June 12, 2020

Wherever the sacred host is to be found, there is the living God, there is your Savior, as really as when he was living and talking in Galilee and Judea, as really as he now is in heaven.
- BL. CHARLES DE FOUCAULD            
 
Besides not being able to gather in community with our church family the last several months, I felt the loss of not being able to receive Jesus in the sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus is uniquely present in the “sacred host,” and when we receive Him at mass, we take His very body, blood, soul, and divinity into ourselves.
 
Jesus comes to us in many ways. He is present in His word; We see Him in the beauty of nature; He is present in other people; We can ask Him to be with us and by the grace of the Holy Spirit, He is there. The opportunity to receive Jesus in the Eucharist is a privilege and a special gift I truly missed.
 
I am grateful on this solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, that we are able to receive Jesus in Holy Communion. As I am grateful, I realize there are those who are still unable to come to mass because of age, health concerns, the coronavirus, or illness. Let us remember them in our prayers and look forward to the day when all of us can worship at the table of the Lord again.
 
If you struggle to believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist, ask God to open your heart to that reality. Jesus walked on water (John 6:16-22, Mark 6:45-52, Matthew 14:22-27); He changed water into fine wine (John 2:1-11); He raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38-44); through God’s Spirit, persecutors of the church experienced complete conversion of heart (Acts 9:1-19); Jesus told us His flesh was true food and His blood true drink (John 6:55); Jesus rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19). If you believe these things, then surely it is possible that by the power of God, Jesus, the living God, the Savior of the world, is present in the “sacred host.” Though we cannot see Him there, may we believe and with Thomas say, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28)
 
 
©Mary V. Pribbenow