A WORD FOR TODAY 14 JUNE 2020

A WORD FOR TODAY

THE HOLY EUCHARIST: FOOD FOR ETERNAL LIFE.

_"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." (John 6:53-54)_

_*Food is something that we eat in order to stay alive and to be healthy. Infact, when you deny yourself food for a long time or you are faced with starvation, you will definitely get lean and in extreme cases you will get sick and one could even die. However, since man is not made up of body alone, he also needs to feed the soul regularly as He feeds the body.*_

Today the universal Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). It is a feast in which we celebrate that Jesus on the night before he was betrayed gave his disciples his flesh to eat as food and his blood as drink. Yes, God the Father fed the people of Israel with manna in the desert which they ate but were still hungry afterwards and the people also celebrated the feast of the unleavened bread which foreshadows the Eucharist in the Old Testament, but in the new dispensation, Jesus has given us His body and blood as food and drink and whoever receives Him worthily will not die, but will have everlasting life._

The Holy Eucharist was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ on Holy Thursday as a sacrament so as to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until his return in glory. This is the reason He gave His disciples the command to continue to do it in His memory and this is what we do every time we come to mass and gather round the table of sacrifice,(Altar), where the priest acting in the person of Christ the head (in persona Christi capitis...CCC. 1348),representing Christ celebrates the sacrifice of the Mass for himself and for all the faithful both the living and the dead in which the Eucharistic meal is confected after transubstantiation has taken place.

The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. Everything we do in the Church is oriented towards it, for in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.(Catechism of the Catholic Church...'CCC' 1324).

_*Jesus tells us in the gospel reading that whoever eats His flesh and drinks his blood will have eternal life and the person will be raised up on the last day. This means that if we receive Him worthily always we shall have eternal ife and we will be with Him in heaven in the end. However, the question will be, how often do you receive the Holy Eucharist? Do you receive Him worthily or unworthily?*_

For this spiritual food to give you life, you must prepare yourself before you come to receive. You must sanctify yourself through the sacrament of reconciliation so that you will be worthy to welcome Jesus into your heart. When last did you go to confession? When last did you receive communion? Now is the time to start afresh if you have been away for so long. Jesus is calling you to return back to Him so that you will have nourishment for your soul. You have spent so much time feeding and nourishing your physical body, while your soul is famished, weak and dry. This is the time to feed the soul with the real food that will give it life._

The Holy Communion increases our union with Christ and his Church. It preserves and renews the life of grace received at Baptism and confirmation, it Makes us grow in love for our neighbour. It strengthens us in charity. It wipes away venial sins and preserves us from mortal sins in the future. (CCC.1391-1397)*_

The Eucharist makes for unity in the Church and since we partake of the same food and drink from the same cup we are bound to be united as members of Christ's body. Therefore, we must let Jesus whom we receive transform us and use us to transform others._

Things to do in order to receive the Holy Eucharist worthily:*_

*Prepare spiritually and physically. Be clean in body and soul.
*Examination of conscience
*Sacramental reconciliation: confession. Forgive others and receive forgiveness from God.
*Active participation at mass
*Take Jesus everywhere you go and share His love in Thanksgiving.

_*Good morning dearest one. Smile😊as you begin your day and do have a glorious Sunday. May the body and blood of Christ you receive nourish you and bring you to eternal life. Amen. And may the Almighty God bless you: the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.*_

*Meditation:* Deuteronomy 8:2-3,14-16/Psalm 147:12-15,19-20/1 Corinthians 10:16-17/John 6:51-58

*Watch-Word:* I am the living bread which came down from heaven.

_The Eucharist is our life. Prepare yourself, receive the body and blood of Christ worthily and you will have life in abundance.*_

(11th Sunday of the Year. Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ)