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.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

THE MYSTERY OF SUFFERING

Suffering, either in this world or the world to come, is a subject no one likes to think about. In our day, and, in particular, the Western culture, suffering is seen as an evil to be avoided at all costs. Not much has changed since Jesus suffered a horrible, shameful death on the Cross - with His Mother witnessing and sharing His agony.

Suffering - yes, it is a mystery. Yet if we wish to share in the glory of Jesus' Resurrection, we must be prepared to accept what He accepted - suffering for the sake of others in union with Jesus. All He did was for others. That's where suffering begins to make sense.

Jesus -- the Son of God -- was willing and eager to share in our sufferings. He experienced all of them in His flesh. Some might be tempted to say, "Suffering is evil -- the root of all evil." But that was what Peter thought when Jesus told him he would suffer, be crucified and die, and on the third day be raised again. Jesus rebuked Peter abruptly, and told him what was truly evil: "Get behind me, Satan".

No Cross, no Resurrection - no dying to self, no new life in Him.
 For the majority of souls, self-will, self-love asserts itself: "My will be done, not yours, Lord." We are not willing to embrace suffering. We are not willing to be generous with our suffering and offer it for the salvation of souls, as Our Lady at Fatima lamented.

Most souls will not be ready to see Love in His Absolute Purity and Goodness. We have been blinded by our own selfishness, and have fallen for the ancient temptation 'to be like gods'. We want our way.

Most souls will to go to purgatory - to be cleansed, to be purified. One account, in particular, highlights this desire. St. Gertrude saw, in a vision, a very devout nun standing before Our Lord, but was unable to gaze at His Face. She backed away as He beckoned her to come. When the Saint asked her why she did not go to Him, she replied that she was not yet cleansed of every stain left on her soul by her sins. She knew she was not pure enough, and wanted to be purified. She chose to be purified in purgatory.

God is Love -- and if He suffered, and if we wish to call ourselves Christians, His followers, we must do the same, for the same reason. Blessed Mother Teresa once said,"when suffering comes to us, we should accept it with a smile, because it is the greatest gift that God gives us. It is a gift to have the courage to accept everything that He sends us."

The choice is ours. We can love now, as He loved, and willingly accept and offer our suffering for others. By doing so, we will show our love for Him and gain great merit. Or we can wait, and have it imposed later, by purifying necessity, with no merit.
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