Dear Parishioners,

On the evening of the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the Eucharist as a memorial of his saving act and commanded us to do the same in memory of him. What he did using bread and wine on that evening, declaring it, transforming it into his body and blood, he did it the following day in a bloody manner by mounting the wood of the cross. The Eucharist, therefore, is a great mystery. Jesus Christ is really present, body and blood, soul and divinity in the consecrated host of the Mass; but it is also God’s greatest gift to humankind, since in it, Christ becomes intimately united to us by becoming the bread of life. True, our faith is only known to him alone, as we say in the First Eucharistic Prayer: “Remember, Lord, your servants N. and N. and all gathered here, whose faith and devotion are known to you alone”. This Catholic and Apostolic Faith is handed on to us by the Pope and the Bishops. It has run down through apostolic succession, especially passing through the hands of those who sacrificed their own very blood.

The whole Eucharistic celebration is thus a mystery of faith. It implies faith and nourishes the life of faith. The Eucharist is a great and transcendent mystery indeed – one that taxes our mind’s ability to pass beyond appearances and move to heavenly realities. This knowledge must be expressed in our daily life – that is life after the Mass.

“The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed” (1 Cor. 11:23), instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of His body and His blood. The words of the apostle Paul bring us back to the dramatic setting in which the Eucharist was born – the Passover meal, a commemoration of a saving event. In the Eucharist we have Jesus. We have His redemptive sacrifice. We have resurrection. We have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We have adoration, obedience and love of the Father. The Eucharist is indelibly marked by the event of the Lord’s passion and death, of which it is not only a reminder but also the sacramental re-presentation. It is the sacrifice of the Cross perpetuated down the ages. This truth is well expressed by the words with which the assembly in the Latin rite responds to the priest’s proclamation of the mystery of faith: “We proclaim your resurrection” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, No. 14). “But when the Son of man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” This statement entails that when the Son of man comes he would be looking for faith. During Mass, just before communion we pray “Lord Jesus Christ, who said to your apostles, peace I give you my peace I leave you; look not on our sins but on the faith of your Church…” This statement gives us much hope that the faith of the entire Church would provide peace and unity to us. This, however, does not give people the license to fold their arms. No! The faith of the Church is the combined faith of her members. 

Happy Sunday to you all!