Friday of the Third Week of Easter
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
FRIDAY, May 6th Jn 6: 52-59 Jesus said: “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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him.”
CCC 1324. The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life.” “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.”
CCC 1419. Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.
OUR SPIRITUAL GOLDMINE: JESUS IN OUR HEARTS! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
Prime time of the greatest importance in our life, without doubt, is when we have the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus in our hearts. The Real Presence could not be a better descriptive term! Upon receiving the Eucharist, Holy Communion, we truly have the Real Presence of Jesus in the depths of our heart, mind, body, and soul. Really and truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, the Eternal Son of God the Father, permeates, imbues, and penetrates our whole being with His Real Presence.
Entering into the 36th year of my Priesthood, I am keenly aware of the sad fact that many people, after receiving Holy Communion—Jesus into their souls all too often do not know what to do? Fumbling with their hands, picking at their fingernails, looking into their phone, staring at me, contemplating their watch, is often the attitude of many right after receiving Jesus in His Real Presence in Holy Communion.
This flippant, distracted, bored bodily posture betrays the clear fact that many, all too many, practicing Catholics have lost belief and faith in the Real Presence of the Eucharistic Lord. Due to a diluted, overly sentimental catechesis, perhaps many never learned what the Eucharist truly is! How else can we describe this other than a full-blown Catholic identity crisis! As Catholics, if we do not know or believe in the Eucharist as the true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus, then Catholics we are not!
The essential thrust and purpose of this brief essay is to help us to believe firmly in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Mass, in the Eucharist, in Holy Communion. Then consequently to strive with all the fiber of our being to receive Jesus with more faith, devotion, and love. By far, there is no greater action underneath the sun that we can do than to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. However, we must receive Him with increasing faith and confidence, as well as purity of heart, devotion, hunger, and love. One Holy Communion well-received can transform us into great saints.
DISPOSITIVE GRACE. The lack of fruits in the reception of Holy Communion is not due to the Sacrament we receive, rather it is due to a lack of proper disposition in receiving the Lord of Lord’s and King of King’s! The better the disposition of our heart, the more abounding and copious the graces that follow!
The following points consist of what we can do and how we should act upon receiving the most Holy Eucharist, the Real Presence—the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Eucharistic Lord. Every Holy Communion we receive should be received as if it were our first, our last, and even our only Holy Communion!
1. PRAISE THE LORD!
The Eucharistic Jesus is truly God. Therefore, the highest form of prayer that we can offer Him is that of praise. Unite your whole being with the angels and saints in Heaven and praise the Lord with all of your heart. As a primer, you might even recite the Divine Praises: “Blessed be God; blessed be His Holy Name; blessed be Jesus Christ, true God and true man; blessed be the Name of Jesus; blessed be His most Sacred Heart; blessed be His most Precious Blood; Blessed be Jesus in the most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.” Beg the angels and saints to help you pray this prayer of Eucharistic praise with love and fervor!
2. THANK THE LORD.
Eucharist actually means Thanksgiving. What do we have that we have not received from our Divine Benefactor, God Himself? All the good we have in our total person is a generous and bountiful manifestation of God’s love for us. The only thing that God did not give us is our sins; we chose them! May the prayer of the Psalmist resound in the depths of our heart after Holy Communion: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good; His love endures forever.” (Ps 136:1)
3. BEG PARDON OF THE LORD.
How true Sacred Scripture: “The just man falls seven times a day.” (Prov 24:16) Due to our many sins, we have fallen short of the glory of God in many times, places, and circumstances. As with David, who committed adultery and the murder of the innocent man, then suffered heartfelt compunction, let us beg for mercy for ourselves and for the whole world praying part of Psalm 51: “Lord, have mercy on me, have mercy on me. My sin is always before my eyes… A humble and contrite heart you will not spurn… send forth your spirit and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.”
4. BECOME BARTIMEUS THE BEGGAR.
The great Saint Augustine asserted: “We are all beggars before the Lord.” Let us imitate Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, and implore the Lord to help us in our desperate need. Holy Communion is truly Jesus the Light of the world; let us beg Jesus to take the scales from our eyes so that we can contemplate His Face with ever greater clarity.
5. BEG FOR OTHERS THE GRACES THEY NEED.
Our reception of Holy Communion should be Catholic—meaning universal! Saint Paul states: “The love of God compels us.” (2 Cor 5:14) This love should be universal and all-embracing such that we both beg and pray for the many graces that so many people stand in desperate need of! Now that the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus beats in our heart, let us heed the words of Jesus Himself: “Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened.” (Mt 7:7)
6. INTERCEDE FOR DEATH-BED SINNERS.
A category of persons who are often in desperate need of prayers are those individuals who are in their last moments, their last and ultimate agony. By far, the most important moment in our life is the moment of our death; that will determine our eternal destiny—either Heaven or Hell forever and ever and ever! In our thanksgiving after receiving the Eucharistic Lord Jesus, who said from the cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing”, (Lk 23:34) beg for the conversion and salvation of deathbed sinners. Who knows how many souls will be saved by our fervent Eucharistic prayers after receiving our Eucharistic Merciful Savior?
7. REST ON THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS.
Jesus said: “Come to me all of you who find life burdensome and you will find rest for your souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden, light.” (Mt 11:28-30) After receiving Holy Communion, we can imitate Saint John the Beloved by simply resting lovingly and peacefully on Jesus’ Sacred Heart—the best Resting Place!
8. CAST YOUR CARES UPON THE LORD.
Saint Peter expresses very important human sentiments and situations that we all experience in the course of our lives every week, perhaps even every day—problems, worries, anxieties, and confusion. Saint Peter’s Letter expresses this state of soul and the remedy in this short but clear concept: “Cast your cares upon the Lord because He cares for you.” (1 Pt 5-7) As the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus beats in our heart, He will help alleviate our worries by removing them or at least helping us to carry our present crosses! Jesus is our Best Friend who will never fail us!
9. BEG FOR A HEART-TRANSPLANT!
Our heart, mind, and soul can be compared to a Garden. Amidst the roses, tulips, and daffodils flourish ugly and all too-prevalent weeds! If the weeds are given permission to grow, flourish, and spread, then in a matter of time they will suffocate the beautiful flowers! The Garden analogy applies to our virtues and sins. The flowers are our virtues; the weeds are our sins. If not uprooted, the vices will dominate in our lives and sin will reign! Upon reception of Holy Communion, we should beg the Lord Jesus to uproot and exterminate the weeds of sin in us, so that the flowers of virtues can flourish and blossom. May the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus transplant our heart and make us saints!
10. OUR LADY OF THE EUCHARIST AND THANKSGIVING.
Finally, let us beg the Immaculate Heart of Mary to help us speak to the Heart of Jesus to praise Him, love Him, and worship Him. Saint Louis de Montfort suggests praying Mary’s Canticle of Praise, the Magnificat, as our thanksgiving for the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus beating in the depths of our soul. May Mary’s words echo in our heart after we receive Jesus in Holy Communion: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior… (Lk 1:46-55)
In conclusion, the most important gesture in our life is receiving the Eucharistic Jesus in the depths of our heart and soul in Holy Communion. Then the minutes after Holy Communion become the most precious moments in our whole human existence—our union and conversation with Jesus truly present within us! Let us strive with all the fiber of our being to better prepare to receive the Eucharistic Jesus in Holy Communion, but also to improve our THANKSGIVING by loving Him and talking with Him sincerely from the depths of our mind and heart! Our sanctification—our growth in grace, our growth in virtue and overcoming vice, and our final perseverance—can truly depend on the manner in which we respond to the Lord Jesus after receiving Him in Holy Communion. May Our Lady of the Eucharist, with the angels and saints, come to our help!
