And Jesus [God] said, “Take and eat;
this is my body.” And taking a cup, he gave thanks and
gave it to them, saying, “All of you drink of this; for this
is my blood of the new covenant, which is being shed for many unto
the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:26-28). *
And Jesus [God] said, “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” (John
And Jesus [God] said, “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. As the
living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats
me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from
heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bead will
live for ever”(John
"We have come to believe and are
convinced that you are the Holy One of God. "
John 6:69
1322-1419 HOLY EUCHARIST
Holy Eucharist is a Sacrament in which Christ Himself is truly though not visibly present as God and Man, with His glorified Body and Blood, under the appearances of bread and wine, to offer Himself on the altar as our sacrifice and to give Himself as our sacrificial food.
“The Eucharistic celebration is a holy meal which recalls the Last Supper, reminds us of our unity with one another in Christ, and anticipates the banquet of the kingdom. In the Eucharist, Christ the Lord nourishes Christians, not only with His word but especially with His Body and Blood, effecting a transformation which impels them toward greater love of God and neighbor” (National Catechetical Directory, no. 120).
Jesus promised the Holy Eucharist in the
words: “The bread that I will give is My flesh for the life of the
world. The Jewish people quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How
can this man give us His flesh to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Amen, amen,
I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His
blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats My flesh and
drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink’” (Jn
Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist on the
night before He suffered and died. When Jesus spoke the words
“This is My Body, this is My Blood’ (see Mt 26:26-28), He changed the
bread into His sacred Body and the wine into His precious Blood.
With the words: “Do this in memory of Me” (see Lk
That Jesus is truly present in the Holy
Eucharist we know: from the words by which Jesus promised and
instituted the Sacrament; and from the teaching of the Apostle Paul and
the Church. –
The Eucharist is the sign of God’s great love for us and fills us with happiness and gratitude. At the same time, it fills us with sorrow and pain because God’s love is not returned by His people. The Heart which has so loved human beings remains neglected and even offended by them.
Conscious of this sad situation, we should make reparation for ourselves and for others. To make reparation signifies being united to Christ, taking up our cross and carrying it out of love for Him in atonement. Then our human love will dimly resemble divine love, becoming an eternal, universal, and saving love.
Throughout the course of the day we should
strive to spend a few moments before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of
the Altar. We should adore and thank Him for all the gifts that he
has given us and for the gift of His Real Presence, then tell Him our
needs and everything that is in our heart, so that we may receive
comfort and strength. “Come to Me, all you who are weary and
overburdened; and I will give you rest” (Mt
During the Last Supper, what was Jesus holding in his
hands?
Jesus, held bread in His sacred hands and declared that the bread was in fact His Body and when He held the cup and declared the contents of the cup to be His Blood. *
Yes, He actually gave His Body and Blood to the
Apostles to eat and drink. Certainly this is a mystery, one of the
greatest mysteries in the history of the world. These elements
still looked and tasted like bread and wine, but in fact they had become
in reality Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, simply because, as
God, He declared them to be so. *
Jesus went on to say,‘Do this in memory of me’. What
did He mean by the word ‘this’? *
He had just changed bread and wine into His Body and Blood, and He commanded His Apostles to do the same. At that moment Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Priesthood, and during the Mass, when a duly ordained priest says the same words Jesus spoke, the Holy Spirit changes bread and wine into the reality of Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. *
The faith of the Apostolic and early Church in the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Eucharist is attested by the words of St. Paul and the Fathers; …St. Paul says: ‘The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?’ (lCor.10:16) *
Saint Ignatius of
And Saint Ignatius said, ‘You should regard that
Eucharist as valid which is celebrated either by the bishop or by
someone he authorizes. Where the bishop is present, there let the
congregation gather, just as where Jesus Christ is, there is the
Catholic Church’. (Letter to the Smyrneans, 8, [ca.A.D. 104/107]).
*
And Saint Ignatius said, “Try
to gather together more frequently to celebrate God’s Eucharist and to
praise him. For when you meet with frequency, Satan’s powers are
overthrown and his destructiveness is undone by the unanimity of your
faith’ (Letter to the Ephesians, 13, [ca. A.D. 104/107]). *
* (Victor Claveau, MJ, Bible Sabotage,
pgs.148-151.
The Incarnate Word,
our God and Savior Jesus, Who gives Himself to us in the
Holy Eucharist [the Bread of Life], appears in the Gospels as the
supreme Lord of the earth, of demons, and of the supernatural life.
Everything is subject to His sovereign domain.
At the beginning of His
apostolic ministry, He assists at the wedding of
On another occasion, the
Master and His disciples take a boat across
The wind becomes a
hurricane, a tempest is unleashed, the waves rise, and billows flourish
with a frightening roar; the boat is going to sink. The Savior
sleeps in the stern, His disciples wake Him, crying out: “Lord,
save us, we parish!”6 Then the Savior arises; He speaks
to the wind; He says to the furious sea: Silence,
calm yourself!...And, immediately, “there came a great calm.”
Instantaneously, everything is calm! The witnesses of this scene
ask themselves with amazement: “What manner of man is this, for the
winds and the sea obey Him?”
Many blind men grope forward to approach Him,
crying out their misfortune to Him: “Have mercy on us, O Son of
David!”7 The Master touches their eyes and, by this divine
contact, opens to them the light.
A deaf-mute is brought to Him so that
He will lay His hands on him. The Savior heeds this desire. The
mouth of the man speaks, and his ears hear. (Fr. Thomas de Saint
Laurent, The Book of Confidence, pgs. 64-66