Sunday June 2, 2024

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“The Body and Blood of Jesus have the power to ‘transubstantiate’ us into his likeness.”

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Good News Reflection for:

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ
June 2, 2024

Today’s Prayer:

You, Lord, precede me in all my paths. You have preceded me in your Easter to the eternal life. May I find in the Eucharist the nourishment for my faith to stay steady until the final reunion with You. Amen.

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Today’s Readings:

Exodus 24:3-8
Ps 116:12-13, 15-18
Hebrews 9:11-15
Mark 14:12-16, 22-26
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/060224.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-june-2-2024

The Power of the Eucharist

This Sunday’s readings speak to us of the Eucharist: “the blood of the covenant” and “the cup of salvation”. What does the Eucharist mean to you?

Christ came to earth to serve us as our high priest. Unlike the Jewish priests of the Old Testament, who atoned for the people’s sins with the blood of goats and calves, Jesus absolved our sins with his own blood. He said: “This is my blood of the covenant, shed for many.” This is the new covenant. With it he achieved what no other high priest could do: He obtained for us eternal redemption.

Only the blood of God himself could accomplish this, because no matter how good our intentions are, and no matter how holy a priest might be, we all fall back into sin again and again. Only Jesus, the perfectly holy human whose divinity conquered death, could open the doors to eternal life.

Jesus paid a very high price to atone for our sins. What if we come to Mass with unrepented sins? We know we’ve done wrong, yet our desire to avoid the hard work and humility of changing is larger than our desire to let Jesus transform us. It’s larger than our desire to enjoy all the benefits of the Eucharist.

To receive his body and blood in the Eucharist without letting it atone for our sins is to snub and reject the terrible price that Jesus paid when he died for us. To avoid his presence in the Sacrament of Confession because it makes us feel uncomfortable is highly disrespectful of the suffering that he endured for us.

If we accept the on-going atonement provided for us in the Eucharist without accepting the need to repent of any sin, we are insulting Jesus while denying ourselves an opportunity to let him save us from that sin.

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ have the power to “transubstantiate” us into his likeness. We should always leave Mass different than when we arrived. This is God’s plan! His work as our high priest isn’t yet finished.

Questions for Personal Reflection:
What sins have been most difficult for you to overcome? Why? Who or what is replacing Jesus as the god you imitate? What will you do this week to give Jesus the opportunity to save you from these sins?

Questions for Community Faith Sharing:
How did you learn that the consecrated bread and wine at Mass are truly the real Body and Blood of Christ? What makes you sure of it today? How does this affect your attitude about your sins?

Reflect more on this subject using our podcast, “The Eucharistic Pregnancy” @ https://gnm-media.org/the-eucharistic-pregnancy/.

© 2024 by Terry A. Modica

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