Holy Thursday--I am the Bread of Life

Take a moment on this Holy Thursday, to reflect on The Last Supper and God's gift to us of Himself for all time.

Holy Thursday--I am the Bread of Life

Take a moment on this Holy Thursday, to reflect on The Last Supper and God's gift to us of Himself for all time.

Jesus is Waiting For You

Jesus is Waiting For You

Holy Thursday

Today is the commemoration of the day on which Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist.  Besides being mentioned in the Gospels, Saint Paul tells the Corinthians,

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

This was the institution of the Mass and the institution of the priesthood. Pray, desperately, for our priests and for the Holy Father. Offer up your prayers, especially on this day, for the holiness of our priests.

Holy Thursday

Today is the commemoration of the day on which Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist.  Besides being mentioned in the Gospels, Saint Paul tells the Corinthians,

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

This was the institution of the Mass and the institution of the priesthood. Pray, desperately, for our priests and for the Holy Father. Offer up your prayers, especially on this day, for the holiness of our priests.

Holy Thursday

Today is about Our Lord's Body and Blood, given to us at that first Mass on that first Holy Thursday. It is about being fed by Our Lord, not in a comfortable, numbing way, but in a real and truly spiritual way, and in being given the strength to serve Him according to our station in life.

Challenging times in life make us realize that only in God will our souls truly be at rest, and, only in Him will we find our true strength.

Prayer before receiving Jesus
by St. Thomas Aquinas

Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.

Holy Thursday

Today is about Our Lord's Body and Blood, given to us at that first Mass on that first Holy Thursday. It is about being fed by Our Lord, not in a comfortable, numbing way, but in a real and truly spiritual way, and in being given the strength to serve Him according to our station in life.

Challenging times in life make us realize that only in God will our souls truly be at rest, and, only in Him will we find our true strength.

Prayer before receiving Jesus
by St. Thomas Aquinas

Almighty and ever-living God, I approach the sacrament of your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

I come sick to the doctor of life, unclean to the fountain of mercy, blind to the radiance of eternal light, and poor and needy to the Lord of heaven and earth.

Christianity is Love

During The Last Supper, Jesus shows His disciples that Christianity is "all about love." What is "love"?

Love.....is......service. Period.

In today's Gospel, Jesus washes the disciples' feet and asks them,

“Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Love is not a warm and fuzzy feeling. Love is not a series of ecstatic highs. Love is not an eternal roller coaster. Love is getting your hands dirty, so to speak. Love is inconveniencing yourself, sacrificing yourself, dying to yourself, over and over and over, for the other.

Love is not about "me". Love is about "them."

God is love.

God created the world. God created all the plants, all the animals, and last, God created humanity. If God created everything, what or who existed before creation? God.

Was God alone?

No. God is LOVE. The Christian God is Trinity. Love can NOT exist alone. Our God is so unified, He is One. But our God is Triune. The very reason that our God exists as three persons, is because He is Love.

God voluntarily came to earth to show us what love is. Love is becoming a servant to your fellow men. Even those who betray you. Even those who deny you.

Even them.

Christianity is Love

During The Last Supper, Jesus shows His disciples that Christianity is "all about love." What is "love"?

Love.....is......service. Period.

In today's Gospel, Jesus washes the disciples' feet and asks them,

“Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Love is not a warm and fuzzy feeling. Love is not a series of ecstatic highs. Love is not an eternal roller coaster. Love is getting your hands dirty, so to speak. Love is inconveniencing yourself, sacrificing yourself, dying to yourself, over and over and over, for the other.

Love is not about "me". Love is about "them."

God is love.

God created the world. God created all the plants, all the animals, and last, God created humanity. If God created everything, what or who existed before creation? God.

Was God alone?

No. God is LOVE. The Christian God is Trinity. Love can NOT exist alone. Our God is so unified, He is One. But our God is Triune. The very reason that our God exists as three persons, is because He is Love.

God voluntarily came to earth to show us what love is. Love is becoming a servant to your fellow men. Even those who betray you. Even those who deny you.

Even them.

Holy Thursday

Tantum Ergo is sung at the close of the Holy Thursday Liturgy, as the Holy Eucharist is processed out of the church to its place of repose until Easter, symbolizing Christ's body laying in the tomb.

Holy Thursday

Tantum Ergo is sung at the close of the Holy Thursday Liturgy, as the Holy Eucharist is processed out of the church to its place of repose until Easter, symbolizing Christ's body laying in the tomb.

The Holy Eucharist

Holy Thursday is the day in which Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is so much more than a "supper" with "friends". Through the Holy Eucharist, Jesus kept His promise to be with us "until the end of time."

Whether or not we are actually inside a Catholic Church building, Jesus is there. Whether or not we actually can receive the Holy Eucharist at any given moment, Jesus is there, waiting for us to "watch one hour" with Him.

One wonderful fruit of the papacy of Pope John Paul II is an increase in Eucharistic adoration. Eucharistic Adoration is open to anyone at any time, in those parishes who have a 24 hour adoration chapel. Even if you do not have an adoration chapel near you, Jesus still resides in the tabernacle 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When you go by a Catholic Church, say a prayer to Jesus, who is there in the Blessed Sacrament.

If you can't get to a Catholic Church to be with Jesus in the Eucharist, you can now, through the miracle of modern technology, have a Eucharistic Adoration website on your computer. This site in Kentucky has a beautiful Eucharistic Adoration chapel that you can view live, 24/7 via their webcam.

The Holy Eucharist

Holy Thursday is the day in which Christ instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is so much more than a "supper" with "friends". Through the Holy Eucharist, Jesus kept His promise to be with us "until the end of time."

Whether or not we are actually inside a Catholic Church building, Jesus is there. Whether or not we actually can receive the Holy Eucharist at any given moment, Jesus is there, waiting for us to "watch one hour" with Him.

One wonderful fruit of the papacy of Pope John Paul II is an increase in Eucharistic adoration. Eucharistic Adoration is open to anyone at any time, in those parishes who have a 24 hour adoration chapel. Even if you do not have an adoration chapel near you, Jesus still resides in the tabernacle 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When you go by a Catholic Church, say a prayer to Jesus, who is there in the Blessed Sacrament.

If you can't get to a Catholic Church to be with Jesus in the Eucharist, you can now, through the miracle of modern technology, have a Eucharistic Adoration website on your computer. This site in Kentucky has a beautiful Eucharistic Adoration chapel that you can view live, 24/7 via their webcam.