"If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever"
During the Last Supper, Jesus celebrated a meal together with the apostles to institute the Eucharist - the sacrament of His body and blood. The way that the group celebrated the meal was one of solemnity since Jesus knew that His time has come. His time has come to obey the will of the Father to give His life as a ransom for many. The apostles, not yet knowing fully what the meal meant, soon realized that they too were to celebrate that meal with others so that all may eat of the body and blood of the Savior.
That first Eucharistic meal in the upper room was probably a simple ritual. It is truly devoid of all the many details our present Eucharistic celebration has now. However, the spirit by which Jesus celebrated the meal is passed on to us through that institution of the Eucharist in the Last Supper and continues today as it was passed on by the apostles to those who too would be given the power and the authority to preside over the Eucharistic celebration.
We who are recipients of the Eucharistic species are fortunate that we shall gain the eternal life promised to us by Christ our Savior. It is thus important that we do not take for granted the blessings and the graces that the Eucharist can give us. More than physical food, it is the real food that we need on the journey of life. Bread is easily consumed and can easily be wasted, but the Eucharistic bread is a nourishment that fills our being with light. It brings us out of the darkness of sin and towards following the path trodded by our Lord - a path of sacrifice and service and self-denial - for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
In this feast of Corpus Christi, let us thank the Lord for the gift of the Eucharist, the sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Savior. By this sacrament, we are made into one community moving forward towards our salvation in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let us be thankful that we are able to celebrate it in peace. There are many countries in the world were Catholics sometimes cannot be able to celebrate the Eucharist because of the peace and order situation of their country. Let us pray for countries such as this that they may find peace in the knowledge of Christ, the Prince of Peace. And let us also pray for our ministers, that they may preside well over the Eucharist, and be given the strength to be faithful in their ministry and their clerical vocation. Let us also pray for ourselves, that we continue to learn more deeply of the mystery of the person of Christ by continuously immersing ourselves in the celebration, adoration and contemplation of the Eucharist. The more we know Christ, the more we will have faith in Him. And the more we have faith in Him, the more we will be always at His service.
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Sunday, May 22, 2005
Trinity Sunday, Year A
"Yes, God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..."
It is Trinity Sunday. And we are called to reflect on God as a mystery of Love in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yet, God is One. And He is a unity. A unity in Trinity. A mystery we are called to believe in faith.
God as Father, created the world and gave humankind and all living things life that they may live in peace and unity. However, sin continues to enter the hearts of humankind and in so doing, caused man to forget God and to love things rather than the Spirit. It seeks power in the world, riches in the world, and all the pleasures which the world can give. In so doing humankind is pulled into a direction that is not of God. But God does not condemn the world. In reality, He sent His Son, born of a woman. Born of a virgin. That He may save us from our sins.
And through the mystery of the Incarnation, His Son, Jesus, was given to us, so that we may believe in Him and regain the salvation that rightly belong to us as God's children. However, our salvation was regained by the sacrifice of Christ's life on the cross. He Himself taught us that what is important is not the power of this world nor the riches of this world. For the Evil One can use our desire of this to tempt us to go into a direction that is not of God. A direction of sin and darkness, rather than of grace and light.
When Jesus gave His life for us on the Cross, He showed how much God loves us; how much the Father loves us through Him. And He did not leave us orphans when He ascended back to heaven. Rather, He promised to send an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with us and to guide us so that we may continue to believe in Christ and His teachings. And that Spirit that the Father has sent through Jesus, is now present in the Church.
We are thus called to follow the Spirit of God, through the teaching of Christ in our daily lives. As we frequent more the sacraments and follow the teaching of the Church, we will be assured of a direction that leads us to salvation and to eternal life. Christ is the Way, the Life and the Truth. In Him lies our salvation alone. If we but believe in Jesus, we will not be condemned but receive the forgiveness and mercy of God.
It is Trinity Sunday. And we are called to reflect on God as a mystery of Love in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yet, God is One. And He is a unity. A unity in Trinity. A mystery we are called to believe in faith.
God as Father, created the world and gave humankind and all living things life that they may live in peace and unity. However, sin continues to enter the hearts of humankind and in so doing, caused man to forget God and to love things rather than the Spirit. It seeks power in the world, riches in the world, and all the pleasures which the world can give. In so doing humankind is pulled into a direction that is not of God. But God does not condemn the world. In reality, He sent His Son, born of a woman. Born of a virgin. That He may save us from our sins.
And through the mystery of the Incarnation, His Son, Jesus, was given to us, so that we may believe in Him and regain the salvation that rightly belong to us as God's children. However, our salvation was regained by the sacrifice of Christ's life on the cross. He Himself taught us that what is important is not the power of this world nor the riches of this world. For the Evil One can use our desire of this to tempt us to go into a direction that is not of God. A direction of sin and darkness, rather than of grace and light.
When Jesus gave His life for us on the Cross, He showed how much God loves us; how much the Father loves us through Him. And He did not leave us orphans when He ascended back to heaven. Rather, He promised to send an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to be with us and to guide us so that we may continue to believe in Christ and His teachings. And that Spirit that the Father has sent through Jesus, is now present in the Church.
We are thus called to follow the Spirit of God, through the teaching of Christ in our daily lives. As we frequent more the sacraments and follow the teaching of the Church, we will be assured of a direction that leads us to salvation and to eternal life. Christ is the Way, the Life and the Truth. In Him lies our salvation alone. If we but believe in Jesus, we will not be condemned but receive the forgiveness and mercy of God.
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Pentecost Sunday, Year A
"Receive the Holy Spirit"
In the Acts of the Apostles, we are told of the story of how before the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostolic community of Jesus, they were in a spirit of prayer and community. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to the apostles that He would not leave them orphaned. Rather, He would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit so that He would indwell in their minds and hearts and souls and grant them the courage to preach His gospel to the whole world. So, in a spirit of prayer, they awaited the time until the Spirit of Jesus descended upon them and came upon them like the sound of a strong wind and alighted upon their heads like tongues of fire.
The Spirit that the apostles received at Pentecost is the Spirit of truth - the Spirit of unity and peace and love. The Spirit comes down only when at least two or three are gathered together in prayer and in Jesus name. It is prayer that invites the Spirit to the hearts of anyone who desires Him in their lives. And it is also the presence of the Spirit in our hearts that helps us to pray as we ought: as individuals or in a community.
Today, in a world where there is so much commercialism, materialism, and too much attention to things external, people forget the reality of the Spirit - and the life of peace and love that only the Spirit of God can give. So much attention is given to things modern and to things that do not reflect our Christian values that we often forget that at our baptism, we were made to be Temples of the Spirit. Our bodies and souls are cleansed from sin and made sacred by the indwelling of the Spirit in us. The only way we can regain this life in the Spirit is if we learn to renew ourselves and begin again to live a committed life of prayer - one that looks within and sees the Spirit dwelling in our entire being - seeing Him as the One who is the source of life wherein we move, live and have our being.
Let us thank the Lord for the gift of the Spirit. For without the gift of the Spirit, we will be surely led into a direction that is not of God: a direction coming from our own sinful self, the influence of the world, and the temptations of the Evil One. Let us pray especially also to the Spirit for His guidance upon our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that he may guide the Church into paths led by the Spirit - a path leading to the light of the Resurrection eventually to the light of Pentecost - the Light of Life.
In the Acts of the Apostles, we are told of the story of how before the Holy Spirit came down upon the apostolic community of Jesus, they were in a spirit of prayer and community. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to the apostles that He would not leave them orphaned. Rather, He would ask the Father to send the Holy Spirit so that He would indwell in their minds and hearts and souls and grant them the courage to preach His gospel to the whole world. So, in a spirit of prayer, they awaited the time until the Spirit of Jesus descended upon them and came upon them like the sound of a strong wind and alighted upon their heads like tongues of fire.
The Spirit that the apostles received at Pentecost is the Spirit of truth - the Spirit of unity and peace and love. The Spirit comes down only when at least two or three are gathered together in prayer and in Jesus name. It is prayer that invites the Spirit to the hearts of anyone who desires Him in their lives. And it is also the presence of the Spirit in our hearts that helps us to pray as we ought: as individuals or in a community.
Today, in a world where there is so much commercialism, materialism, and too much attention to things external, people forget the reality of the Spirit - and the life of peace and love that only the Spirit of God can give. So much attention is given to things modern and to things that do not reflect our Christian values that we often forget that at our baptism, we were made to be Temples of the Spirit. Our bodies and souls are cleansed from sin and made sacred by the indwelling of the Spirit in us. The only way we can regain this life in the Spirit is if we learn to renew ourselves and begin again to live a committed life of prayer - one that looks within and sees the Spirit dwelling in our entire being - seeing Him as the One who is the source of life wherein we move, live and have our being.
Let us thank the Lord for the gift of the Spirit. For without the gift of the Spirit, we will be surely led into a direction that is not of God: a direction coming from our own sinful self, the influence of the world, and the temptations of the Evil One. Let us pray especially also to the Spirit for His guidance upon our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that he may guide the Church into paths led by the Spirit - a path leading to the light of the Resurrection eventually to the light of Pentecost - the Light of Life.
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