“Take it; this is my body.”—Mark 14:22

Cha Suric, a daily Mass goer, would always be the first in line for Holy Communion. She wouldn’t wait for the priest to alight from the altar. She did not care if she was the only one standing. She had to be first.

I approached her after one Mass. “Lola, why do you always want to be first in line?” Smiling, she replied, “Child, I cannot make Jesus wait.”

Are you like me who used to think that the most important part of the Mass was the homily? Have you complained that you are not being “fed” in the Catholic Church?

Regardless of the purity of the priest or the quality of his homily, Jesus physically and spiritually comes to us at every Mass and invites us, “Take it; this is My Body, this is My Blood” (Mark 14:22-24).

What is more important in the world today than being fed with the body, soul, and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ?

Is it a date, a business meeting, your groceries, a movie? Make time for Jesus today.

Believe, receive, and be transformed! Marc V. Lopez (marcvlopez88@ gmail.com)

Reflect: Can you schedule your life around the Eucharist to make sure you don’t make Jesus wait?

Jesus, help my unbelief! Help me to see You in every Mass that I attend. Amen.

Sts. Charles Lwanga and Companions, martyrs, pray for us.

 

In the Eucharist, we celebrate the covenant that Jesus made with us in His own blood. The blood of the Son of God is shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Blood symbolizes life and this is the significance of the rituals in the Old Testament. These rituals have been replaced by the Eucharist – a sacrifice where no blood is shed – presenting Christ who forgives our sins.

Exodus 24:3-8

3 When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the Lord, they all answered with one voice, “We will do everything that the Lord has told us.” 4 Moses then wrote down all the words of the Lord and, rising early the next day, he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the Lord, 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls; the other half he splashed on the altar. 7 Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people, who answered, “All that the Lord has said, we will heed and do.” 8 Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words of his.”

P S A L M 

Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16, 17-18

R: I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord.

12 How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me? 13 The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. (R) 15 Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones. 16 O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your handmaid; you have loosed my bonds. (R) 17 To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the Lord. 18 My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of all his people. (R)

2ND READING

Jesus Christ is the true mediator of salvation. He is the only way to the Father. We are also mediators . We are called to share the Gospel with others through what we do and say – through our way of life. We mediate by bringing others to Jesus our Savior.

Hebrews 9:11-15

11 Brothers and sisters: When Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, 12 he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. 15 For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.