My Dear Friends,
Last week, many of you asked me for the quotes I used to illustrate the power of the Eucharist during my homily on Corpus Christi Sunday. The quotes are listed below. Some of them I used at the 10:30am Mass, and the others directed at youth I used at the 5:30pm Mass. Never tire of hungering for the Eucharist and learning more about the Divine Sacrifice of the Mass. I encourage you to read the section on the Eucharist in the Catechism of the Catholic Church during this year of Eucharistic Revival. I also highly recommend reading St. John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter “Ecclesia de Eucharistia.” Mediate on the quotes below and may it not only help you thirst for more time with the Lord in the Adoration chapel, but also help you fall more in love with the Divine Mysteries we celebrate together every Sunday: the most important thing we do as a parish.
“The Eucharist is the secret of my day. It gives strength and meaning to all my activities of service to the Church and to the whole world … Let Jesus present in the Blessed Sacrament speak to your hearts. It is he who is the true answer of life that you seek. He stays here with us: He is God with us. Seek him without tiring, welcome him without reserve, love him without interruption: today, tomorrow, forever!” –St. John Paul II Address to Youth of Bologna (9/27/1997)
“…even when it is celebrated on the humble altar of a country church, the Eucharist is always in some way celebrated on the altar of the world. It unites heaven and earth. It embraces and permeates all creation. The Son of God became man in order to restore all creation, in one supreme act of praise, to the One who made it from nothing. He, the Eternal High Priest who by the blood of his Cross entered the eternal sanctuary, thus gives back to the Creator and Father all creation redeemed. He does so through the priestly ministry of the Church, to the glory of the Most Holy Trinity. Truly this is the mysterium fidei which is accomplished in the Eucharist: the world which came forth from the hands of God the Creator now returns to him redeemed by Christ.” St. John Paul II Eccelsia de Eucharistia (8)
“Jesus is not an idea, a sentiment, a memory! Jesus is a ‘person,’ always alive and present with us! Love Jesus present in the Eucharist. He is present in a sacrificial way in holy Mass, which renews the sacrifice of the cross. To go to Mass means going to Calvary to meet him, our Redeemer. He comes to us in holy Communion and remains present in the tabernacles of our churches, for he is our friend.” — St. John Paul II Address to the Italian youth, Nov. 8, 1978
“Those who are gathered around the altar of Christ are not simply recalling Calvary; Calvary has become present to them in all of its spiritual power.” –Bishop Robert Barron
“Picture then the High Priest Christ leaving the sacristy of heaven for the altar of Calvary. He has already put on the vestment of our human nature, the maniple of our suffering, the stole of priesthood, the chasuble of the Cross. Calvary is his cathedral; the rock of Calvary is the altar stone; the sun turning to red is the sanctuary lamp; Mary and John are the living side altars; the Host is His Body; the wine is His Blood. He is upright as Priest, yet He is prostrate as Victim. His Mass is about to begin.” —Venerable Fulton Sheen
“Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you – for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart…don’t listen to the demon, laugh at him, and go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love…” -St. Therese of Lisieux
God bless you all,
