He Has Given Us Bread From Heaven.
Dear Parishioners,
While they were eating Passover meal on “the night he was betrayed Our Savior 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 could come again. He entrusted 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” (CCC #1323)
Jesus offered himself as a sacrificial victim using the simple element of bread and wine to establish a new covenant and means of atonement. He introduced to his disciples a new form of worship, the Eucharistic celebration, and made himself a living symbol of this new covenant. At every Mass, we celebrate this marvelous gift of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus. We celebrate our life-giving nourishment.
The Scripture Readings today remind us that the Eucharist is the covenant renewed between the Father and mankind. It takes us to the very heart of our relationship with God. This new Covenant of Jesus brings us closer to the Father’s love. We renew this bond each time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist.
The Holy Eucharist is therefore a sacramental sacrifice. The Church through the death and resurrection of Christ presents all of creation to the Father as an offering of praise and thanksgiving. Therefore, in every Mass we give thanks to God for all the blessings he bestows on us especially for his work of creation, redemption, and sanctification. Christ remains truly, and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist.
When we receive him in Holy Communion, we share in the intimate union with Jesus. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” What material food produces in our bodily life; Holy Communion wonderfully achieves in our spiritual life. Therefore, it is necessary for our spiritual growth. It preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism.
“The body of Christ we receive in Holy Communion is ‘given up for us,’ and the blood we drink ‘shed for the many for the forgiveness of sins.’ For this reason, the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins.” (CCC #1393)
“As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins. By giving himself to us Christ revives our love and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him.” (CCC #1394)
It is a common tradition in the Church to hold a public procession with the Blessed Sacrament as a reminder that the sacrifice of Christ is for the salvation of the whole world. Today’s feast gives us the opportunity to honor, and worship in adoration Jesus who left us a memorial of his passion and sacred mysteries of his body and blood. He has given us bread from heaven; let us give thanks and praise.
Everyone is welcome to join this beautify Corpus Christ procession that begins this Sunday at 2 pm from Our Lady of Lourdes Church and passes through Hanscom Park to end at St. Peter’s Church on 28th and Leavenworth. This is a great way to honor and publicly express our devotion and love for our Eucharistic Jesus.
Sincerely Yours In Christ,
Fr. Vitalis Anyanike, Pastor
