This Sunday the Church celebrates this solemnity to honor Jesus and to remind us of what we receive in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is not a symbol of Jesus, it is truly the Body and Blood of our Lord!

The change that takes place in the bread and wine is simply a miracle. This miracle is the gift of God which changes the very essence of these two common items, bread and wine, into the extraordinary. While this miracle takes place before us we do not see the effects of it; the bread and wine, now the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus remain visible to us in their previous form. This is truly amazing, yet we may become oblivious to what happens at every Mass. This happens when we allow ourselves to fall into a routine where we “go through the motions” of attending Mass, but not really participating in the Mass through our prayer and attentiveness. We fall into a state where perhaps we zone out, our mind wanders and we drift away from the most important moment in our whole week.

While we will never fully realize and understand this great mystery here on earth, we must realize the importance of the Mass in our faith life and carry this love into the world. It takes a “leap of faith” to believe the Eucharist is really the Precious Body and Blood of Christ. It also takes a strong relationship with God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to carry the love poured out at the Mass into the world. This is difficult because we face many unbelieving people who mock us or make fun of our beliefs. No one wants to be seen as “not fitting in.” Our Church calls us to be “in the world, but not of the world.” Meaning we need to be in the common day to day work, school, and leisure world, showing the world what it means to be Catholic; to live the law with love. To rise above the often low standards and norms of the world and live as God desires. Yet, we are not of the world; we are to recall always that Jesus is our Lord and King and this is not our home. We are meant for greater things than what we find here; we are called home to Heaven! We are closest to Heaven at the Mass, where we reach up to Heaven and God comes to dwell with us.

In essence, it all boils down to a relationship; with God and each other. If we believe we receive Jesus in the Eucharist we must put into action the love He gives us. Perhaps not easily done, but done with the grace we receive from this most precious sacrament.

God bless you,

Deacon Ray


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