The Eucharist and Trust
The reading for the group will be the Eucharist and Trust. First of all, any discussion on the Divine Mercy Incarnate must include the Eucharist, for they are one and the same; that is, the Divine Mercy Incarnate is Jesus and Jesus is the Eucharist. Just as blood carries life sustaining oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in our body, the Eucharist is our spiritual food and transfuses us with life saving grace and power.
Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb who gave up His life out of love for us. In Jeremiah 11: 19, it is written: "but I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter." In 1Peter, 1:18-19, “you know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious Blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." The Eucharist is food for our spiritual journeys and provides us nourishment and grace for our travels on the spiritual road of life.
The Sacrament was instituted on Holy Thursday, and this gift is ongoing and celebrated daily in Masses all over the world. Jesus wants us to partake in this gift as frequently as our station in life permits. "Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day" (In 6: 53-54). The Church teaches that at the moment of consecration during the Mass, the bread and wine on the altar become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The Council of Trent in 1551 condemned the opinion that Christ is present only in the elements as a sign or that Christ is received only spiritually. In John 6: 48-51, Jesus says, "I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, but they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and never die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh."
After the consecration, the bread and wine cease to exist although the appearance remains. This change is called transubstantiation. While it is true God is everywhere spiritually, the Eucharistic presence of Christ, that is, that Christ is present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity is called the True Presence or the Real Presence. When discussing the Real Presence, one can see from John, Chapter 6, that even at the time of Christ, there was disagreement and discussion and many did not understand what He was saying. In verses 48-56, He speaks of being "the living bread which came down from Heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever" and He added "for My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." However, in verse 60, it is written that many of His disciples, when they heard it remarked, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" And in verse 66, "After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him."
The early Christians who believed in the Real Presence suffered much. There was much persecution and there were many martyrs. People met and prayed in secret and could not openly discuss their faith. As a result, a community of secrecy developed as reflected in the signs and symbols of the early church, ones that could not be deciphered by the pagans due to their complexity.
Early this century when the catacombs were discovered and excavated, several symbols were found in far greater frequency than others. They reflected on the meaning of life and the "Great Secret," the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Interestingly, it was not Christ's Resurrection, His numerous healings, the Sermon on the Mount, or the Passion that predominated in the symbolic art work of the catacombs, rather, it was the symbol of the Eucharist that was the focus throughout and was even on Peter's tomb.
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I want to mention the Eucharistic miracle of Bologna, Italy. This took place in 1333 and occurred because a pious young woman, a girl of eleven years of age, had a burning desire to receive our Lord in the Eucharist.
Little Imelda Lambertini was born of wealth and entered the Dominican convent at age 9, and was loved by the older nuns. She wanted to receive Holy Communion but was unable to because she was not the required 12 years of age. On the Feast of the Ascension in 1333, the Lord gave her a special gift. While staying after Mass to pray, a Host appeared suspended in mid-air in front of her.
A priest was called and he gave her First Holy Communion. She went into ecstasy and never awakened. She died after receiving her First Holy Communion. Her body is incorrupt and lies outside Bologna, Italy.
One of the most well-known Eucharistic miracles is that of Lanciano, Italy, which occurred in the 700's. Lanciano is a small coastal town on the Adriatic Sea. The term means "the lance" and tradition has it that St. Longinus, the soldier whose lance pierced the Heart of Jesus from which flowed blood and water, was from Lanciano. Longinus converted after the events of the crucifixion and was eventually martyred for the faith. At the time of this miracle, heresy was spreading in the church about the True Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. A monk was having doubts and his doubts were getting stronger.
One morning during Mass, at the Consecration, he began to shake and tremble and faced the people to show them what had happened. The host had turned to Flesh and the wine into Blood. The miracle took place nearly 1300 years ago and is still ongoing. In the 1970's, testing was done and revealed the flesh to be human heart tissue and the blood to be of human origin. The blood had characteristics of living blood and no preservatives of any kind were found in either specimen. So we ponder the miracle of Lanciano in sacred scripture: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who eats my flesh and drinks my bloodabides in me and I in him" (In 6: 53-54).
Another Eucharistic miracle occurred in France in 1608. This unique miracle does not involve a host that turned to flesh or bled but rather, one that defied the law of gravity. The miracle occurred after the reformation and the fervor of the faithful was not as it should have been. In 1608, the services of Pentecost Sunday on May 25 were attended by a full church and at nightfall, two oil lamps were left burning before the Blessed Sacrament, which was left exposed during the night in a single monstrance. The following day a sacristan opened the doors and saw smoke and realized there was a fire.
Efforts were made to extinguish the flames and it was noticed that the monstrance was suspended in mid-air. News spread and many believers and skeptics came to witness the spectacle. Priests took turns offering Holy Mass while more witnesses came to see the miracle.
On the morning of Tuesday, May 27, during Mass and at the time of consecration, the Host descended to the altar, brought in to replace the one destroyed by fire. An inquiry was made and 54 depositions were obtained from priests, monks, peasants and villagers. On July 30, 1608, the Archbishop declared it to be a miracle. Of interest was the fact that the altar, altar linens and ornaments were destroyed and one of the chandeliers was found melted from the heat. Despite this, the monstrance was not damaged. The sworn statements from witnesses are still preserved in the church and a marble slab was installed beneath the sight of the suspended host and inscribed are the words "Lieu du Miracle", i.e., "place of the miracle."
As we live our lives the hallmark of the message of Divine Mercy is trust. We are to be vessels of mercy and how much the vessel will hold and radiate out to others depends on trust. Trust requires a conversion of the heart and soul and gives us the wisdom to understand the need to ask for His mercy, to be merciful to others, and to let God be in charge.
In Proverbs 3:5 it is written, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight." Trust in God is easy when things are going well, however, in times of trial and suffering, doubt, discouragement, and anxiety appear and we begin to wonder where is God? Does He really exist? If we pray, discern and believe we are doing His will, then we must ask for fortitude and strength and a deeper faith. Many of us are so used to being in control and in charge only to later realize that it was God who opened the door.
Trust is the key; trust is the hallmark of living the message of Divine Mercy. When your faith is tested in times of trial and suffering, reflect on the words Jesus spoke to Saint Faustina: The more a soul trusts, the more graces it will receive (Diary, 1572).
There will be times in our lives when the outcome will not be as we had hoped' or desired or prayed about. When we face a trial or suffering of some sort, our reaction may be, "what did I do to deserve this" or, "if God is so merciful, how could He let this happen?" Of course, there are many types of suffering-poor health, addictions, death of a loved one, abusive relationships; in reality, the list is endless. Regardless of the cause or problem, pain is pain and we need to ask "what is God trying to teach me through this cross?" In all walks of life, we face adversity. Our Lord told Saint Faustina in Diary entry 669, My daughter, suffering will be a sign to you that I am with you, and on another occasion, My daughter, do not be afraid of sufferings; I am with you (Diary, 151).
In Matthew 11: 28-30, it is written, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
These trials in life give us an opportunity and often force us to question our relationship with God. Saint Faustina wrote, strangely, God sometimes allows them, but always in order to manifest or develop virtue in a soul (Diary, 166). That is the reason for trials. Suffering has a purpose as St. Paul wrote (2 Cor 4:17-18), "For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal way of glory beyond all comparison because we look not to things that are seen but to the things that are unseen."
In 1 Peter 4: 12-13, "Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice in so far as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. " If we allow it, our suffering will open the door for spiritual growth and a realization of ones total dependence on God. For example, a person with an addiction probably will deny a problem until he hits bottom. Healings will occur through the acceptance of the problem and the realization of the need for God.
When we give our sufferings and crosses back to Him, we live the words St. Paul, (Gal 2:20) "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,. and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
Let us ponder the Lord's pierced Heart and call upon His mercy on behalf of sinners, saying, Oh Blood and Water which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of mercy for us, I TRUST IN YOU.
The final topic on this teaching deals with forgiveness. The message given to St. Faustina calls for us to trust in God in all situations, ask for His mercy, and be merciful to others. As God forgives our sins, we are to forgive others of their transgressions. In Mark 11: 25 it is written, "And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."
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Forgiveness is at the heart of the Message of Divine Mercy. We pray with confidence to God the Father asking for forgiveness in His mercy as we realize our sinfulness. We pray to God to forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Yet this outpouring of God's mercy cannot exist as long as we have not forgiven those who have offended us. How can we love the God we cannot see if we do not love the brother or sister we can see?
If we lack forgiveness we close our hearts to God's mercy. In refusing to forgive our brothers and sisters, our hearts are closed and their hardness makes them impervious to the Father's merciful love. But in confessing our sins, our hearts are opened to His grace. Yet forgiveness is so difficult after someone has hurt us. We know with men this is impossible but with God, all things are possible.
The pain we carry can be as severe and as deep as a wound festering with infection for years. How can one forgive another after murdering one's family, stealing property, or treating others as animals? Yet even if the aggressor is not sorry, the one injured who harbors anger is the one bound in chains. It is only by letting go of the anger and asking God for the grace of forgiveness that the chains are set free. Think of God the Father in the story of ~ the Prodigal Son who is looking and waiting for us, accepting our pleas of repentance and sorrow. We are to be merciful to others as He is merciful to us.
Forgiveness is easier if we can avoid being judgmental. We should not be like the Pharisees who saw all the serious faults in others but not in themselves. If we could only be as exacting on ourselves as we are on others. Aren't we all so quick to criticize, condemn and judge? How easily we overlook our own faults by justifying and rationalizing our conduct and defects. How easy it is for us to see the speck that is in our brother's eye, yet we do not notice the log that is in our own eye. Think of how many times we recite the Lord's Prayer and we say over and over, "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" and yet we struggle with forgiving others. In actuality, many carry anger and hatred for years, never resolving the situation internally. We seldom forgive and rarely forget. Yet we pray to God to forgive us as we forgive others.
In closing, let us reflect on the passage from Sirach 28: 1-2, "He that takes vengeance will suffer vengeance from the Lord, and he will firmly establish his sins. Forgive your neighbor the wrong he has done, and then your sins will be pardoned when you pray. Does a man harbor anger against another, and yet seek for healing from the Lord? Does he have no mercy toward a man like himself, and yet pray for his own sins?"
O Lord, give us the grace to forgive so we can have peace in our hearts. Free us from the shackles that bind us and help us to become the beautiful people we are all called to be.