What Cross do You Bear?
After all these years of going to Mass and receiving Holy Communion, a light went on in my head recently. It dawned on me. When the priest places the Sacred Host in the palm of my hand, I’m holding Jesus Christ!
Let’s think about this. Our Almighty Lord humbles Himself to become the bread of life; His Body is present even in the tiniest particle of the Sacred Host. He then gives Himself as our spiritual drink—the Blood of the new and eternal covenant—all the way to the last drop.
Do we truly believe Christ is present or do we consider what we consume as symbolic? I confess that I never gave it much thought until recently. Perhaps after all of these years, I’m finally open to the true presence of our Savior in my life.
Granted, what we see, touch, and taste do not look like the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ who lived upon this earth. Should that matter? What matters is Christ gives Himself to us. If we do not believe in what we are given, we cheat ourselves out of truly being united with our Lord!
God’s love comes to us in the Holy Eucharist. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son Jesus Christ (God's love made manifest) into the world to save it. His ultimate sacrifice is renewed each time we attend Mass and witness the Transubstantiation—the changing of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ—for the sake of our salvation.
In the palm of our hand, on the tip of our tongue is this precious gift, renewing us and giving us strength for our daily lives. “What material food produces in our bodily life, Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ, a flesh ‘given life and giving life through the Holy Spirit,’ preserves, increases, and renews life of grace received at Baptism.” [CCC 1392]
Remember, at Baptism our original sin is washed away and the Holy Spirit is poured upon us. However, by our own free will we are prone to temptations which lead to sin. Our Lord gives us His Body and Blood for our protection. His loving gift increases the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the more united we are with our Lord, the greater the separation between us and sin. The greater our separation from sin, the more inclined we are to be charitable with one another, especially the poorest among us. These are the fruits we receive by way of the Holy Eucharist which we are called to share by the way we live—the divine way.
Christ allows Himself to be consumed by us. Therefore, shouldn’t we allow our Lord to consume us with His love? How can we if we do not believe His presence in the Holy Eucharist?
As we continue to celebrate the Easter Season and prepare for Pentecost, let us spend time in Eucharistic Adoration. Let us contemplate the prayers that we recite during Mass. These prayers are more than words; they lift our hearts to our Lord and prepare us to be filled with the greatest love we will ever have. May the Light of Life be with us always so we may see our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. Our Lord’s love and salvation are in our hands. Amen.