Dear brothers and sisters,

This week we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. In the Eucharist, the Church is blessed with the very presence of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew reminds us of Jesus’ promise, “I will be with you always.” Mt:28:20 We believe that Jesus is truly present in the Body and Blood by the power of the Holy Spirit and that each time we receive it, we are mystically united with the Holy Trinity. Saint John Paul II’s last encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, emphasized this desire of Christ to stay close to us, a desire that expresses itself most eloquently in the Eucharist. At the very beginning of the encyclical, he wrote about how “in the Holy Eucharist, through the changing of bread and wine into the body and blood of the Lord… [the Church] rejoices in this presence with unique intensity”. It is so important for us to realize the great gift we have received as a Church to be able to receive our Lord in the Most Holy Body and Blood each week. It unites us in a unique way to our Lord Jesus Christ, to each other and to the saints who have gone before us. Saint John Paul II also stated in the same encyclical, “The Eucharist, as Christ’s saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession which the Church can have in her journey through history.” What a beautiful way to express the spiritual value of the Eucharist.

It is through our Lord’s presence in the Eucharist that we are able to share a mystical unity as a Church. It is a share in our Lord’s very Divine love, and gives us the strength to move forward in faith on our journey home to the Lord. We also can gain very effective grace by not only receiving our Lord but also in spending time in adoration of our Lord in the Eucharist. Each Thursday we have the ability to come and spend quiet time with Jesus in our chapel. We have the Eucharist in our Chapel beginning after our 9:00 am Mass, and until 9:00 pm when we celebrate benediction. It can be so helpful in our prayer lives to help us to find peace and surety in our faith. Saint John Paul II also said, “The worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass is of inestimable value for the life of the Church.” Let us try to make time to spend in prayer together before our Lord and come and see the great effect it has on your prayer life.

Peace,

Fr. Mike