Corpus Christi

This past Sunday was the Feast of Corpus Christi, where we celebrate and rejoice in the Greatest Gift that God has given to us: namely, His Presence in our lives. He accomplished this great gift through the atoning death of Christ on the Cross, our Passover Victim. But the Great Passover doesn't end at the Cross, for marvelously, Jesus invites us to participate with Him! He gives us to eat of His Body and His Blood, participating in His Sacrifice. When He said, "Take, eat, this is My Body" and "Take, drink, this is My Blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant," these were not idle words, but the Word of God Most High--God the Word, who spoke the world into existence. Do we dare deny that His Word has power to create and change? Do we dare doubt that His Word is true? Or, rather, do we dare to actually take Christ at His Word, believing that what He said, He meant?

"There He is: King of Kings and Lord of Lords, hidden in the bread. To this extreme has He humbled Himself for love of you." -St. Josemaría Escrivá, The Way 538

"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if anyone eats this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh." The Jews therefore began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. This is the bread from heaven which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever."

This marvelous gift is so intensely personal, that Jesus Himself comes to each and every one of us, and abides with us! He does not overlook anyone who approaches Him at the Table. He will not neglect anyone who spends time with Him at His Tabernacle. Jesus' presence is abiding.

"When you approach the tabernacle remember that He has been waiting for you for twenty centuries." -St. JosemarĂ­a, 537

When we were at Canada's Wonderland on the 21st, we heard a band called Kutless, who sang of this beautiful truth, that even though we feel lost and alone in the teeming crowds, Jesus sees us, He knows us, and in the Most Blessed Sacrament, He makes Himself available to us.

Sea of Faces

I see the city lights all around me
Everyone's obscure
Ten million people each with their problems
Why should anyone care

And in Your eyes I can see
I am not just a man, vastly lost in this world
Lost in a Sea of Faces
Your Body's the bread, Your Blood is the wine
Because You traded Your life for mine

Sometimes my life it feels so trivial
Immersed in the greatness of space
Yet somehow You still find the time for me
It's then You show me Your love

And In Your eyes I can see
And in Your arms I will be
I am not just a man, vastly lost in this world
Lost in a Sea of Faces
Your Body's the bread, Your Blood is the wine
Because You traded Your life for mine

If only my one heart
Was all You'd gain from all it cost
Well I know You would have still been a Man
With a reason
To willingly offer Your life

I am not just a man, vastly lost in this world
Lost in a Sea of Faces
Your Body's the bread, Your Blood is the wine
Because You traded Your life for mine

Just one in a million faces

"What a source of grace there is in spiritual communion! Practise it frequently and you'll have greater presence of God and closer union with Him in all your actions." -St. JosemarĂ­a, 540

Let us take the opportunity to come before the Throne of God (Hebrews 4:16), to partake of this marvelous gift! Let us worthily partake of the Eucharist, and receive the Grace of the Presence of Jesus in our lives! And let us spend time with Jesus, face to face, in prayer before the Host in adoration!

"Don't omit your visits to the blessed sacrament. After saying your usual prayer, tell Jesus, really present in the tabernacle, about the cares and worries of your day. And He will give you light and courage for your life as a Christian." -St. JosemarĂ­a, 554

O come! Let us adore Him!