Weekly Encouragement October 4th
Dear Friends,
Today begins a new series of Weekly Encouragement messages. After twelve weeks on the fruits of the Spirit, I will now take several weeks to talk about the Holy Eucharist in conjunction with our parish's participation in the National Eucharistic Revival.
Right up front, I want you all to ponder this question:
"What if it's true?"
That is, what would it mean for our lives if what we say we believe as Catholics could animate every single thing we do? What does it mean that Christ is up there on the altar, and what does it mean that I take him into my own body?
"What if it's true?"
What would it really mean for you to fully embrace the fact that the Word made flesh, the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God, the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings, the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth died on the cross, rose again from the dead, ascended into heaven, and returns to you - to you! - at every single Mass?
"What if it's true?"
Think about it. Pray about it. And keep reading for a reflection on what we are as humans and why God gives us this great Sacrament.
God bless you all!
In Christ,
Andrew Petiprin
Director of Community Life
Christ the King Catholic Church
You have heard it said, "You are what you eat." Most of us recognize in that statement something true about health and body image. We may try to eat healthy so we can look and feel healthy. But a cynical modern philosopher would make more of this conventional wisdom - that is, you are ONLY what you eat. You're just a body that needs nourishment, and sooner or later you will die, your body will decompose, and you will become part of the ecosystem again.
Christianity reveals something much better about the nature of human beings and the nature of reality. We are what we eat, yes. And if we were only bodies, then it would be enough for us to take in ordinary bread for our sustenance. But because we are bodies and souls, we need super-substantial food. As Jesus says, "Man shall not live on bread alone" (Matthew 4:4). Because we are ensouled bodies, we live also on the words of Scripture, and more importantly, we live on the Word made flesh, which is the person of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus gives himself to us as the Bread of Life - body, blood, soul, and divinity in the form of a wafer - precisely because we are hungry creatures. When we receive Holy Communion in a state of grace, we receive the nourishment we all desperately need to be fully alive.
The Revival starts here: You are what you eat. It's a very simple fact that reveals an infinite mystery. We're naturally hungry for God, and God is happy to let us feast on him. When we partake of Christ, we become like Christ.
Thanks be to God for giving us what we need!
Prayer:
Almighty and everliving God, we most heartily thank thee for that thou dost feed us, in these holy mysteries, with the spiritual food of the most precious Body and Blood of thy Son and our Saviour Jesus Christ; and dost assure us thereby of thy favor and goodness towards us; and that we are very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son, the blessed company of all faithful people; and are also heirs, through hope, of thy everlasting kingdom, by the merits of the most precious death and Passion of thy dear Son. And we humbly beseech thee, O Heavenly Father, so to assist us with thy grace, that we may continue in that holy fellowship, and do all such good works as thou hast prepared for us to walk in; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, be all honour and glory, world without end. Amen.