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 2, 2012

EUGENIA ELISABETTA RAVASIO

Who is Mother Eugenia , whom God the Father called "My beloved daughter", "My little plant"?

In our opinion, Mother Eugenia is one of the greatest lights of our times, the little prophet of a new Church, in which the Father is the centre and apex of all mankind, and in which unity is the highest ideal of spirituality. She is a light given by the Father to the world at this time of chaos and darkness, so that we may see the road that has to be followed.

She was born in San Gervasio d'Adda (now Capriato San Gervasio), a small town in the province of Bergamo, Italy, on 4 September 1907, in a family of peasant background.

She received only an elementary education. After a few years working in a factory, she entered the Congregation of Our Lady of the Apostles at the age of 20 years. It was here that her great charismatic personality developed, leading to her election as Mother General of the Congregation at the age of only 25.

Quite apart from her spiritual qualities, her work in the social field alone would suffice to ensure her a place in history. In twelve years of missionary activity she opened over 70 centres - each with infirmary, school and church in the remotest spots of Africa, Asia and Europe.
It was she who discovered the first medicine for the cure of leprosy, extracting it from the seed of a tropical plant. This medicine was later studied and developed further at the Pasteur Institute in Paris.

She encouraged the apostolate of Raoul Follereau, who, following in her footsteps and building on the foundations laid by her, is regarded as the apostle of the lepers.

During the period 1939-41 she conceived, planned and brought to fruition the project for a "Lepers' City" at Azopte (Ivory Coast). This was a vast centre, covering an area of 200,000 sq.m., for the care of leprosy sufferers. It remains even today one of Africa's and the world's leading centres of its kind.

In recognition of this achievement, France conferred the highest national honour for social work on the Congregation of Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles, of which Mother Eugenia was Superior General from 1935 to 1947. Mother Eugenia returned to the Father on 10 August 1990.

Her most important legacy to us is the Message of the Father ("The Father speaks to His children"), the only private revelation made personally by God the Father and recognized as authentic by the Church after ten years of the most rigorous examination. We reproduce at the beginning of the text the statement issued by Mgr Alexandre Caillot, Bishop of Grenoble, following the investigation.

It is noteworthy that the Father (in 1932) dictated the Message to Mother Eugenia in Latin, a language totally unknown to her.

In 1981 this Message came to our notice, and in 1982, its fiftieth anniversary, we published it in Italian.

The many miracles of grace worked by the Message have led us to disseminate it gratis, especially in prisons, barracks and hospitals. In addition to English, it is available in French, Italian, Spanish, German and other languages.

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