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Understanding
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CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST
If simply sitting in front of Jesus is powerful, can you imagine what happens to us when we physically receive Jesus- who is God- inside of us during Holy Communion at Mass? This is massively silently, yet mysteriously EXPLOSIVE! The same God who created the moon, the stars and the oceans comes to earth during the Mass in order for us to receive all that power, all that love! This is the greatest energy charge and love explosion there exists in the universe. We receive God Himself!!
WHAT IS THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS?
We are celebrating a PAST, PRESENT, and a FUTURE event. Put on your seat belts:
If simply sitting in front of Jesus is powerful, can you imagine what happens to us when we physically receive Jesus- who is God- inside of us during Holy Communion at Mass? This is massively silently, yet mysteriously EXPLOSIVE! The same God who created the moon, the stars and the oceans comes to earth during the Mass in order for us to receive all that power, all that love! This is the greatest energy charge and love explosion there exists in the universe. We receive God Himself!!
WHAT IS THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS?
We are celebrating a PAST, PRESENT, and a FUTURE event. Put on your seat belts:
I. THE MASS AS A PAST EVENT
Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of us sinners to save us from the punishment we all deserve: eternal separation from God-Hell. With praise and thanksgiving for this -the greatest gift, the Mass commemorates, (looks back to, calls to remembrance) the sacrifice Jesus Christ has done for us. What was Jesus' sacrifice? He gave up the richness of heaven, became a mere poor man, suffered intensely, obeyed his human parents, obeyed His heavenly Father to the point of being ridiculed, spat upon, abandoned and betrayed by His friends and His people, even the ones he was coming to save. He was beaten, forced to wear deadly thorns on His head, stripped and left nearly naked, was nailed to a beam and lifted on a cross to be crucified; He died on this cross as a spectacle in front of all- as if He had committed a horrible crime, and waited 3 days before His glorious Resurrection and 40 days before His Ascension into Heaven. The night before all this happened, at the famous "Last Supper," Jesus commanded His apostles (and their successors, now the bishops and priests) to remember the sacrifice He was going to do the next day, by doing it again when He was gone- to remember Him and His love for us. Jesus commanded them, "DO THIS”- (offer up His sacrifice to the Father in the form of His Body (bread), and His Blood (wine), IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME." The Mass is therefore, in a sense, like a photo album, allowing us to look at the pictures in our family history. Without the album, the memory of our loved ones sacrificial love might be lost.
Jesus Christ died on the cross for all of us sinners to save us from the punishment we all deserve: eternal separation from God-Hell. With praise and thanksgiving for this -the greatest gift, the Mass commemorates, (looks back to, calls to remembrance) the sacrifice Jesus Christ has done for us. What was Jesus' sacrifice? He gave up the richness of heaven, became a mere poor man, suffered intensely, obeyed his human parents, obeyed His heavenly Father to the point of being ridiculed, spat upon, abandoned and betrayed by His friends and His people, even the ones he was coming to save. He was beaten, forced to wear deadly thorns on His head, stripped and left nearly naked, was nailed to a beam and lifted on a cross to be crucified; He died on this cross as a spectacle in front of all- as if He had committed a horrible crime, and waited 3 days before His glorious Resurrection and 40 days before His Ascension into Heaven. The night before all this happened, at the famous "Last Supper," Jesus commanded His apostles (and their successors, now the bishops and priests) to remember the sacrifice He was going to do the next day, by doing it again when He was gone- to remember Him and His love for us. Jesus commanded them, "DO THIS”- (offer up His sacrifice to the Father in the form of His Body (bread), and His Blood (wine), IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME." The Mass is therefore, in a sense, like a photo album, allowing us to look at the pictures in our family history. Without the album, the memory of our loved ones sacrificial love might be lost.
II. THE MASS AS A PRESENT EVENT
The Mass perpetuates the sacrifice of Jesus' cross. What does perpetuate the sacrifice mean? By "entering into" the Sacrifice of the Mass - we enter into the same one and only sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. That means that when we come to Mass, we are mystically coming to the cross at Calvary. We are not crucifying Jesus again, we are going back to the actual one, ETERNAL sacrifice. It's as if we mystically enter a time machine "Back to the Future/Past," and land on Calvary. At the Mass, we get to participate in what happened 2000 years ago. We get to choose who we want to be. In our daily lives, are we acting like the Virgin Mary and John, able to stand firm with Jesus when He is unpopular and in His moment of agony? Are we like the Romans and Pharisees now crucifying Jesus all over again by rejecting Him by the way we live our lives? Or, are we like the other disciples and apostles (before they received the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost) too scared to walk with Jesus because it takes too much effort, hard work, courage and sacrifice? We choose what we want to do with our lives, every time we come to Mass.
Also, when we come to Mass we remember the sacrifice Jesus did for us "ONCE" at Calvary, but now the graces (or supernatural gifts) He won for us by this sacrifice, are being distributed throughout eternity "FOR ALL" of us coming to receive these supernatural gifts at Mass. What does it mean to distribute graces at Mass? When Jesus obeyed the Father and was willing to die for us, the Father, as a reward, gave Him something like presents/ supernatural gifts/ graces. These graces get distributed to all who would come to receive them. Where are these gifts distributed? Generally speaking, they are distributed in two places: (1) In the Sacraments: (Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Communion, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick) and (2) when we Pray. So, every time we come to Communion (or to any of the Sacraments or we Pray) we receive the supernatural gifts that Jesus won for us at the cross. The Eucharist is Jesus - God Himself, thus, the most powerful form of receiving grace.
The Mass perpetuates the sacrifice of Jesus' cross. What does perpetuate the sacrifice mean? By "entering into" the Sacrifice of the Mass - we enter into the same one and only sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. That means that when we come to Mass, we are mystically coming to the cross at Calvary. We are not crucifying Jesus again, we are going back to the actual one, ETERNAL sacrifice. It's as if we mystically enter a time machine "Back to the Future/Past," and land on Calvary. At the Mass, we get to participate in what happened 2000 years ago. We get to choose who we want to be. In our daily lives, are we acting like the Virgin Mary and John, able to stand firm with Jesus when He is unpopular and in His moment of agony? Are we like the Romans and Pharisees now crucifying Jesus all over again by rejecting Him by the way we live our lives? Or, are we like the other disciples and apostles (before they received the power of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost) too scared to walk with Jesus because it takes too much effort, hard work, courage and sacrifice? We choose what we want to do with our lives, every time we come to Mass.
Also, when we come to Mass we remember the sacrifice Jesus did for us "ONCE" at Calvary, but now the graces (or supernatural gifts) He won for us by this sacrifice, are being distributed throughout eternity "FOR ALL" of us coming to receive these supernatural gifts at Mass. What does it mean to distribute graces at Mass? When Jesus obeyed the Father and was willing to die for us, the Father, as a reward, gave Him something like presents/ supernatural gifts/ graces. These graces get distributed to all who would come to receive them. Where are these gifts distributed? Generally speaking, they are distributed in two places: (1) In the Sacraments: (Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Communion, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick) and (2) when we Pray. So, every time we come to Communion (or to any of the Sacraments or we Pray) we receive the supernatural gifts that Jesus won for us at the cross. The Eucharist is Jesus - God Himself, thus, the most powerful form of receiving grace.
What's the purpose of the supernatural gifts, these graces?
In the book of Matthew, Jesus asks us to be perfect like our heavenly Father is perfect. In the book of John, Jesus asks us to love our neighbor- not just like we love ourselves, but like "I have loved you." He also asks us to follow the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). And in the Sermon on the Mount, He goes further than asking us to follow the Commandments, Jesus also asks us to change our attitudes towards each other. Now all of this is well and good but anyone who has passed grade school knows that these things are impossible. Are they impossible? Yes, they are HUMANLY impossible. That is why He came to give us the SUPERNATURAL strength, His own divine life in the Eucharist, His own Holy Spirit, to help us live like He wants us to live, and to help us love like He wants us to love- perfectly. We cannot seriously walk the Christian walk with our own strength; we need God's supernatural strength to do it. And that is why these graces are important for us to receive as often as possible, even daily.
III. THE MASS AS A FUTURE EVENT
The Mass allows us to commune with God now, similar to the way we will commune with Him in the future throughout eternity in the Eternal Banquet we all hope to attend in heaven. The Eucharist we receive in Mass invites us now to receive a taste of what we will have in heaven.
GOD OR BREAD?
When are we most intimate with God now?- when we receive Him in Holy Communion; by eating His Body and His blood. Did you say "eat" Jesus? YES, I say it because Jesus said it in the Gospel of John Chapter 6:25-69. Read it, it will change your life. The Eucharist is REALLY JESUS' PHYSICAL, GLORIFIED BODY, HIS BLOOD, HIS SOUL and HIS DIVINITY - hidden in a piece of insignificant looking bread. It is not a symbol of Jesus; IT IS JESUS!! How can that be? In the Old Testament, God split the Red Sea in half so that Jews could be free. In the New Testament, the Creator of the universe, the galaxies and the sun, became a mere human being to make a way for us to be with Him in heaven. When He was walking around Jerusalem He was truly man, and also God incognito. How much harder is it to hide Himself in a piece of bread? The hardest question is not HOW does Jesus do this, (change bread and wine into HIMSELF) since He is God and we know God can do anything. The hardest question is WHY would Jesus do this? He becomes bread and wine because He knows we need Him. He comes to hide in bread and wine because He loves us so much, He doesn't want to leave us. Do you want to leave the company of the people you love?
But why hide as an insignificant piece of bread? He wants us to come to Him, to receive Him in faith. One day the whole world will bow before Him when He radiates in majesty. But today, He lets us come to Him, in faith- so that we might love Him for Him. A very wealthy person may hide their riches in order to see if we love them or their money. Jesus, who has all the wealth, wants to be truly loved by us, so He hides in the poverty of a piece of bread. Will we go to Him?
In the book of Matthew, Jesus asks us to be perfect like our heavenly Father is perfect. In the book of John, Jesus asks us to love our neighbor- not just like we love ourselves, but like "I have loved you." He also asks us to follow the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). And in the Sermon on the Mount, He goes further than asking us to follow the Commandments, Jesus also asks us to change our attitudes towards each other. Now all of this is well and good but anyone who has passed grade school knows that these things are impossible. Are they impossible? Yes, they are HUMANLY impossible. That is why He came to give us the SUPERNATURAL strength, His own divine life in the Eucharist, His own Holy Spirit, to help us live like He wants us to live, and to help us love like He wants us to love- perfectly. We cannot seriously walk the Christian walk with our own strength; we need God's supernatural strength to do it. And that is why these graces are important for us to receive as often as possible, even daily.
III. THE MASS AS A FUTURE EVENT
The Mass allows us to commune with God now, similar to the way we will commune with Him in the future throughout eternity in the Eternal Banquet we all hope to attend in heaven. The Eucharist we receive in Mass invites us now to receive a taste of what we will have in heaven.
GOD OR BREAD?
When are we most intimate with God now?- when we receive Him in Holy Communion; by eating His Body and His blood. Did you say "eat" Jesus? YES, I say it because Jesus said it in the Gospel of John Chapter 6:25-69. Read it, it will change your life. The Eucharist is REALLY JESUS' PHYSICAL, GLORIFIED BODY, HIS BLOOD, HIS SOUL and HIS DIVINITY - hidden in a piece of insignificant looking bread. It is not a symbol of Jesus; IT IS JESUS!! How can that be? In the Old Testament, God split the Red Sea in half so that Jews could be free. In the New Testament, the Creator of the universe, the galaxies and the sun, became a mere human being to make a way for us to be with Him in heaven. When He was walking around Jerusalem He was truly man, and also God incognito. How much harder is it to hide Himself in a piece of bread? The hardest question is not HOW does Jesus do this, (change bread and wine into HIMSELF) since He is God and we know God can do anything. The hardest question is WHY would Jesus do this? He becomes bread and wine because He knows we need Him. He comes to hide in bread and wine because He loves us so much, He doesn't want to leave us. Do you want to leave the company of the people you love?
But why hide as an insignificant piece of bread? He wants us to come to Him, to receive Him in faith. One day the whole world will bow before Him when He radiates in majesty. But today, He lets us come to Him, in faith- so that we might love Him for Him. A very wealthy person may hide their riches in order to see if we love them or their money. Jesus, who has all the wealth, wants to be truly loved by us, so He hides in the poverty of a piece of bread. Will we go to Him?
But why do I have to "eat his body and drink his blood"? It is one of God's greatest gifts to us- the gift of Himself. Remember when Jesus told Nicodemus in Jn. 3:1-10, "You must be born again in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Nicodemus thought Jesus was talking about a second physical birth so he asked Jesus, "How can a grown man enter again into his mother's womb? But Jesus meant we needed to be born again by also receiving a spiritual life- in Baptism. Jesus tells Nicodemus, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and of Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit." Jesus is explaining to all of us: in addition to our physical birth, unless we also receive a spiritual birth from the Holy Spirit at Baptism we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is teaching us that we have two life principles: we have a physical life and a spiritual life. And we need to have a spiritual life in order to be in heaven.
So, after we were born if we had not been fed, we would have died. In the same way, after we received our spiritual lives in baptism we also needed to nourish our sp iritual lives in order for our spiritual lives to grow and not die. That is why God gave us Jesus, the Bread of Life, the Eucharist, the Bread come down from heaven, Holy Communion, Himself in order to nourish our spiritual lives. Jesus teaches us, "I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man (Jesus) and drink His blood, you will not have life in you" (John 6:53). What does that mean, I have never had communion and I am alive? Yes you are in body but you also have a spirit and your spirit also needs nourishment in order for it to live and grow. (See also, 1Cor 10:16-18; 1Cor. 11:23-26)
So, after we were born if we had not been fed, we would have died. In the same way, after we received our spiritual lives in baptism we also needed to nourish our sp iritual lives in order for our spiritual lives to grow and not die. That is why God gave us Jesus, the Bread of Life, the Eucharist, the Bread come down from heaven, Holy Communion, Himself in order to nourish our spiritual lives. Jesus teaches us, "I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man (Jesus) and drink His blood, you will not have life in you" (John 6:53). What does that mean, I have never had communion and I am alive? Yes you are in body but you also have a spirit and your spirit also needs nourishment in order for it to live and grow. (See also, 1Cor 10:16-18; 1Cor. 11:23-26)
