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.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

ENTER BY THE NARROW DOOR

Ephesians 6:1-9 / Luke 13:22-30

We know as a matter of fact that compliance to the law is not an option or a matter of choice. Obedience to the law is done not out of favour but it is demanded as such. Only then will there be stability and uniformity. Of course non-compliance and disobedience will be met with punishment and dissidents might be forcefully eradicated so as to sound out a warning for others. Yet, when God gives us a law or a commandment, then obedience to Him becomes an act of faith.

Because we believe that God loves us and His laws and commandments are for our good and we receive His blessings of love when we abide by His ways.

Hence when St. Paul, in the 1st reading, urged children to be obedient to their parents and slaves to their masters, he was actually asking them to have recourse to their faith in God. Because when children obey their parents and slaves their masters, they are actually obeying God and they will inherit God's blessings.

Yet obedience to human authority can be difficult because we are wounded by sin and hence we have a rebellious tendency. That is why in the gospel Jesus tells us to enter by the narrow door - the narrow door of obedience made in faith.

We must believe that behind that narrow door lies God's abundant blessings of peace and joy.

Posted by   Rev Fr Stephen Yim at 10/30/2012 09:59:00 PM

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