RAGING over your fear, pain and shame. Your process is not about the Catholic Church, but unprocessed "stuff" from your childhood.

Canyon Shearer, DMin said...

Paganism.