The Real Presence

Father William Casey, C.P.M. gives a most powerful and insightful talk on Christ's Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. This presentation is by far the best I have ever heard preached on the Holy Eucharist. It is a message that needs to be heard and understood by every Catholic. I wish I had thousands of these CDs to give away! The following is a video of several minutes of Father Casey's talk. I cannot locate a full video version, or DVD of his presentation, but the audio is extremely powerful, and very well done! Father William Casey is a gifted speaker and homilist! Please consider purchasing one of these CDs from Lighthouse Catholic Media. You can do so at https://www.lighthousecatholicmedia.org/…/the-holy-eucharist

Great Presentation on the Real Presence by Fr. Mike Schmitz!

I don't need to say anything. Fr. Mike Schmitz says it best in this video. It is powerful and moving! Enjoy, and please share!

Real Presence: How Do You Show Reverence?

Recently, I heard a story about Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR. He was traveling with a Protestant minister in a car and, when they passed a Catholic Church, Fr. Benedict made the Sign of the Cross. The minister asked him why he did this. Fr. ...Benedict explained that it was out of reverence for Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. The minister told him, if I believed what you believe, I would get out of the car, run inside the church, fall on my knees and never get up again.

With regard to having faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, I found the story interesting and thought provoking. I am sure Fr. Benedict Groeshel believes in the Real Presence!

Father Robert Barron Talks About the Real Presence; John 6

Here is a very short talk by Father Robert Barron on Jesus' Bread od Life discourse from the 6th chapter of the gospel of John.

Prayer After Receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist

Lord Jesus, thank you for giving Yourself to me under the appearance of this bread and this wine; thank you for making Your Whole Self available to me, just one of the over 7 billion human beings whom You have brought into existence, temporarily residing on this small planet within the vast universe You created! How awesome, loving, and merciful You are to give Your entire Self to me; Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, a Gift that will nourish me and provide me with the grace to be able to one day see Your precious face, and experience the joy of being in Your presence for eternity! This is life’s greatest Gift - You in the Eucharist! There is no more valuable Gift we will ever be privileged to receive on this journey back to You! Lord, as I receive You in this Eucharist, I ask, that in Your unending mercy, You extend the grace I receive today to all those, whom for whatever reason, will not, or cannot partake in this precious Gift today! Please help me to go beyond mere words in expressing my thanks to You! Let me draw upon the grace you provide to act in a way that expresses my love and appreciation. Make my heart like yours, and help me to become worthy to be used as an instrument through which You draw others to Your Way, Truth, and Life! Thank You, Lord, for giving Yourself to me!  



 



The Mass is a Sacrifice w/ Fr. Bill Casey

Solomon Asked for Wisdom - So Should We!

In his homily this past Sunday, our pastor, Father Wilson, illustrated how we can all experience the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth through the practice of our Faith. But he went on to say that it requires more than just routine attendance at Mass and simply going through the motions of receiving Holy Communion. Father Wilson warned that those of us who simply go through the motions each week at Mass should not be surprised when our lives are unaffected by this so called practice of our Faith.

In the gospel reading this past Sunday (July 24th), Jesus explains that “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.” The point Jesus makes in this parable is that the things found, i.e., the treasure in the field and the pearl of great price, were being earnestly searched for with great effort. Picture one man digging up a field in search of a treasure, the other toiling and searching through oysters for that one great pearl. And so in the practice of our Faith we must put forth effort to seek the treasure of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Truth, who is Jesus. Do we earnestly seek the Truth? How much effort do we expend seeking and understand His Truth? Do we pray for more faith? Jesus is the Truth! He is the “way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6)! If we don’t participate in Mass and truly believe that Jesus is really present under the appearance of bread and wine in the Eucharist, we gain NOTHING from it (John 6:48-58)! NOTHING! This is the reason so many Catholics have left the Church. It is also the reason why Mass attendance has declined. It is the reason many Catholics will say, ‘I get nothing out of it!’ Multitudes should be crashing the doors to go to Mass if there was a true belief in Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist!

I strayed from the practice of my Catholic Faith for a lengthy period of time in my life. So for years I missed out on so much grace! Without verbalizing it, I too was among those Catholics who doubted Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. This had to be the case; otherwise I would have put Jesus first in my life and greatly anticipated each and every reception of his very body, blood, soul, and divinity in Holy Communion! We Catholics should long to go to Mass and be healed and nourished through the grace of the sacraments. For me it was a lack of knowing the truth. It was my neglect in seeking the truth. I think that is the case for most Catholics.

As Father Wilson said in his homily, and continues to incorporate into many of his homilies, ‘there is no greater gift we can receive on earth; there is nothing more important in our lives than strengthening our relationship with Christ in the Eucharist and receiving his grace through the sacraments; these are the ways to true and lasting joy!’

My prayer is that Catholics with a lack of knowledge or doubts about their Faith will pray for understanding; will seek the truth through the Magisterial teachings of the Church; and worthily receive Jesus in the Eucharist after returning Home through the healing portal of the sacrament of Reconciliation!

May 21st Rapture

I write today to the followers of Harold Camping and all the precious souls throughout the world who love Jesus and want to experience His eternal and awesome love! I humbly ask in a most charitable way that you consider looking no further then your local Catholic church for a truly life-changing and transforming experience!

Jesus is there, truly present in every tabernacle, in every Catholic church, under the appearance of bread. In the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, Jesus longs to give Himself to us and to become united with us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. If you have the faith to truly believe that God is the Creator of the universe, all that is seen and unseen, then it should not be hard to believe that He can also make Himself truly present in the Eucharist!

Please spend time in prayer over what I have written to you, and invest some time in seeking the truth concerning Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist!

Reference sources for the Eucharist:

John 6
http://www.catholicscomehome.org/answers-eucharist.php

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1322 - 1419 http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/index/e.htm

Real Presence Website
http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/a.html

Divine Treasure!

The earth is a mere pinpoint in this immense universe, the ends of which remain unknown to man! It never ceases to amaze me that its Creator longs for a close relationship with its human inhabitants, so much so that He humbles Himself and makes Himself available veiled under the appearance of bread and wine to those who will receive Him! Always be mindful of Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist! Thank you Lord for the wonderful gift of your Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity, the Nourishment that sustains us on this journey!

Unfathomable Love! - Awesome Privilege!

It has been discovered that an ordinary, 8oz. drinking glass can hold approximately 2 million grains of sand.

The photographs and data scientists have gathered through the use of the Hubble telescope indicate the majesty and incomprehensible size of the universe that exists beyond our planet. It is estimated that there are more stars in the heavens than there are grains of sand on all the beaches of the world.

Consider the world unseen by the naked eye and all of its wonder. The complex structure and life-sustaining automated functions of just the trillions of cells in the human body alone.

Contemplate the fact that all of creation is maintained in a perfect, life-sustaining balance, i.e., the perfect mixture of gases in the air we breath, precise distances of the sun and the moon from our earth, which are necessary to sustain life on earth.

Think of the marvelous, awesome complexity of the vast variety of insects and birds, and the variety of life existing beneath the ocean waves!

I don’t about you, but whenever I’m in our Lord’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament, or at Mass during transubstantiation as the priest says the words, “This is My Body”, my mind is immediately aware of the fact that the awesome Creator of our vast universe is not only present, but desires to be with us!

It is truly a humbling experience, and an inexpressible privilege, not only to be in the presence of the Creator, but to be able to receive His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity as spiritual and physical nourishment for our journey.

Armed with the knowledge that God, the Creator of the universe, longs to give Himself to us fully, and makes Himself available to us daily under the appearance of bread and wine, ONE SHOULD NEVER AGAIN HAVE A REASON TO FEEL UNLOVED! For this is the perfect love! Out of love, God gives Himself to us, and accepting His Gift assists us in passing the love of God on to others. This is how love remains eternal. St. Paul illustrates the permanence of love in his first letter to the Corinthians when he says, “love never fails”. St. Paul emphasizes the fact that love remains long after prophesy, knowledge, and tongues pass away.

The next time you receive Christ in the Eucharist, or are privileged to spend time with Him at adoration, ponder the magnificence of the love our awesome Creator has for us!

How Do We Reject Christ?

I preface the following post by saying that I offer it in the spirit of love, and by no means out of a sense of self-righteousness! I have certainly been guilty of countless instances in which I traded Christ’s offer of an intimate relationship for the things of this world and my own selfish desires!

There is no doubt Christ experienced tremendous physical pain and suffering as he went to the cross for us, but was his physical suffering the thing that caused him the most anguish?

I thought of this during Mass today. I thought of all the times I chose to satisfy my physical needs and desires by making and taking the time to do so, rather than making the time to do the things that would help build my relationship with the God of the universe, the God who longs to be a close friend to this lowly sinner! In other words, I REJECTED HIM! I rejected him no less than those who cried out, “CRUCIFY HIM”!

We must ask ourselves, is it the rejection of Christ’s unending and extreme love for us that caused him the most intense anguish and pain as he prepared for the cross at Gethsemane? How do we feel when we are rejected by those we love? Magnify that feeling trillions of times over and we would only be able to begin to imagine what Christ must have felt and still feels today as we reject his love and invitation to share in his divinity!

We always seem to be able to make time for everything else but for the one who really matters, Jesus Christ!

Jesus strongly desires to be with us! Do we strongly desire to be with him? How painful it must have been for our Lord to know that so many would never respond to, or even give a second thought to what he was about to do out of love for us and a desire to be with us for eternity!

Jesus gives himself to us daily in the Eucharist – please consider preparing yourself through the sacrament of Reconciliation to receive him into your heart with all of the praise and worship he deserves, and then welcome him eagerly under your roof by receiving him in the Eucharist!

Reflections on the Eucharist

Lord, I am eager to participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as often as I am able! It is there that you give me yourself in the Eucharist! And when I am properly prepared and disposed to receive you, the grace that you offer is astounding!

It is equally awesome to think, that the Creator of the vast universe in which we live, the designer of the complexities of it all, and the one who keeps it all in perfect balance, even as we fail to take proper care of what you have given us, humbles himself to become truly present in the form of bread and wine in order that I may be nourished for my journey back to you, Lord! How can I thank you, Lord, other than to say, “I am yours, I want to do your will, use me for the purpose for which you created me!” Amen!

Blessed Imelda’s Eucharistic Miracle!

Blessed Imelda Lambertini, born in Bologna, Italy in 1322, was given the title, Patroness of First Communicants for good reason!

Even at the age of nine, Imelda had an extraordinary devotion to Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist at Mass and in the tabernacle. To receive Our Lord in Holy Communion became the consuming desire of her heart, but the Church at that time and place prohibited anyone under the age of twelve from receiving their first Holy Communion.

In expressing how she yearned to receive the Eucharist, Imelda was known to ask the question, "Tell me, can anyone receive Jesus into his heart and not die? "

The following miracle story illustrates how our Lord responded to Imelda’s intense desire to receive Him in the Eucharist, and is one that should remind all of us Catholics of how we should approach the Blessed Sacrament with the utmost reverence, and to receive the Eucharist only after being made worthy through the sacrament of Reconciliation!

Blessed Imelda was a pious child who begged her parents to allow her to become a Dominican when she was just nine years of age. Her parents, though saddened at having to be separated from their only child, recognized God's will for their daughter, and Imelda joined the nuns at Val di Pietra.

Her status among the nuns is unclear. She received the habit and participated in the life of the nuns to some extent. At that time, children were not allowed to make their First Holy Communion until age 12, but Imelda prayed continually that she would be able to receive Our Lord without having to wait so long.

When Imelda was 11, after Mass on the vigil of the Feast of the Ascension, the Sacred Host was seen suspended amidst a brilliant light above Imelda's head. The chaplain, who was immediately summoned, gave the Host to Imelda. Afterwards, the nuns left her alone to make her thanksgiving. The prioress soon discovered, however, that Imelda, who had been in ecstasy, had died shortly after receiving her First Holy Communion, so much in love was she with Our Lord in the Eucharist.

Blessed Imelda Lambertini was declared Patroness of First Communicants by Pope St. Pius X.

The Eucharist and the Road to Emmaus

In the Gospel of Luke, (Luke 24:13-35) Jesus suddenly appears walking alongside two of his followers after his resurrection, however his followers did not recognize him to the point that they began to give Jesus the account of his own trial and crucifixion.

Jesus then proceeded to interpret Scripture passages that made reference to his passion, death and resurrection. Still not recognizing him, the two then asked Jesus to stay with them for a while to which he agreed.

Later as they were having dinner, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. Luke tells us in verse 31 that it was only when Jesus broke the bread and gave it to them that the two followers recognized him.

This account of the two disciples’ interaction with the risen Lord, which occurred on the Road to Emmaus, concludes this way in verse 35 – “Then the two recounted (to the other apostles and followers of Jesus) what had taken place on the way (to Emmaus) and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.”

We come to know Jesus in the breaking of the bread, The Eucharist!
Let us continue to recognize Jesus when we come to his table at Mass, and always remember his words, "This is my body, which will be given for you”

Transubstantiation – Christ Is Truly Present!

Believing that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist is essential to the practice of our Catholic faith! (CCC 1324)

Why is it so hard for some to believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist?

After all, if Christ is the Creator of the vast universe in which we live and all that it contains, then what could possibly prevent him from making himself present to us under the form of something with which we are familiar, and are capable of experiencing with all of our senses?

St. Thomas Aquinas explains the mystery of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist in terms of what the Church refers to as transubstantiation. He tells us that everything that has substance, such as bread and wine, stands under what philosophers refer to as “accidents”,. The accidents give a substance its appearance, texture, taste, and smell.

UPON CONSECRATION OF THE BREAD AND WINE, CHRIST HIMSELF BECOMES, OR REPLACES, THE SUBSTANCE UNDER WHICH THE ACCIDENTS OF THE BREAD AND WINE STILL REMAIN. In other words, what we still perceive through all of our senses as bread and wine, has now supernaturally become transformed into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ!

Listen to what St. John Chrysostom and St. Ambrose have to say about transubstantiation in the following references found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church #1375.

“It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but he who was crucified for us, Christ himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God's. This is my body, he says. This word transforms the things offered.” (St. John Chrysostom, prod. Jud. 1:6: PG 49, 380.)

“Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed. . . . Could not Christ's word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.” (St. Ambrose, De myst. 9, 50; 52: PL 16, 405-407.)

Read More About Our Lord's Presence in the Eucharist

Prayer After Receiving Communion

Jesus, Creator of the universe, we believe You are truly present among us under the appearance of bread and wine;

We acknowledge, that through the grace You offer us in this Eucharist, we grow closer to You, are healed of sin, and preserved from future sin;

Thank You for loving us so much!

We are Yours; we long to become the instruments through which others may come to know, love, and desire You;

Lord, please use us as You will to lead others to the grace You offer;

and may the sanctifying grace conferred upon us in this Eucharist today be shared with all those who will not, or cannot partake in this precious gift You offer! Amen!

Let Us Fall Facedown

Do we take Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist for granted? I for one have certainly been guilty of this at times as indicated by my posture and dress while in His presence at Mass.

How do we prepare to enter into the presence of our Savior, the Creator of the universe, who humbled Himself and gave His life out of love for us?

What is our demeanor? How are we dressed? How much reverence do we display as we enter into the presence of Jesus?

Is our lack of reverence an indication of a lack of faith that Christ is really present in the Eucharist?

When we enter our churches; when we are at Mass; or when we are at Eucharistic adoration, let us never forget that we are in the presence of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Let us give Jesus the respect, adoration, and reverence He so rightly deserves!

My evangelical friends once introduced me to a great Christian musician and songwriter from England by the name of Matt Redman.

Whenever I think of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, I think of a song by Matt Redman called Facedown. The words are so appropriate in describing how all of us should act in the presence of our Savior!

View the video and listen to the song and let me know what you think.

Jesus Is With Us Always!

Learn all there is to know about the Sacrifice of the Mass and teach it to your children! It is far from boring! It is the source of our very life!

Present at Calvary at Every Mass!

Yes! Along with the saints and all the choirs of angels, God, the creator of the universe, allows eternity to fold into the present and the present to fold into eternity at each mass, as we place ourselves at the foot of the cross and celebrate Christ’s one and only sacrifice for the past, present and future sins of all humanity, as Transubstantiation occurs at the moment the priest speaks the words of consecration.

If we believe that God created the universe and all it contains, why is it so hard for some of us to believe Jesus is really present in the Eucharist?

To believe that Christ is really present in the bread and wine following the words of consecration is a matter of faith. It is the Sacred Mystery and the center of our Catholic faith! Jesus instituted this Sacrament on the night before he died as he shared a meal with his friends.

As St. Thomas Aquinas points out in his Summa Theologica, that it is fitting and proper that we as corporeal beings need to be led to spiritual things through the senses of sight, touch, feel smell and hearing. Jesus knew this and so established a way in which he could remain physically present among believers until his return.

The same way he strongly desired to be with his friends at the last supper, Jesus so desires to be with all of us! Do we strongly desire to be with him? As Catholics, we are invited to his table daily, where Jesus himself provides the spiritual nourishment for our journey!

We read in Luke’s gospel, “When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." (Luke 22:14-16 NASB)

Research more about the Eucharist @ http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/realpres/a12.html, as well as what St. Thomas

Aquinas has to say about the sacraments, including the Eucharist @ http://www.newadvent.org/summa/4.htm

The Eucharist and the Early Church Fathers

There is mystery in the natural world all around us as the great scientist Einstein once observed and this is certainly also the case with religion and especially Christianity, beginning with the mystery of the incarnation of Christ. Christ’s gift to us of Himself in what we call the Eucharist [from the Greek word meaning "thanksgiving" and sometimes referred to as Holy Communion] is such a mystery of faith.

To see them, we need as St. Paul says, eyes of faith, remembering that we must walk by faith, not by sight through God’s mysteries (Rom12: 6-7) but never fearing that faith and reason are brothers in God’s creation. Like Father James T. O’Connor, from whose work The Hidden Manna: A Theology of the Eucharist much of this manuscript is drawn, I would like to repeat with Chesterton that the theme of the Eucharist is so wonderful that we must take a risk in offering our praise.

The first full treatise on the Holy Eucharist was not produced until the 9th century, however, the writings of the Early Church Fathers have frequent mention of it. This essay will attempt to survey only a small measure of their content to give you some sense of the development of the doctrine of the Eucharist–that is, the Church’s understanding of this great mystery. . . . more . . . (read the entire article, “The Early Church Fathers Speak about the Eucharist: The Body and Blood of Christ, the Real Presence of Christ: Development of Eucharistic Understanding” by clicking on the following link) http://www.catholicfaithandreason.org/fathersoneucharist.htm