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.

Monday, July 16, 2012

CATHOLIC LOVE

SPECIAL MESSAGE

On Catholic Love


Love is the essence of the Catholic faith for God is love, and so the faith He gives to mankind must be the faith of love. Today many Catholics have forgotten this and seem to live a faith of little love. The love of God is so often secondary in a person’s life and the love of others is almost non- existent. Many Catholics love their wives, their families and their friends but isn’t that the love most people have in the world, regardless of faith or of no faith (Matthew 5:46 ‘for if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same?’ 5:47 ‘and if you greet your brother only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same?’)

While this type of love is meant to be a part of the love we as Catholics live, it is not all there is to love. True love goes far beyond that.

True love is to love God first and foremost before self, before others; even family.

True love is to love others before self. To treat others not only as you expect them to treat you but to treat them with the love that Christ, Our Lord, has for all people; an unconditional love, a sacrificing love, a serving love, a gentle love and a compassionate love.
True love can only be lived by living in the one who is love itself, Christ, Our Lord. There has to be a complete abandonment of self into Jesus, Our Divine Lord. In that abandonment of self, a deep desire that Jesus will live in you, through you, and with you in every moment of life. That each moment of your life is a moment where you can let God’s love, united with your love, reach out to touch the world.
Each Catholic is meant to be a vessel of true love bringing that love with them wherever they go and to whomever they meet. Then in living this way The Holy Spirit of love will fill the life of the person with His Divine Grace in abundance, so that the light of God’s love through the person will illuminate the dark in the world.

With the power of God’s gentle love residing in the heart and soul, no longer will a Catholic be a prisoner of the world, for now the things of the world are brought into perspective. With the spiritual sight that comes with true love it is seen that the worldly things are temporary and truly of little value in eternity (Matthew 16:26 ‘What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and to forfeit his life?’). A person begins to see that what ever they have in the world is a gift from God to be used for the betterment of all mankind. Inside burns a desire to share what you have and not to keep for self more than you need to live for Christ.

In the lives of many Catholics this has been forgotten or is ignored and so these people do not love God or love others as they should. Many put the world first in life and the result of that is they stop truly loving.

The world leads people to love of self, not to the love of God and others. The world leads to greed and selfishness, both of which stop and deny true love.

Life for many Catholics is no longer Catholic but worldly. The Catholic life is meant to be one that, while lived in the world, lifts the person beyond the desires of the world and to desires of eternal life in heaven.

Catholics, because they have the fullness of God, the fullness of Christ in their faith, are meant to find their lives fulfilled in their faith. However because so many have taken their focus from true love they do not find what they should in their faith. To many the faith is just an empty shell they use to cover their failings, their weaknesses and their sins. To many the Catholic Church and its teachings come second in life to what the world says and the life the world encourages people to live. Frequently Catholics listen more to their governments than to their church, accepting the government’s line before church teaching.

Some have forgotten that God speaks in pure love through His Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and that when they do not listen to the Church they are not listening to God. In not listening to God, people turn from His love, for all His teachings and commandments are ones of love. They turn their faith into one that is Catholic only in name but not in practice and not in love (Luke 6:46 ‘Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ but do not do what I command?’).

Some have turned their faith into a nationalistic one where it is entwined with their countries’ interests, which are placed first, and distort the faith to be a shadow of the true faith of love.

The Catholic faith is not for one nation and is not based on any nationalistic ideals.

The Catholic faith is the universal faith of love for all people, where all people are seen as equal and are loved equally.

The Catholic faith is based on the teachings and ideals of Christ, as it is the body of Christ, Our Lord, and therefore is not one that can be swayed or changed by the worldly ways.

It is the same for all Catholics who are part of the Body of Christ, they too must not be swayed by the world, they too must not change the faith to suit the world or self. Each Catholic is meant to live to Christ’s way of love and to no other way.

If Christ, Our Lord is truly loved, with that love would be the desire to please Him and to be obedient to His Holy Will. Within Catholicism there are people and groups who are disobedient to the Church, to the Pope and to the will of God through His church.

It seems pride has blinded some so that they forget where disobedience comes from. Lucifer is the prince of disobedience. It was he who first led man into disobedience and it is he who encourages continued disobedience. Foolishly, some forget what this disobedience has brought to mankind, from the beginning it has brought hurt and suffering. Adam and Eve, in disobedience, were sent from the Garden of Eden into a world that was further from God and His love and so they suffered. Then evil introduced sin in place of love, as Cain murdered his brother Abel, whom he should have loved and not hated with jealous anger. The history of mankind continued and continues with foolish disobedience and with unnecessary suffering because of it.

With the pride of disobedience, love is denied and in that denial, those Catholics who are disobedient, weaken the church and open it to attacks from the world. They also weaken the whole of mankind by denying God’s love in their own lives and then by denying others who would have been touched and benefited by that love in them.

How Lucifer laughs at the foolish pride of some Catholics who deny God’s love and put love of self and their own desires before God. These Catholics do not imitate Christ, who was totally obedient to the Father’s will, instead they imitate the prince of pride and disobedience. Sadly so often they do not even recognize what this may cost them in eternity (Matthew: 7:21 ‘Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.’).

Every Catholic who truly wants to be a Catholic, who truly wants to be an imitator of Christ, must live in loving obedience to God, to His Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. They must live a life of true love where they deny themselves for the love of God and for the love of others. This is the faith that The Lord Jesus gave to mankind and this is how all are meant to live if they want to live in His eternal glory in heaven.

Here are a couple of messages from The Lord, Jesus, which are in the most recent book given by the Lord on love, which is titled ‘The Lord of love’.

11/11/96

In a desert any oasis looks attractive and often people would chase after mirages of beautiful oases only to find they did not exist.

Today the world is like a desert, barren of My love in many hearts. Often these people chase after illusions that look as if they bring happiness and the answers to life. How disappointed they will be when they find in these illusions nothing exists, only pain and suffering.

Before My children rush headlong to an illusion of safety and security they should look to see what is really offered to them and they will find unless it is of God it will only bring them sadness and tragedy.

25/3/97
Do not be selfish. Do not be only concerned for yourself. Do not be filled with your own importance.

Consider others as I did. Love others as I did. Be kind to others as I was when I lived on earth, then you live as I ask you to.
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