The dead days of my life are every day that I do not abide with the Holy Host, and regrettably they added to many years. Christ's words resonate in my mind, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). Therefore, every day I do not eat and drink the Holy Host, I do not live. Since I belong to the Heavenly Father, I must dine from the banquet of my Father. Thus, I consider myself and essential participant in the Holy Feast of the Heavenly Father, and not a spectator.
A priest is an essential participant of the Holy Feast, thus his presence is expected early before the mass celebration begins, and that should not differ from what is expected from you and I. The rich symbolism of the Mass and of the passionate death and resurrection of Christ prompted me to value the events as a sacrificial conjugal love. I view the celebrations as a conjugal sacrificial love, because they contain the essential elements of the marital love, where the people involved become physically transformed into one body. Christ stated in John 6:56 "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them." Therefore, to abide in Christ and for Christ to abide in me is a conjugal sacrificial love that transforms those involved into one body. Christ did not institute the celebration of the Mass to transform the bread and wine into Christ, so that Christ may live quietly into the Church's Tabernacle. The Mass is not a complete conjugal sacrificial love without the willing receiver saying "Amen" and repeating what the Virgin Mary proclaimed in Luke 1:38, "let it be with me according to your word". Then the father priest, who is the visible image of the invisible the Heavenly Father, is authorized to witness the feast.
Therefore, I consider every Mass to be an incredible wedding feast of bodies abiding in conjugal sacrificial love of Christ’s body, my body, and the Bride Virgin Mary. So, every Christian who abides in Christ’s body becomes likewise abided in mine. Thus, we all become branches in the vine tree of the eternal life. When a qualified man and a woman unite in conjugal love, they physically transform to produce one body, and in nine months they may give it one name. Christ’s Holy Host abiding daily with a willing participant will transform the person, perhaps in less than nine months, into an heir and coheir of Christ.
Catholic priests who are the authorized visible image of the invisible Father radiate their love of the Eucharist to the family of believers. I am speechless at the relentless generosity of Christ and His priests in offering their time and love to forgive our sins time and time again. If a president comes to visit you today, you would take great care to prepare yourself, your clothes, and your home for the occasion without missing a second of it. Christ, the Redeemer stands in the visible priest waiting to hear the confession of your sins and waiting to guide you to receive Christ’s Holy Body worthily. Christ and His mother are waiting for you daily in the visible bread in the Perpetual Adoration to grow and nourish your bond together into one body. A valid husband and wife retain the same physical appearances after the marriage, but truly they have become transformed into one body. Likewise, the visible bread and wine retain the same physical external appearances after the consecration, but physically become permanently Christ’s.
You are an essential participant in becoming one with the Holy Host, so that you become a living Holy Temple of Christ. Without your essential participation, Christ will be waiting for you in the consecrated Bread. Christ encouraged us to develop a deeper understanding by stating in Matthew 12:48-50 “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? ....For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” We belong to Christ and the Heavenly family of Christ. We cannot become one everlasting family even with our biological families without becoming one body abiding with Christ and the Holy Veiled Virgin Mary.
So, I invite you to join me for a daily Eucharist, daily prayers, Perpetual Adoration visits, and to take advantage of the generosity of our Father’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of reconciliation so we approach the Holy Altar worthily. You may feel a strong sense of belonging with your classmates, teammates, sports-mates, neighbors, community, club association, political association, profession, organization, or country. However, none is lasting except the bond with those who abide with Christ. I certainly had excuses for not living my faith as I should, but were they valid?
-A very blessed Blessed Sacrament parishioner
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