By Mary Ann Zimmerman
Jesus said, “Come to me all who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matt 11:28). The Mass is our “boost of grace” spending time with our Lord giving thanks for blessings. It is the Holy Sacrifice of Jesus Christ on earth and in heaven. He offers himself again and again for our sins. During the Penitential Rite and throughout the Mass, we ask the Father for his mercy to forgive us our sins as we forgive those who trespass against us. Forgiveness is the healing of our souls.
As human beings, our minds sometimes get distracted during the Eucharistic Prayers. In part it says, “Listen graciously to this family whom you have summoned before you…” (Eucharistic Prayer #3). You see this is our prayer. We need to stay focused and fully participate. It would be ideal to have a Sunday Missal to follow along. Coming soon.
Jesus is always with us. He never stops loving us and never leaves us orphans. Jesus gave us the Holy Eucharist – his Body and Blood in the form of Bread and Wine. Scripture is very clear that Jesus is really present in the consecrated host. Many people believe the “bread” or host is just a symbol. Let me tell you why I believe Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. Many years ago, I attended a class and the facilitator said the ‘host’ was just a symbol. He was called out for that statement. What he said did not resonant with my belief. At Mass the following Sunday, I was praying asking Jesus to give me a sign of his real Presence in the consecrated bread and wine. As the priest raised the ‘host’ during the consecration, a beam of light came upon it. I looked around, but there was no window from the direction of the light. The same thing happened when the chalice or cup was raised. Jesus answered my prayer! He is truly Present in the Eucharist. We can experience his presence during Eucharistic Adoration, too.
Every Catholic Church has multiple weekend Mass times. Check your parish website. At my parish, I am fortunate to have a vigil Mass on Saturday, three Sunday morning Masses, a Spanish Mass at 1 pm and an evening Mass at 6. For that ‘Boost of Grace’ during the week, we have Mass on Wednesday at 7 pm.
Pray Hope and Don’t Worry - Padré Pio
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