For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

Alleluia Ping!

If you aren’t on this ping list NOW and would like to be,

please Freepmail me.

Saint's days are superseded by the Sunday liturgy.

Feast Day:	June 26
Born:	9 January 1902, Barbastro, Aragon, Spain
Died:	26 June 1975, Rome, Italy
Canonized:	6 October 2002, Vatican City by Pope John Paul II
Major Shrine:	Our Lady of Peace, Prelatic Church of Opus Dei, in Rome

Interactive Saints for Kids

St. Pelagius

Feast Day: June 26
Born: (around) 912 :: Died: 925

This boy martyr of Spain lived in the days when the Moors who were Muslims ruled part of his homeland. The Moors were fighting the Spanish Christians. Pelagius was only ten when his uncle had to leave him as a hostage with the Moors in the city of Cordova. They would not set him free until his uncle sent what the Moors demanded.

Three years later the young Christian Pelagius still remained a prisoner. By this time, he was a handsome, lively boy of thirteen. Although many of his fellow prisoners were men who had formed evil habits, Pelagius would not follow their example. He had a strong will and knew how to keep himself good.

The ruler of the Moors heard good reports about Pelagius and sent for the boy. Pelagius was handsome and well-behaved. The ruler felt generous and wanted to get him out of prison. After all, he was only a boy.

He offered Pelagius his freedom, plus fine clothes to wear, beautiful horses and money. All this, only if he would give up his faith and become a Muslim like them.

"All those things you named mean nothing to me," answered the boy firmly. "I have been a Christian. I am a Christian now. I shall continue to be a Christian." The ruler was surprised. Now instead of promises he threatened Pelagius, but this had no effect.

Thirteen-year-old Pelagius was killed for his faith in Jesus and died a martyr in the year 925.

Upcoming movie about St. Josemaria Escriva focuses on love, forgiveness and redemption

St. Josemaría Escrivá and the Spirituality of Opus Dei

POPE WILL CANONIZE BLESSED JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA ON SUNDAY

Statement on the Canonization of Escriva : Opus Dei

St Josemaria Escriva: Biography[Founder of OPUS DEI]

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

Continue to Pray for Pope Benedict [Ecumenical]

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Rosary for the Bishops Campaign celebrates six months of prayer, global expansion

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+

God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Bachmann: Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

Psalm 109:8

"Let his days be few; and let another take his place of leadership."

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion." These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75.

The devotion consists in the divine worship of the human heart of Christ, which is united to His divinity and which is a symbol of His love for us. The aim of the devotion is to make our Lord king over our hearts by prompting them to return love to Him (especially through an act of consecration by which we offer to the Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that belongs to us) and to make reparation for our ingratitude to God.

INVOCATION

O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART

Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the characteristic note of the piety of Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), Benedictine nun and renowned mystic. She was, in fact, the first great exponent of devotion to the Sacred Heart. In our efforts to honor the Heart of Jesus we have this prayer as a model for our own:
Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, 0 my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.
Saint Gertrude

FOR THE CHURCH

O most holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measure upon Thy holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the holy souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.

A PRAYER OF TRUST

O God, who didst in wondrous manner reveal to the virgin, Margaret Mary, the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart, grant that loving Thee, after her example, in all things and above all things, we may in Thy Heart find our abiding home.
Roman Missal

ACT OF LOVE

Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It for ever. Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart, which cease not even while I sleep, may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart will never cease to be there. Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do and be graciously pleased to repair all m] wrong-doing; so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Cardinal Merry del Val

MEMORARE TO THE SACRED HEART
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought it mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushes beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Hear. of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

June and the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Do not be afraid to be pious
Only for Love: The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood [Catholic Caucus]

Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART, 10-19-09
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today
The Biblical Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [Ecumenical]
Heart to Heart (Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion) [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
(June) The Month of the Sacred Heart {Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
The Heart of the World (On the Sacred Heart of Jesus) (Catholic Caucus)
The Sacred Heart Is The Holy Eucharist(Catholic Caucus)
The Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge

Importance of Devotion to the Sacred Heart
An Awesome Homily on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Father Edmond Kline
Catholic Prayer and Devotion: June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Devotions: Sacred Heart of Jesus
Pope Urges Jesuits to Spread Sacred Heart Devotion
Homilies preached by Father Altier on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Meditation and Devotion: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Daily Recomendation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus powerful prayer!
The Sacred Heart and the Eucharist
The Love of the Sacred Heart

On the Sacred Heart - "We Adore God's Love of Humanity"
HAURIETIS AQUAS (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart) - Encyclical by Pope Pius XII
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sacred Heart a Feast of God's Love, Says John Paul II
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Symbol of Combativity and the Restoration of Christendom
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus-The Early Church, Middle Ages up to St. Margaret Mary
See this Heart
‘God Will Act and Will Reign’
About Devotion To The Sacred Heart:The Story Of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Rediscover Feast of Sacred Heart, John Paul II Tells Youth

"Behold this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth."

- Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary

Our Lord also made 12 promises to St. Margaret Mary for those that are devoted to His Sacred Heart.

I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
I will give peace in their families.
I will console them in all their troubles.
They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.

June 2011

Pope Benedict XVI's Intentions

General Intention: That priests, united to the Heart of Christ, may always be true witnesses of the caring and merciful love of God.

Missionary Intention: That the Holy Spirit may bring forth from our communities numerous missionary vocations, willing to fully consecrate themselves to spreading the Kingdom of God.

From: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16

Israel’s Character Forged in the Desert (Continuation)

[2] “And you shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you
these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to
know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or
not. [3] And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which
you did not know, nor did your fathers know; that he might make you know that
man does not live by bread alone, but that man lives by everything that proceeds
out of the mouth of the LORD. [4] Your clothing did not wear out upon you, and
your foot did not swell, these forty years.

God Not To Be Forgotten in the Time of Plenty (Continuation)

[14] “Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God, who
brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, [15] who led
you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scor-
pions and thirsty ground where there was no water, who brought you water out
of the flinty rock, [16] who fed you in the wilderness with manna which your fa-
thers did not know, that he might humble you and test you, to do you good in
the end.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

8:1-6. The Israelites are reminded about the way they were tested in the wilder-
ness and how God gave them special protection and fatherly care; and they are
once again exhorted to fidelity. This context needs to be borne in mind when con-
sidering v, 4: it need not be taken literally as some rabbinical fables did, which
took it to mean that in those desert years the Israelites’ clothes did not wear out
and their children’s clothes increased in size as they grew tip.

“Man does not live by bread alone” (v. 3): Jesus will quote these words when re-
jecting Satan’s first temptation in the desert (cf. Mt 4:4).

The relationship between Israel and God, which is compared to that of father and
son (v. 5) was central to Jesus’ thinking and teaching. Some other Old Testament
passages, though not many, speak of this relationship (cf., e.g., Hos 11:1); a
greater number of passages apply this idea to the relationship between the Lord
and the King (cf., e.g., 2 Sam 7:14-15; Ps 2:7; 89:27).

8:7-20. This passage is more profound than might appear at first reading, because
the sacred writer is using the theme of the Land to show the salvific dimension of
God’s actions. Israel’s “departure from Egypt” marked the beginning of God’s sal-
vific action on behalf of his chosen people. The “wilderness”, described as “terri-
ble”, helped to make that people realize that they needed God and helped them
to hope in him. The “promised land”, a “good land”, particularly when compared
with the wilderness, shows God’s kindness towards Israel: in it they will find rest,
peace and happiness. The only thing they need to guard against is glorying in it,
as if they merited this good fortune. If ever they did give in to that temptation, they
would be lost. Clearly, this theological-moral lesson should be taken to heart by
everyone in his relations with God, whatever his or her circumstances.

The Canaanites went in for coarse and disgusting fertility rites to win the favor of
the gods that protected agriculture and livestock. The Israelites must do no such
thing. They should show their gratitude to the Lord who sends rain, sun and dew,
by offering sober and sensible sacrifices from field and flock. The Deuteronomic
Code (chapts. 12-26) in fact deals with agriculture-based festivals such as
“Weeks” (Deut 16:9-12), “unleavened bread” (16:3-4), “tithes” (14:22-29), etc. It
is through this, and above all, though living up to the moral demands of the Law,
that Israel will show its fidelity to Yahweh.

The ease with which men (and nations) forget God once they become rich and
prosperous is something readily proved from history. And when that happens the
threat contained in Deuteronomy in vv. 19-20 inevitably becomes a reality, for
“without a creator there can be no creature. [...] Besides, once God is forgotten
the creature is lost sight of as well” (Vatican II, “Gaudiumn Et Spes”, 36); hence
the need not to put one’s heart on material things. “You need to realize,” St Gre-
gory of Nyssa urges, “the origin of your life, your mind, your wisdom and, what
is more important still, the fact that you know God, your hope in the kingdom of
heaven and your expectation of seeing God [...], being a son of God, a co-heir
of Christ and (dare I say it) becoming divinized: where do all these things come
from; who causes them to happen?” (”De Pauperum Amore”, 23).

Christian writers often apply the benefits the Israelites received during the Exo-
dus to the graces of Baptism and the Eucharist (cf, e.g., 1 Cor 1.0:1-11). And
the Church’s liturgy, after recalling, the pillar of fire, the voice of Moses on Sinai,
the manna and the water that flowed from the rock, prays that our Lord should
be for us, through his Resurrection, the light of life, the word and bread of life (cf.
Liturgy of the Hours, Prayer, Lauds, Tuesday of Week 6, Eastertide).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

Idolatry and the Eucharist, Incompatible

[16] The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of
Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
[17] Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all par-
take of the one bread.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

14-22. After illustrating the general principles by reference to what himself does
and the lessons of the history of Israel (cf. note on chaps. 8-10), St Paul returns
to the subject of food sacrificed to idols. Christians may not attend the banquets
which take place at pagan shrines, for that would amount to idolatry. By eating
the meat of animals offered to Yahweh, Jews participated in the sacrifice and
worship in his honor; and, by receiving the body and blood of the Lord, Christians
unite themselves to Christ; similarly, those who take part in idolatrous banquets
are associating themselves not with false gods — which have no existence — but
with demons. In the Old Testament it is pointed out that things sacrificed to idols
are in fact being offered to demons, who enemies of the worship of God (cf. Deut
32:17; Ps 106: 36-38; Bar 4:7).

St Paul’s words confirm basic truths of faith connected with the sublime mystery
of the Eucharist—its sacrificial character, adverted to here by drawing a parallel
between it and pagan sacrifices (cf. v. 21; Council of Trent, “De SS. Missae Sac-
rificio”, chap. 1), and the real presence of Christ, as can be seen by the reference
to the body and blood of Christ (v. 16). The Church’s faith has always maintained
that the holy sacrifice of the Mass is the renewal of the divine sacrifice of Calvary;
in every Mass Christ once again offers God the Father His body and blood, as a
sacrifice for all men, with the difference that what was offered on the cross in a
bloody manner is offered on the altar in an unbloody manner. “In the divine sac-
rifice that is offered in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a
bloody manner on the altar of the cross is present and is offered in an unbloody
manner (cf. Heb 9: 27). [...] For it is one and the same victim — He who now
makes the offering through the ministry of priests and He who then offered Him-
self on the cross; the only difference is in the manner of the offering” (”De SS.
Missae Sacrificio”, chap. 2). “The Eucharist is above all a sacrifice — the sacri-
fice of Redemption and at the same time the sacrifice of the New Covenant” (Bl.
John Paul II, “Letter To All Bishops”, 24 February 1980). See also the notes on
Mt 26:26-29 and par.

On the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, see the note on 1 Cor 11:27-32.

16-17. The principal effect of the Blessed Eucharist is intimate union with Jesus.
The very name “communion”—taken from this passage of St Paul (cf. “St Pius V
Catechism”, II, 4, 4)—points to becoming one with our Lord by receiving his body
and blood. “What in fact is the bread? The body of Christ. What do they become
who receive Communion? The body of Christ” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on 1 Cor, 24,
ad loc.”).

St Augustine places these words on Jesus’ lips to describe what happens at Ho-
ly Communion: “You will not change me into you as happens with bodily food;
rather, you will be changed into me” (”Confessions”, VII, 10, 16).

Due to this intimate union with Christ, the Eucharist is at one and the same time
the sacrament where the entire Church demonstrates and achieves its unity, and
where a very special kind of solidarity is developed among Christians. That is why
it is called a “symbol of unity” and a “bond of love;” (Council of Trent, “De SS.
Eucharistia”, chap. 8; cf. “Lumen Gentium”, 7; “Unitatis Redintegratio”, 2). The
Fathers of the Church have seen a symbol of this union in the very materials —
bread and wine—used to make the Eucharist. The “St Pius V Catechism” sums
up this as follows: “the body of Christ, which is one, consists of many members
(cf. Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 10:17; 12:12), and of this union nothing is more strikingly
illustrative than the elements of bread and wine; for bread is made from many
grains and wine is pressed from many clusters of grapes. Thus they signify that
we, though many, are most closely bound together by the bond of the divine my-
stery and made, as it were, one body” (II, 4,18).

“We who are many ...”: the literal translation would be “We the many ...”. The
text derives from a Hebrew expression indicating plurality or even totality as dis-
tinct from a single entity or a minority; the RSV catches this idea. The same turn
\of phrase is found, for example, in Mt 20:28; Mk 10:45; Is 53:11.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: John 6:51-59

The Discourse on the Bread of Life (Continuation)

(Jesus said to the Jews,) [51] “I am the living bread which came down from Hea-
ven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall
give for the life of the world is My flesh.” [52] The Jews disputed among them-
selves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” [53] So Jesus said
to them, “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; [54] he who eats My flesh and drinks My
blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. [55] For My flesh is
food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. [56] He who eats My flesh and drinks
My blood abides in Me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent Me, and I live
because of the Father, so he who eats Me will live because of Me. [58] This is
the bread which came from Heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who
eats this bread will live for ever.” [59] This he said in the synagogue, as he taught
at Capernaum.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

49-51. The manna during the Exodus was a figure of this bread—Christ Himself —
which nourishes Christians on their pilgrimage through this world. Communion
is the wonderful banquet at which Christ gives Himself to us: “the bread which I
shall give for the life of the world is My flesh”. These words promise the manifes-
tation of the Eucharist at the Last Supper: “This is My body which is for you” (1
Corinthians 11:24). The words “for the life of the world” and “for you” refer to the
redemptive value of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In some sacrifices of the
Old Testament, which were a figure of the sacrifice of Christ, part of the animal
offered up was later used for food, signifying participation in the sacred rite (cf.
Exodus 11:3-4). So, by receiving Holy Communion, we are sharing in the sac-
rifice of Christ: which is why the Church sings in the Liturgy of the Hours on the
Feast of Corpus Christi: “O sacred feast in which we partake of Christ: His suf-
ferings are remembered, our minds are filled with His grace and we receive a
pledge of the glory that is to be ours” (”Magnificat Antiphon”, Evening Prayer II).

52. Christ’s hearers understand perfectly well that He means exactly what He
says; but they cannot believe that what He says could be true; if they had un-
derstood Him in a metaphorical, figurative or symbolic sense there would be no
reason for them to be surprised and nothing to cause an argument. Later, Jesus
reaffirms what He has said—confirming what they have understood Him to say
(cf. verses 54-56).

53. Once again Jesus stresses very forcefully that it is necessary to receive Him
in the Blessed Eucharist in order to share in divine life and develop the life of
grace received in Baptism. No parent is content to bring children into the world:
they have to be nourished and looked after to enable them to reach maturity.
“We receive Jesus Christ in Holy Communion to nourish our souls and to give us
an increase of grace and the gift of eternal life” (”St. Pius X Catechism”, 289).

54. Jesus clearly states that His body and blood are a pledge of eternal life and
a guarantee of the resurrection of the body. St. Thomas Aquinas gives this expla-
nation: “The Word gives life to our souls, but the Word made flesh nourishes our
bodies. In this Sacrament is contained the Word not only in His divinity but also
in His humanity; therefore, it is the cause not only of the glorification of our souls
but also of that of our bodies” (”Commentary on St. John, in loc.”).

Our Lord uses a stronger word than just “eating” (the original verb could be
translated as “chewing”) which shows that Communion is a real meal. There is
no room for saying that He was speaking only symbolically, which would mean
that Communion was only a metaphor and not really eating and drinking the Bo-
dy and Blood of Christ.

“All these invitations, promises and threats sprang from the great desire which
(Jesus) had of giving us Himself in the holy Sacrament of the altar. But why
should Jesus so ardently desire us to receive Him in Holy Communion? It is be-
cause love always sighs for, and tends to a union with, the object beloved. True
friends wish to be united in such a manner as to become only one. The love of
God for us being immense, He destined us to possess Him not only in Heaven,
but also here below, by the most intimate union, under the appearance of bread
in the Eucharist. It is true we do not see Him; but He beholds us, and is really
present; yes, He is present in order that we may possess Him and He conceals
Himself, that we may desire Him, and until we reach our true homeland Jesus
Christ wishes in this way to be entirely ours, and to be perfectly united to us”
(St. Alphonsus Liguori, “The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”,
Chapter 2).

55. In the same way as bodily food is necessary for life on earth, Holy Com-
munion is necessary for maintaining the life of the soul, which is why the Church
exhorts us to receive this Sacrament frequently: “Every day, as is desirable, and
in the greatest possible numbers, the faithful must take an active part in the sac-
rifice of the Mass, avail themselves of the pure, holy refreshment of Holy Commu-
nion and make a suitable thanksgiving in return for this great gift of Christ the
Lord. Here are the words they should keep in mind: ‘Jesus Christ and the Church
desire all Christ’s faithful to approach the sacred banquet every day. The basis
of this desire is that they should be united to God by the sacrament and draw
strength from it to restrain lust, to wash away the slight faults of daily occurrence
and to take precautions against the more serious sins to which human frailty is
liable’ (Decree of the S.C. of the Council, 20 December 1905)” (Paul VI, “Mys-
terium Fidei”).

“The Savior has instituted the most august sacrament of the Eucharist, which
truly contains His flesh and His blood, so that he who eats this bread may live
forever; whosoever, therefore, makes use of it often with devotion so strengthens
the health and the life of his soul, that it is almost impossible for him to be poi-
soned by any kind of evil affection. We cannot be nourished with this flesh of life,
and live with the affections of death. [...]. Christians who are damned will be un-
able to make any reply when the just Judge shows them how much they are to
blame for dying spiritually, since it was so easy for them to maintain themselves
in life and in health by eating His Body which He had left them for this purpose.
Unhappy souls, He will say, why did you die, seeing that you had at your com-
mand the fruit and the food of life?” (St. Francis de Sales, “Introduction to the
Devout Life”, II, 20, 1).

56. The most important effect of the Blessed Eucharist is intimate union with Je-
sus Christ. The very word “communion” suggests sharing in the life of our Lord
and becoming one with Him; if our union with Jesus is promoted by all the sacra-
ments through the grace which they give us, this happens more intensely in the
Eucharist, for in it we receive not only grace but the very Author of grace: “Really
sharing in the body of the Lord in the breaking of the eucharistic bread, we are
taken up into communion with Him and with one another. ‘Because the bread is
one, we, though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread’ (1
Corinthians 10:17)” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 7). Precisely because the Eu-
charist is the sacrament which best signifies and effects our union with Christ, it
is there that the whole Church manifests and effects its unity: Jesus Christ “in-
stituted in His Church the wonderful sacrament of the Eucharist, by which the
unity of the Church is both signified and brought about” (Vatican II, “Unitatis Re-
ditegratio”, 2).

57. In Christ, the Incarnate Word sent to mankind, “the whole fullness of deity,
dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9) through the ineffable union of His human nature
and His divine nature in the Person of the Word. By receiving in this sacrament
the body and blood of Christ indissolubly united to His divinity, we share in the
divine life of the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. We will never be able to
appreciate enough the intimacy with God Himself—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—
that we are offered in the eucharistic banquet.

“We can therefore do nothing more agreeable to Jesus Christ than to go to Com-
munion with the dispositions suitable to so great an action, since we are then
united to Jesus Christ, according to the desire of this all-loving God. I have said
with ‘suitable’ and not ‘worthy’ disposition, for who could communicate if it was
necessary to be worthy of so great a Savior? No one but a God would be worthy
to receive a God. But by this word suitable, or convenient, I mean such a dispo-
sition as becomes a miserable creature, who is clothed with the unhappy flesh
of Adam. Ordinarily speaking, it is sufficient that we communicate in a state of
grace and with an anxious desire of advancing in the love of Jesus Christ” (St.
Alphonsus Liguori, “The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”,
Chapter 2)

58. For the third time (cf. 6:31-32 and 6:49) Jesus compares the true bread of
life, His own body, with the manna God used to feed the Israelites every day du-
ring their forty years in the wilderness—thereby, inviting us to nourish our soul
frequently with the food of His body.

“’Going to Communion every day for so many years! Anybody else would be a
saint by now, you told me, and I...I’m always the same!’ Son, I replied, keep up
your daily Communion, and think: what would I be if I had not gone’” (St. J.
Escriva, “The Way”, 534).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Mass Readings

First reading	2 Kings 4:8-11,13-16 ©

One day as Elisha was on his way to Shunem, a woman of rank who lived there pressed him to stay and eat there. After this he always broke his journey for a meal when he passed that way. She said to her husband, ‘Look, I am sure the man wno is constantly passing our way must be a holy man of God. Let us build him a small room on the roof, and put him a bed in it, and a table and chair and lamp; whenever he comes to us he can rest there.’ One day when he came, he retired to the upper room and lay down. He said to his servant Gehazi, ‘Call our Shunammitess. Tell her this: “Look, you have gone to all this trouble for us, what can we do for you? Is there anything you would like said for you to the king or to the commander of the army?”’ But she replied, ‘I live with my own people about me.’ ‘What can be done for her then?’ he asked. Gehazi answered, ‘Well, she has no son and her husband is old.’ Elisha said, ‘Call her.’ The servant called her and she stood at the door. This time next year,’ he said ‘you will hold a son in your arms.’

Psalm	Psalm 88:2-3,16-19

Second reading	Romans 6:3-4,8-11 ©

When we were baptised in Christ Jesus we were baptised in his death; in other words, when we were baptised we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life.

But we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him: Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him any more. When he died, he died, once for all, to sin, so his life now is life with God; and in that way, you too must consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.

Gospel	Matthew 10:37-42 ©

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.

‘Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me.

‘Anyone who welcomes a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man will have a holy man’s reward.

‘If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.’

Sacrament of Piety, Sign of Unity, Bond of Charity, Biblical Reflection for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, by Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

Sacrament of Piety, Sign of Unity, Bond of Charity

Biblical Reflection for the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, JUNE 21, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Our three Scripture readings for today's solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ describe three wonderful ways to talk about the gift of the Eucharist. Allow me to offer some reflections on each of readings and conclude with how we live out the Eucharistic mystery in our daily lives.

The Old Testament reading from Deuteronomy 8:2-3; 14b-16a presents Moses addressing the people of Israel as they neared the Promised Land after their forty years of wandering. Moses, Israel's great architect, appeals to their memory, urging them to remember how God cared for them during their long pilgrimage. "Remember," "Remember your God." Moses does not invite them to a nostalgic or theoretical remembering. Rather he calls them to recall God's concrete actions on their behalf. He reminds them exactly what God did for them and to what degree God sustained them in their desert sojourn by giving them manna.

The reference to manna connects us to today's gospel when Jesus' hearers are initially repulsed by his reference to eating his flesh. In the Gospel text, Jesus mentions eating his flesh four times (John 6:51-58). Jesus is none other than God's entrance into our lives as a human being -- flesh and blood like us. Jesus' listeners are not only having a difficult time thinking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, but they are having trouble accepting that in Jesus, God has definitively entered the world.

One bread, one body

Today's second reading is from St. Paul's first letter to the fractured community in Corinth (10:16-17). Though the Christians in Corinth may have had beautiful liturgies, they weren't living as the body of Christ. The rich were not sharing with the poor, nor were the vulnerable being assisted. The deepest meaning of the Eucharist is denied when it is celebrated without taking into account the need for charity and communion. Paul is quite severe with the Corinthians because "when you meet together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat" (11:20) because of the divisions, injustices and selfishness. Paul challenges them to become the food they eat: the body of Christ.

In his commentary on John's Gospel, St. Augustine's expression: "Sacrament of piety, sign of unity, bond of charity!" (In Johannis Evangelium 26:13) summarizes well the words that Paul addressed to the Corinthians: "Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread" (1 Corinthians 10:17).

By our partaking of this food and drink, we are joined more closely to one another as the body of Christ. Paul's challenge to the Christians of ancient Corinth is still valid for us today. We must continually heed Paul's words. Is our faith community an obvious sign that we are the body and blood of Christ? What signs would convince other people that we are?

Johannine answers

The three Synoptic Gospels situate the eucharistic action of Jesus at the Last Supper before he dies and refer specifically to his shedding of blood which will take place on the Cross. St. Paul sees the Eucharist as a remembrance and recalling of the death of the Lord until he comes. How often should one recall or make present the death of the Lord? If the Jewish Passover recalled the great delivering action of the God of Israel, should Christians follow that pattern?

John answers these and many more questions in Chapter 6 -- the great eucharistic chapter of the fourth Gospel. The Evangelist's teaching on the Eucharist is a commentary on the multiplication of the loaves and is intimately related to what Jesus did in his ministry. Following the miraculous multiplication of the loaves and the fish earlier in this chapter, John indicates that those for whom the bread was multiplied really saw no profound significance beyond that it was a good way to get bread. While John certainly thought that there was a multiplication of physical loaves, he had to make clear that the Son of Man who came down from above did not do so only to satisfy physical hunger. People who have loaves multiplied for them will become physically hungry again; Jesus came to give a heavenly bread that people will eat and never again become hungry.

What is so startling about Jesus' remarks in the eucharistic discourse is that he is not claiming to be another Moses, or one more messenger in along line of Israel's great prophets. Jesus lays claim to being the very God of Moses, the "I AM" who was and is now the companion and nourishment of the people. A believing Jew would understand that it referred not only to earthly bread, but to the word of God which gives nourishment and life. "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deutoronomy 8:3).

Enduring presence

The most important doctrines of our Catholic Christian faith remain the same through the ages and need to be approached again and again in order to rediscover their richness and experience their enduring significance for our daily lives. These doctrines are the deepest sense of what the Scriptures proclaim and that this deepest sense is discovered precisely when the Scriptures are proclaimed in the liturgical assembly and when the Scriptures become sacrament in the Eucharistic rite. From this source we draw our energy, our vision and our hope to foster a true civilization of love.

At every mass, the liturgy of the Word precedes the Eucharistic liturgy. There are two "communions," one with the Word and one with the Bread. One cannot be understood without the other. The Eucharist does not only provide inner strength, but also a certain way of life. It is a way of living that is passed from Jesus to the Christian. The celebration of the Eucharist has no meaning if it is not lived with love. Through the Eucharist we are challenged at the level of our history to realize as much as possible what we celebrate sacramentally: bread for all, salvation and liberation for all.

The Eucharistic Christ is truly present as bread for the poor, and not for the privileged. In order to keep the Eucharistic reality credible, we have to devote ourselves to a better, more just world. When we receive the Eucharist, we partake of the one who becomes food and drink for others. We, too, must become food and drink for the hungry. Faith in Jesus' resurrection can itself be an unproductive or dangerous ideology if it does not stimulate us actually to share bread with our brothers and sisters who are hungry.

Real presence

In giving us the bread of life, Jesus does not offer temporary nourishment, he gives us the eternal bread of his word. It will not pass away. It will nourish and give life forever. Jesus is this bread, and in offering to share it with us he calls us to faith in him. Jesus invites us to "come to him," "believe in him," "look upon him," "be drawn to him," "hear him," and to "learn of him." All of these verbs invite the active response of our faith (cf. John 6:36, 37, 40, 44, 45). His word is nourishment for our faith.

Today's feast of the Body and Blood of Christ is not a static occasion, a time to gaze in wonder on the eucharistic species for private devotion and communication with the Lord. The feast we celebrate together is not an invitation to just gaze and look, but to receive the body and blood of Christ and then, nourished by the divine life we receive, to become the body and blood of Christ to the world.

When we come to receive Communion and the eucharistic ministers hold the sacred food and drink before us, they will say, "The Body of Christ; the Blood of Christ." They are not only naming what they are offering us to eat and drink, they are also naming each one of us, for we are, "the body of Christ and the blood of Christ." In other words, the real presence is not only to be found in church, but in each baptized Christian nourished by the Eucharist and becoming the real presence of Christ to the world.

Eucharistic obligations

To celebrate the Eucharist is to commit oneself to a discipleship that "remembers" Jesus, not only in the ritual breaking of the bread and sharing the cup, but also in the "imitation" of Jesus, in the ongoing breaking of one's own body and spilling of one's own blood "in remembrance" of Jesus. For this reason, Paul adds: "You proclaim the Lord's death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26). When we commemorate or "do this as a memorial," the object of the memory is not an image or a replica of the Last Supper, but the Last Supper itself. Having received the body and blood of Christ today we must ask ourselves some questions. To worship in spirit and truth requires that our liturgy and ritual prayer be linked with our daily living. How do we bring our daily living into the Eucharistic celebration? What effect does the Eucharist have on our daily living? How does our devotion to the Eucharist and devotion to family and work enable us to be true disciples, in adoration before the Eucharistic presence of Jesus?

How are we to be like Christ and feed the hungry and heal the sick? How are we to be like Christ and lay down our lives for others? What is the relationship between Eucharist and Reconciliation? Who is excluded from our love at this moment? Who is crying out for our presence? What do we say to those who are unable to partake of the Lord's supper?

In the words and imagery of St. Augustine, can we say that our reception of the Eucharist, on a daily or weekly basis, nourishes our piety, urges us to work for unity, and strengthens the bonds of charity that exist among us?

[The readings for the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ are Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58]

* * *

Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Arlington Catholic Herald

GOSPEL COMMENTARY JN 6:51-58

The real food and drink

By Fr. Paul Scalia

6/22/11

For years St. Catherine of Siena lived on the Eucharist alone. No, she was not following some trendy 14th-century weight loss plan. In fact, she did not even choose this practice. Her body simply could not take any food other than the sacred host. Nor did she suffer any ill effects of this. On the contrary, she had tremendous energy. As is typical in the Catholic life, the extraordinary reveals the significance of the ordinary. St. Catherine’s miraculous nourishment reveals the super-abundance available in the Eucharist to every communicant. God permitted St. Catherine to receive that grace not to set a standard for everyone but to reveal what is already true: The Eucharist more than satisfies our hunger. It is the real food.

“For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (Jn 6:55). Jesus’ words communicate the simple but profound truth of Eucharistic nourishment. We can understand these words in two ways. First, He obviously means them in response to the doubts of the crowd. They had already asked, “How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?” (Jn 6:52) He responds straightforwardly by saying, in effect, “My flesh really is food and my blood really is drink.”

Second, His words reveal the true meaning of food and drink — of nourishment. Msgr. Ronald Knox observes that Our Lord does not only use worldly things to illustrate divine (e.g. that the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed). Jesus also treats earthly realities as mere shadows compared to the divine. Thus He tells the Samaritan woman that the water she seeks is — in a sense — not really real. He offers the real water — “Whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst” (Jn 4:14). Likewise, those vines that the Apostles saw in the countryside? They are only images of the reality. “I am the true vine,” He says (Jn 15:1).

So also He teaches us about food and drink. We can understand Him to mean, “My flesh is the true food, and my blood is the true drink.” We commonly think that we have nourishment, food and drink, in this world and the Eucharist is kind of like that. Jesus says the reverse. This world’s nourishment, the food and drink we take in daily, is a mere image of the true food and drink of the Eucharist. Thus, if we understand that bread nourishes the physical body, we should realize that the Eucharist nourishes the soul in a more profound sense.

Now, we should not attempt St. Catherine’s Eucharistic diet. That was a singular grace given to her. But we should learn from it that the Eucharist more than satisfies. It nourishes super-abundantly. What prevents us from experiencing the spiritual nourishment of the Eucharist? Our lack of faith; we do not depend on the Eucharist enough. The more we rely on the Eucharist spiritually, the more it will nourish us. We tend to treat holy Communion as a nice aspect of our life, and we perfunctorily get up and go to Communion probably every Sunday. But do we cultivate a hunger for it? Do we realize that we need holy Communion more than we even need bread? Do we take Him at His word that “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you”? (Jn 6:53)

Of course, we must take care of our bodies and eat properly. But in the end, for the salvation of our souls and redemption of our bodies, the body and blood of Christ in holy Communion is the only nourishment we need — the real food and drink.

Fr. Scalia is pastor of St. John the Beloved Parish in McLean.

The Work of God

Year A

- The Body and Blood of Christ

Anyone who eats this bread will live forever

John 6:51-58

51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
53 So Jesus said to them, " 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.
54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day;
55 for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.
56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.
57 Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever." (NRSV)

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Body and Blood of Christ - Anyone who eats this bread will live forever

I am the bread of life that has come down from Heaven, the celestial manna that gives life unlike the manna eaten by the people in the desert who are dead. My food is food for eternal life.

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.

I am the Word of God; I am the truth. I repeat, unless you eat of my flesh and drink of my blood you have no life in you.

During the last supper, I consecrated the bread as my flesh and the wine as my blood in the new Sacrament of thanksgiving; I gave it to my apostles and commanded them to do this in memory of me.

As Savior of the world, my mission is to teach the soul the way and the truth, and to lead it to life. I am the life of the soul; I have made myself available as food for the soul in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. Those who hunger for me will be filled. Those who thirst for me will be satisfied.

I designated my apostles as priests and ministers of the Holy Eucharist, anointed with the power to transmit this ministry in my Church to other priests.

By my command, I instituted the priesthood and the sacrament of immortality. I make my self truly available to you every time the bread and wine is consecrated by one of my anointed priests.

In human terms it is said: “you are what you eat”, I tell you solemnly, when you repent of your sins and receive me in a state of grace, then as you eat my flesh which is the bread of life and drink my blood which is the elixir of immortality, you are purified and prepared for eternal life, where you will become like me.

I am waiting for you to receive me worthily when you come to Holy Mass; I am also truly present in every tabernacle, ready to listen to your prayers and to bless you when you acknowledge me. I love you.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary