THE CROSS AND THE HOST "To know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge."
THE love of Jesus Christ which surpasses all knowledge is shown to us best in the Holy Eucharist, which is the sacrament of love.
A teacher in a First Communion class was explaining to the children the difference between the crucifix and the Eucharist. After the explanation she asked one of the children if the lesson was understood. The child gave a beautiful answer that proved she did understand the lesson. The child said, " The difference between the crucifix and the Eucharist is this: When I look at a crucifix I see the body of Jesus, but He is not really there. When I look at the Host, I do not see the body of Jesus but He is really there." That is what makes the Eucharist a sacrament of love. Jesus hides all His glory as God under the appearances of a thin wafer of bread. What we see with the eyes of our body is the appearance of bread. What we see with the eyes of the soul is the Body of Christ.
If we are to be faithful to Jesus Christ, we must be frequent visitors to the altar rail . There are times when we do not feel strong enough to stand up against temptation. It is from the altar that we draw our strength. There are times when we feel troubled and worried. It
is from the altar that we draw peace for our souls. There are times when we want something very badly and need God's help to get it. After Communion is the best time to ask Him, because then He is the guest in our hearts.
When the Emperor Napoleon was captured and imprisoned on the Island of Elba, he had time to think about many things. During that time he returned to the faith of his childhood which he had been neglecting. They asked him one day what he thought to be the greatest
triumph of his life. "Was it your victory at Marengo? At Lodi? At Vienna?" He replied, "None of those. The greatest triumph of my life was the day of my first Communion."
St. Thomas More was the adviser to King Henry VIII of England. One day while St. Thomas was attending Mass, he was told that the king would be angry if he did not come immediately to the throne room. St. Thomas replied, "The king should not be angry at the homage that I show to his King."
The touchstone of a good Catholic is his devotion to our Lord in the Sacrament of the Altar. If we really believe in Christ's presence there we will spend much time with Him and receive Him as often as we can. I want to exhort every child in this parish to take up the practice of daily Communion. Daily Communion is a pledge of our future salvation. Christ loves those who love Him in the sacrament of His love. Daily Communion helps us to "know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled into all the fulness of God."
Source: Heirs of the Kingdom, Imprimatur 1949
THE love of Jesus Christ which surpasses all knowledge is shown to us best in the Holy Eucharist, which is the sacrament of love.
A teacher in a First Communion class was explaining to the children the difference between the crucifix and the Eucharist. After the explanation she asked one of the children if the lesson was understood. The child gave a beautiful answer that proved she did understand the lesson. The child said, " The difference between the crucifix and the Eucharist is this: When I look at a crucifix I see the body of Jesus, but He is not really there. When I look at the Host, I do not see the body of Jesus but He is really there." That is what makes the Eucharist a sacrament of love. Jesus hides all His glory as God under the appearances of a thin wafer of bread. What we see with the eyes of our body is the appearance of bread. What we see with the eyes of the soul is the Body of Christ.
If we are to be faithful to Jesus Christ, we must be frequent visitors to the altar rail . There are times when we do not feel strong enough to stand up against temptation. It is from the altar that we draw our strength. There are times when we feel troubled and worried. It
is from the altar that we draw peace for our souls. There are times when we want something very badly and need God's help to get it. After Communion is the best time to ask Him, because then He is the guest in our hearts.
When the Emperor Napoleon was captured and imprisoned on the Island of Elba, he had time to think about many things. During that time he returned to the faith of his childhood which he had been neglecting. They asked him one day what he thought to be the greatest
triumph of his life. "Was it your victory at Marengo? At Lodi? At Vienna?" He replied, "None of those. The greatest triumph of my life was the day of my first Communion."
St. Thomas More was the adviser to King Henry VIII of England. One day while St. Thomas was attending Mass, he was told that the king would be angry if he did not come immediately to the throne room. St. Thomas replied, "The king should not be angry at the homage that I show to his King."
The touchstone of a good Catholic is his devotion to our Lord in the Sacrament of the Altar. If we really believe in Christ's presence there we will spend much time with Him and receive Him as often as we can. I want to exhort every child in this parish to take up the practice of daily Communion. Daily Communion is a pledge of our future salvation. Christ loves those who love Him in the sacrament of His love. Daily Communion helps us to "know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled into all the fulness of God."
Source: Heirs of the Kingdom, Imprimatur 1949
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