Sunday, June 23, 2019

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

In countries where Corpus Christi was celebrated last Thursday, scroll down for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Readings for Today

“Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” Mark 14:22a-24

Happy Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Lord and God! What a Gift we celebrate today!

The Eucharist is everything. It’s all things, the fullness of life, eternal salvation, mercy, grace, happiness, etc. Why is the Eucharist all this and so much more? Simply put, the Eucharist IS God. Period. Therefore, the Eucharist is all that God is.

In his beautiful traditional hymn, “Adoro te Devote,” St. Thomas Aquinas writes, “I devoutly adore You, O hidden Deity, truly hidden beneath these appearances. My whole heart submits to You, and in contemplating You, it surrenders itself completely. Sight, touch, taste are all deceived in their judgment of You, but hearing suffices firmly to believe…” What a glorious statement of faith in this wondrous gift.

This statement of faith reveals that when we worship before the Eucharist, we worship God Himself hidden under the appearance of bread and wine. Our senses are deceived. What we see, taste and feel do not reveal the reality before us. The Eucharist is God.

Throughout our lives, if we were raised Catholic, we were taught reverence for the Eucharist. But “reverence” is not enough. Most Catholics reverence the Eucharist, meaning, we genuflect, kneel, and treat the Sacred Host with respect. But it’s important to ponder a question in your heart. Do you believe the Eucharist is God Almighty, the Savior of the world, the second Person of the Most Holy Trinity? Do you believe deeply enough to have your heart moved with love and profound devotion every time you are before our divine Lord present before us under the veil of the Eucharist? When you kneel do you fall down prostrate in your heart, loving God with your whole being?

Perhaps this sounds like it’s a bit excessive. Perhaps simple reverence and respect is enough for you. But it’s not. Since the Eucharist is God Almighty, we must see Him there with the eyes of faith in our soul. We must profoundly adore Him as the angels do in Heaven. We must cry out, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.” We must be moved to the deepest of worship as we enter into His divine presence.

Ponder the depth of your faith in the Eucharist today and strive to renew it, worshiping God as one who believes with your whole being.

I devoutly adore You, O hidden Deity, truly hidden beneath these appearances. My whole heart submits to You, and in contemplating You, it surrenders itself completely. Sight, touch, taste are all deceived in their judgment of You, but hearing suffices firmly to believe. Jesus, I trust in You.

More Gospel Reflections

Divine Mercy Reflections

Further Reading – Corpus Christi

Our Loss is Our Gain

Sunday, June 23, 2019

Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year C

Use this reflection in countries where Corpus Christi was celebrated last Thursday

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Luke 9:24

Do you daily strive to lose your life? Do you seek to let go of your life in the most complete and total way possible? At first, this may cause you to question the rationale of such a question. But this is one of the reasons Jesus said it this way. His words should cause us to step back and question the wisdom of this command.

At first, on account of our tendency toward selfishness, our immediate response to losing our lives is, “No, I don’t want to lose my life.” Jesus knew this was the case and this is one of His motivating factors in speaking this way. He wants us to hear those words and to be challenged by their meaning.

What does it mean to say that you must lose your life if you want to save it? It means that you must be ready and willing to let go of everything in life in favor of one thing: the will of God.

Losing our lives is a way of trusting God more than ourselves. It’s a way of living that fully acknowledges that God’s plan for our lives is far better than anything we could come up with on our own. It’s a way of allowing God to enter in and take hold of every aspect of our lives. When we understand this properly, and when we understand that God will take better care of us than we can do ourselves, we will not hesitate to say “Yes” to Him in every way.

Reflect, today, upon this simple question: Am I ready and willing to give every aspect of my life to God? If you are willing to do so, then spend time prayerfully doing it. Do not hesitate and do not doubt His perfect love for You. Only by letting go of everything in life will you be in a position to allow God to give you so much more.

Lord, I entrust my whole life to You without reserve. Help me to see those areas of my life that are still filled with selfishness. May I trust You above all things and completely lose myself for You and the sake of Your holy will. Jesus, I trust in You.

More Gospel Reflections

Divine Mercy Reflections

Further Reading – Corpus Christi