“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and Himself for me.”
--Galatians 2:20
We were ALL crucified with Christ. Through His crucifixion and death it was made possible for ALL souls to enter the gates of Heaven, and spend eternity with the Father and all His Glory!
Before Christ, the gates of Heaven were closed—no matter how virtuous a life someone lived, he or she had to wait for the Son of Man to take flesh, preach love and forgiveness, be ridiculed and slain, and rise up on the third day, so they could enter the Presence of God.
How sad and meaningless is life without the reward of Heaven on the other side? With Christ’s death this reality died.
What I want to stress is the necessity of God’s sacrifice—Christ, and in turn, Christ’s sacrifice—His body and blood, which is ever-present in the Eucharist.
Saint Paul says, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” I would have to imagine Saint Paul was referring to the Eucharist in this statement. There is no replacement, no better way for Christ to live in us that through the Blessed Sacrament! There is NOTHING more surreal, beautiful, miraculous, and all-LOVING than the celebration of Holy Mass, which occurs so close to us, so many times a day, re-enacting the ultimate sacrifice—that of GOD, for us…for us sinners!
There are countless saints whose ONLY desire, ONLY passion, every minute of every day, was to celebrate Mass and receive Christ into their bodies through the Eucharist. And how happy God was with them! How merciful He must have been when their earthly lives came to an end!
There is NO greater way to praise, give thanks, obtain healing of body, mind and spirit, as well as humble thyself, than to receive Christ into us. But be very mindful of your sins. We should always be as pure of heart and soul as possible when receiving the Blessed Sacrament. And receiving the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin is actually damaging to the soul (see the saintly quotes at the end of post for further explanation of this)!
So be mindful of Mass. Pick up a copy of “JESUS; OUR EUCHARISTIC LOVE” by Father Stefano M. Manelli, FI, to learn of all the majesty and holiness of the Mass.
Make time for Mass. We make time for countless hours of smut and temptation-inspiring television, but we are too busy to attend Mass? Daily Mass is twenty minutes at the most. An episode of “Nip Tuck” is thirty minutes. An episode of “Desperate Housewives” is three times longer than daily Mass. Which do you think serves God, and makes him happy? I’ll put it on a line all its own for further emphasis:
We are too busy for Mass? For God? For the One who was wounded over 5,000 times so that we can be forgiven, and obtain eternal bliss?
Really? What if God was too busy to ever create us? What if He was too busy to create the world?
I am not perfect. I am far from perfect. Do I go to Daily Mass? No. And I should. I need to.
Go to confession, repent your sins, attend Mass as often as possible, and let Christ LIVE inside of you!
I will conclude this post with a series of quotes from various saints, regarding the Eucharist. I found these quotes in a little book, aforementioned, “JESUS; OUR EUCHARISTIC LOVE” by Fr. Stefano M. Manelli, FI. Thank you, Sean, it took me a few years to pick this book up, but is a life-changer, indeed!
“The Eucharist is a daily Bread that we take as remedy for the frailty we suffer from daily.” --Saint Augustine
“Every consecrated Host is made to burn Itself up with love in a human heart.”
--Cure´ of Ars
“We should not forget that Holy Thursday was the day for which Jesus had longed.”
--Luke 22:15
“It is not in order to occupy a golden ciborium that Jesus every day comes down from Heaven, namely, our soul, in which He takes delight, and when a soul well able to do so does not want to receive Jesus into its heart, Jesus weeps. Therefore, when the devil cannot enter with sin into a soul’s sanctuary, he wants the soul to be at least unoccupied, with no Master, and well removed from Holy Communion.”
--Saint Therese of Lisieux
“Endeavor not to miss Communion. We can scarcely give our enemy, the devil, greater joy than when we withdraw from Jesus, who takes away the power the enemy has over us.”
--Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
“My distractions are numerous, and with Jesus I learn to recollect myself. The occasions of offending God are frequent, and I receive strength every day from Him to flee from them. I need light and prudence to manage very difficult affairs, and every day I can consult Jesus in the Holy Communion. He is my great Teacher.”
--Saint Thomas More
“Those who have little to do must receive Communion often, since it is not inconvenient for them; the same also goes for those who have much to do, since then they have more need of it.”
--Saint Francis Desales
I pray that this post may inspire all to, not only attend Mass more regularly, but to do it with greater passion, love, and humility.
Love and GOD FOREVER!
Anthony Paul
1 comment:
Great saints' quotes!
I was recently encouraged by a holy priest in spiritual direction to make a commitment to attend at least 2 daily Masses a week. At first I thought it'd be too hard to fit in, but once I put my mind to it I found that it wasn't really all that much to add to my routine - and the benefits have been very evident. Most of all I've noticed the peace it has brought to my soul. I shouldn't be surprised, considering that it is Jesus I'm rec'g!
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