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It’s Day 189!!
We are taking a BIG STEP!!
Can I count it down??
1…2…3….
The heart of religion is WORSHIP
And the heart of worship is SACRIFICE
So what do we do at the Mass?
The Mass is the sacrifice of the Son to the Father in the Power of the Holy Spirit
That is the heart of the Mass
Because Jesus truly, really, and substantially present-Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity-in the Eucharist, WE TRULY WORSHIP JESUS CHRIST, OUR GOD, IN THE EUCHARIST
The Eucharist is not only a sacrifice
THE PASCHAL BANQUET
The Lord God Himself wants to receive us and give Himself to us in Holy Communion
So let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, thank you so much. We just give you praise today. We give you praise because you have given us everything. You have given us being. You have given us existence. You have given us breath. Lord God, every day we’ve ever lived, every heartbeat we’ve ever experienced, every thought we’ve had, Lord, has its origin in you. Let all of those heartbeats and thoughts and days all be directed towards your glory. Help us to love you with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. Help us to love you with everything we have. Help us to take care of our neighbors. You’ve given yourself to us in love. Help give ourselves back to you in love. And if you-as you’ve shown us what it is to love without cost, we ask you to help us love each other without cost, expecting nothing in return. Help us to give love for love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”
So there we have it!!
Since Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially present in the Eucharist…
Then the Eucharist IS THE BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY OF JESUS CHRIST
Right?
THIS IS TRULY GOD!!
Therefore, there is WORSHIP OF THE EUCHARIST
WE BOW DOWN BEFORE THE EUCHARIST!!
THIS IS REMARKABLE!!
Fr. Mike is telling a story about some camps in his diocese so let’s listen…
IF what Catholics believe is NOT TRUE then what we do every day and every Sunday whenever we walk into a Catholic Church and genuflect before Jesus’ presence in the tabernacle is as bad, if not worse, than the golden calf in the Book of Exodus
If we Catholics are wrong about Jesus’ true presence in the Eucharist, then we are the greatest idolaters that have ever walked the face of the Earth
For 2,000 years, we have been bowing down before what looks like bread and wine
For 2,000 years we have been giving our hearts, our love, our attention, and our worship to the work of human hands
BUT…
If Jesus was SERIOUS when He said, “This IS my Body. This IS my Blood,” then that is the ONLY CASE where we are NOT COMMITTING ADULTERY
IN FACT…
WE ARE WORSHIPING!!
We have the opportunity to be in God’s presence in this COMPLETELY UNIQUE WAY
We get to gaze upon the face of Jesus in this UNIQUE AND HIDDEN WAY
We get to give Him our WHOLE HEART, MIND, SOUL, AND STRENGTH
We have the opportunity to not only worship in the sense that we offer up the sacrifice of the Son to the Father in the Power of the Holy Spirit…
We have the ability to come before Jesus Christ, bow down before Him in the Eucharist, and TRULY WORSHIP GOD IN THE EUCHARISTIC SPECIES
Paragraph 1381 says, “‘That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is something that ‘cannot be apprehended by the senses,’ says St. Thomas, ‘but only by faith, which relies on divine authority.’”
To look, touch, and taste, no it looks like bread and wine
BUT…
The SENSE OF HEARING changes everything
When we look at the Eucharist, we don’t see Jesus clearly (I do…ever since I reverted back to Catholicism God has blessed me with the gift to see Jesus’ face in the Eucharist and I’ve also seen the Eucharist BREATHE!! 🤯 🤯 🤯)
We don’t taste Jesus
We can’t touch Jesus in the same sense
We can’t tell that it’s Him by our sight, our taste, or our touch
BUT…
We can tell that it’s Him by our sense of hearing
Because Jesus truly did say, “This is my Body which is given for you.”
And Jesus truly did say, “This is my Blood which is poured out for you.”
Because of that, we trust in God WHO IS TRUTH
Since God is Truth, HE CANNOT LIE
Does that make sense?
Yes a couple of our senses can deceive us
They would lead us to believe that it is just ordinary bread and wine
EXCEPT FOR THE SENSE OF HEARING
In which case we can HEAR our Savior
IN FACT…
Here’s another Fr. Mike story, let’s listen…
St. Robert Bellarmine was debating someone
That person said that the Eucharist is merely a symbol and reminder of Jesus
He said that it’s not truly Christ’s Body and Blood
St. Robert Bellarmine was a bit of a jokester
He said, “Ok, let me get this straight. You say this is not his Body. Jesus said, ‘This is my body.’ Tell me, if you were me who do you think I should believe? If you were in my position and it was between you and Jesus Himself, and you’re saying this is not His Body but Jesus said THIS IS MY BODY, just help me out. Who do you think I should believe?”
Because we believe in Jesus who is THE TRUTH and He CANNOT LIE we will believe that Jesus is TRULY, REALLY, AND SUBSTANTIALLY PRESENT
Because of that we will WORSHIP JESUS IN THE TABERNACLE EVERYTIME WE WALK INTO A CHURCH
WE WILL TAKE A KNEE!!
WE WILL BOW PROFOUNDLY!!
THAT IS THE LORD OUR GOD!!
St. Pope John Paul II said, “The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. So, therefore, let us not refuse the time to go to meet Him in adoration.”
THAT IS A HUGE THING!!
There are many people who are listening
When you have a chance, stop by a Church
Place yourself in front of our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist
THAT IS IT!!
We talked about this when it comes to the Mass
When you’re not there, it matters
When you are there, it matters
When you are not there, the Lord is just that much less glorified and the world is that much less sanctified
BUT…
When you ARE there, the world is just that much more sanctified and God is just that much more glorified
Same thing is true when it comes to visiting our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist
There is SOMETHING that happens
What happens?
A lot of times, we don’t feel anything
We don’t feel recharged like one of those Tesla cars
That’s not always the case
Oftentimes it’s, “Here I am, Lord.”
That’s all
Here’s another story by Fr. Mike so let’s listen…
St. John Vianney asked the farmer what does he do when he’s sitting in the pew at Church every single day
The farmer said, “I look at the good God, and the good God looks at me.”
THAT IS IT!!
SO SIMPLE!!
We can’t always tell what’s happening
We don’t always feel like we are transformed
BUT…
Imagine that right down the road from you, Jesus Christ is TRULY REALLY AND SUBSTANTIALLY PRESENT
Here’s another Fr. Mike story of when he was 16 years old so let’s listen…
Fr. Mike made a commitment of 1 hour a week
There is something so powerful that Jesus awaits us in the sacrament of love
St. John Paul II said, “Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration.”
THE PASCHAL BANQUET
Once again…
The heart of religion is WORSHIP
And the heart of worship is SACRIFICE
The altar is the altar of SACRIFICE
100% true
The Catholic Church is BOTH AND
Not necessarily either/or
BOTH AND
The altar is the altar of sacrifice AND the altar is the TABLE OF THE BANQUET
Not only is the altar the place of sacrifice, offering the sacrifice of the Son to the Father in the Power of the Holy Spirit
BUT…
THIS IS THE TABLE OF THE LORD!!
At the Mass we are entering into THE PASCHAL BANQUET
We will continue talking about that tomorrow
We have the incredible gift of the Eucharist
We have the opportunity to worship Jesus outside of the Mass as well as inside the Mass
We remind ourselves that the Mass is truly a sacrifice
And the Mass truly is the Sacred Banquet of communion with our Lord’s Body and Blood
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
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