THE EUCHARIST, THE BEATING HEART OF THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, 26 JUN 2011 (VIS) - Before praying the Angelus today, Benedict XVI made some remarks about the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the "Feast of the Eucharist", which is being celebrated today in many countries around the world and which represents "the Church's most valuable treasure".

The Pope explained how "the Eucharist is like a beating heart giving life to the mystical Body of the Church, which is a social organisation entirely founded on its spiritual yet tangible bond with Christ. ... Without the Eucharist the Church would simply cease to exist. In fact, it is the Eucharist which renders a human community a mystery of communion, capable of bringing God to the world and the world to God. The Holy Spirit, which transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, also transforms those who receive it with faith into limbs of Christ's Body, thus the Church truly is a Sacrament of men's unity, with God and with one another.

"In an increasingly individualistic culture", Benedict XVI added, "such as that in which we live in western societies and which is tending to spread throughout the world, the Eucharist constitutes a kind of 'antidote', working on the hearts and minds of believers and continually infusing them with the logic of communion, service and sharing, the logic of the Gospel. The first Christians in Jerusalem were an evident sign of this new lifestyle because they lived in fraternity and shared all their worldly goods, so that no one should be left in want. ... In later generations too, the Church, despite human limitations and errors, has continued to be a force for communion in the world. We think particularly of the times of greatest difficulty, times of trial: for example, what could the chance of coming together at Sunday Mass have meant in countries ruled by totalitarian regimes? ... Yet the vacuum produced by false freedoms can be equally dangerous; thus communion with the Body of Christ is like a medicine for the mind and the will, helping us rediscover our taste for truth and for the common good".

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Source:

VIS - Vatican Information Service

Anima Christi

Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.

Body of Christ, save me.

Waters from the side of Christ, wash me.

Passions of Christ, give me strength.

Hear me Jesus;

Hide me in Thy wounds;

that I may never leave Your side;

For all the evils that surrounds me, defend me;

And when the hour of death arrives,

bid me come to Thee,

That I may praise You with Thy Saints, Forever.

To Jesus through Mary!

You can download a copy of this video from youtube by CLICKING THIS LINK.

Examination of Conscience before Receiving Communion

Time has passed and things had indeed change, and because of this changes, some Catholics specially the young ones nowadays had totally forgotten or maybe had failed to understand the importance of examining our conscience before receiving Holy Communion.

Why is it important for us Catholics to examine our conscience before receiving Holy Communion?

Let's see what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say about this one Holy Sacrament.

1322 The Holy Eucharist completes Christian initiation. Those who have been raised to the dignity of the royal priesthood by baptism, and configured more deeply to Christ by confirmation, participate with the whole community in the Lord's own sacrifice by means of the Eucharist.

1323 "At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood. This He did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet 'in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.'"

The very words of the Catechism, "...in which Christ is consumed..." already states the reason why we need to examine our conscience before receiving Holy Communion.

Sad to say, but nowadays, some Catholics no longer adhere to this rule, totally forgetting that what we are receiving during Holy communion is Christ Himself. Totally disregarding the words that the Minister utters before giving us the Holy Host, "the Body of Christ!" and our answer "Amen".

Totally forgetting, that when the Minister says "the Body of Christ!" what the Minister is actually stating is a fact and not a question. And whenever we answer "Amen", we mean "I totally Agree".

To receive Holy Communion under the state of Mortal Sin is far more greater Sacrilegious than destroying an image of a Saint or even of the Blessed Virgin Mary. For doing so, would be far more greater than slapping Christ right in the face.

But sadly, there are some Catholics who no longer believes in this, and would even question the right of a Pastor or of a Minister to deny Communion to Catholics who openly, either by their own words or by their action opposes the teaching of the Church, where they claim they belong. The very Church that Christ Himself has founded.

Examining our conscience before attending mass is not only a matter of requirement, but a a responsibility that every Catholic should adhere too, in order to make sure that we no longer hurt Christ.

Christ had already suffered before, and through the very suffering that He endured, we were given the privilege to attend the Paschal banquet.

And similar to earthly privileges, it comes with a requirement, and one of those is to make sure that we are indeed worthy to receive Him, by examining our conscience.

In Christ.

Importance of the Holy Mass

As I was visiting our friendster discussion group 100% Katolikong Pinoy", I happen to chance upon a question of "how important is the Holy Mass (celebration of the Holy Eucharist)?".

Here is my answer.

Attending the Mass is one of the most important aspect of our faith. For only through the Mass can we be in-communion with Jesus and His Church while were still here on earth.

If were going to analyze the things that the Church had been doing from the beginning, one can see that everything leads to the Most Holy Eucharist, our prayers, the Sacraments, etc.

Why, simply because Christ is truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist, and as I had said in my post on another topic, not attending to our Holy days of Obligation is a direct disobedience to the Third commandment, since it is a direct refusal to worship God, and refusal to be with Jesus. Thus, not attending mass makes it a mortal sin.

But what really hurts most is this, when Catholics are ask if they want to go to heaven, the answer that one will always receive is a big "YES". And when ask why? Most of the answer is that "I want to be with God". And yet, most Catholics would not go to Mass for no reason at all.

We need not die and go to heaven to be with God, all we need to do is to attend Mass receive a Holy Communion, make an Adoration, or visit the Most Blessed Sacrament to be with God.


For "JESUS IS TRULY PRESENT IN THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT"










Wasn't He, Jesus Himself who had said "this is My Body....this is my Blood..."?


In Christ.

Note: some of the text has been edited for translation purposes.