Our God is here!

"Here in the Word, God is revealed,
here where the wounded can be healed.
Here in our hearts, here in our lives,
our God is here.
Here we become what we receive,
here in this Eucharistic feast.
We are his body, living as one;
our God is here."

Okay so many of us Catholics go to Mass on Sunday, we pretty much have everything we need to be nourished (the Word of God, Jesus Himself, praise and worship, community). I've always been told that Mass was the ultimate prayer. You don't really understand it until you actively participate.

One thing we tend to take for granted are the readings.

Fact: If you went to Mass every day over a three-year period, you would have gone through almost the whole Bible. OH wordddd?!

But it's one thing to listen and have the Word proclaimed to you. You have to listen with an open heart and meditate on the message you are receiving. And THAT'S when you start noticing a sense of fulfillment.

But I feel the gift we really take for granted is the Eucharist.

John 6:53-58
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”


How long will we take things for granted?

It really takes a leap of faith and understanding to see God in a piece of bread and in a chalice. This is why we have to go through the whole process of Sacraments in order to partake in this Eucharistic Feast. This is why we have to take every Sunday SERIOUSLY. Honestly, I have to think about whether or not I should receive Communion. Even the smallest sin haunts me just because it falls under the Ten Commandments. What haunts me even more though, is knowing that some people don't understand the Eucharist and consume it without thinking. When we respond to the Eucharist with "Amen", do we really BELIEVE? and when we receive, do we allow ourselves to be transformed, to be more like Jesus? We are offered the Bread of Life EVERY DAY. A chance to see him in an Adoration chapel. A chance to witness a miracle in Daily Mass. Don't see the opportunities to see Him during Adoration OR on Sunday as an obligation, but see it as something we NEED to carry on for the rest of the week, the rest of our lives. I feel that if we really know the importance of His presence in our lives, we'd want to go and see and experience Him everyday.

Something the priest said today struck me. You don't eat unless you are hungry or thirsty. You get what you give. That means you can't fully experience Jesus if you aren't hungry for Him. If you don't put effort in knowing Him and having that personal relationship with Him as your Best Friend AND your King, you can't really understand the Eucharist. On the other hand, if you allow Him to, He will REALLY MOVE in YOU.

I know I still have A LOT of growing to do. Today, after Communion, I got a totally different experience. I've been feeling guilty lately, but somehow I was drawn to Him. And that feeling of peace overwhelmed me once again and I was moved to tears. So the question remains: what more can I do for God? This this week, and from this day forward, I'm really going to LET Him be the Lord of my life. Allow my will to be conformed to His. And little by little I will be transformed by His body, blood, and divinity. Little by little, I will continue to grow in faith.

Another thing the priest said was that when we eat food, it becomes part of us. But when we consume Christ, WE become part of Christ. And we glorify the Lord in all that we do because we are INSPIRED by the Eucharist. And that's where true glory is found: in Him. So, reader, I dare you to allow yourselves to be transformed in the Eucharist too and get back to me! ^_^