Sunday, August 19, 2018

20th Sunday of Ordinary Time Year - B - 2018

And Jesus said...
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

After they heard those words many of the Jews began to argue with each other because some understood Jesus literally and they thought he was actually talking about his actual body and his blood and it didn’t make sense to them.

Others thought he was speaking symbolically.

When he saw their confusion,
Jesus didn’t take back what he said

He didn’t say don’t fight among yourselves I’m speaking symbolically,
rather he emphasized the literal meaning of his words again and said.

“Amen, amen, I say to you,unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.

Always remember what my Scripture professor Fr. Callejah said whenever you hear the words Amen Amen in the Gospels, sit up and listen something important is coming.

Therefore Jesus told them and tells us that The bread of life is literally his body and his blood. It  is indeed spiritual food and it is essential for eternal life

Without the Eucharist without the body and blood of Jesus Christ there is something radically missing in our lives.

This is why Catholics understand that being here at Mass is so essential

  • not because of the collection,
  • not because you can get caught up on town gossip,
  • not because you feel guilty if you don’t come to Mass.

We come here, because it is here and only here that we can receive the real presence of Jesus, His body and his blood. Bread of LIfe

It is here and only here can we enter into Holy Communion with our Lord Jesus Christ in the fullest sense of the word.

Sadly, tragically there is confusion these days regarding the Eucharist.

There are those in who call themselves Catholic but  mistakenly believe that the bread and wine consecrated on this altar are mere symbols to remind us of Jesus and the last supper.

For them the Mass is kind of like a play that we just watch over and over again to help us remember the last supper.

People who think this way do not believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

For them nothing happens, nothing changes at the consecration

We believe that when we celebrate Mass we in some wonderfully mysterious way are present at the Last Supper and at the foot of the cross.

We take Jesus at his word
He didn’t say this is like my body
This is a memory of my body

He said This is my Body.. which will be given up for you…
and of course we know that it was indeed given up on the cross

Catholics  believe that after the words of Consecration even though their appearance do not change, the bread becomes his body and the wine becomes his blood.

It was so hard to understand for the church invented a word to  describe this miracle.

Catholics describe the moment of the consecration as  transubstantiation.

The appearance of the bread and wine stays the same but the very substance is changed to the body and blood of our Lord poured out for us on the cross.

Why is this so hard to believe?

If God can make the whole universe from nothing why couldn’t he change bread to his body or wine to his blood.

We all need the real presence of Jesus in our lives and the most precious way the most perfect way is found in real presence of Jesus during the sacrifice of the Mass.

And so good people

  • If we are lonely we need  Jesus the bread of life
  • If we are angry or resentful we need Jesus the bread of life
  • If there is a wall of resentment growing between you and your spouse and neither of you has the courage to step up and address it you need Jesus the bread of life
  • If you have a pornography addiction or any addiction you need Jesus the bread of life
  • If you are filled with fear and doubt you need Jesus the bread of life
  • If you just can’t seem to find your way you need Jesus the bread of life
In other words we all need Jesus the bread of life

And Jesus knew we would need him he know our hearts and he knew we would need his presence over and over again so he gave us his Body and his blood now and forever

The Eucharist is proof that Jesus wants to be in communion with us as often as we need him.
Wherever we are in our life he will be there

Please repeat after me.
Oh Holy Banquet,
in which Christ is received,
the Memory of His Passion is recalled,
the soul is filled with Grace,
and the promise of future glory is given to us.

You have given us bread from heaven
Containing in itself all delight.

Thank you Lord for the gift of your Body and Blood, thank you Lord for the bread of life
Thanks you Lord for your real presence the Bread of Life

Amen




Amen



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