Today is Feast of Corpus Domini – The Body and Blood of Christ. Our belief in the abiding True Presence (and not symbolic) of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist is a central component of the Catholic Faith. Every time we genuflect to the tabernacle in a church (and especially participation in a Eucharistic procession like we do today) we both testify to our personal faith in the reality of Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist as well as open our hearts to the Lord’s grace to reinforce our faith in His Eucharistic Presence. Praying before the Lord in the tabernacle, or even better during Eucharistic Adoration, has been encouraged from the earliest time of the Church to help us develop and come closer to the Lord. During an audience Pope Emeritus Ben-edict XVI shared this beautiful address regarding the value of Eucharistic Adoration:
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Today’s solemnity of Corpus Domini, which in the Vatican and other nations was already celebrated this past Thursday, invites us to contemplate the great mystery of our faith: the most holy Eucharist, the real presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in the sacrament of the altar.
Every time that the priest renews the Eucharistic sacrifice, in the prayer of consecration he repeats: "This is my body … this is my blood." He does this giving his voice, his hands, and his heart to Christ, who wanted to remain with us as the beating heart of the Church. But even after the celebration of the divine mysteries, the Lord Jesus remains living in the tabernacle; because of this he is praised, especially by Eucha-ristic adoration.
Indeed, there is an intrinsic connection between celebration (of Mass) and adoration. The holy Mass, in fact, is in itself the Church's greatest act of adoration: "No one eats this food," St. Augustine writes, "if he has not first worshipped it". Adoration outside holy Mass prolongs and intensifies what happened in the li-turgical celebration and renders a true and profound reception of Christ possible.
…In life today, which is often noisy and scattered, it is more important than ever to recover the capac-ity for interior silence and recollection: Eucharistic adoration permits one to do this not only within one's "I" but rather in the company of that "You" full of love who is Jesus Christ, "the God who is near us."
May the Virgin Mary, Eucharistic Woman, lead us into the secret of true adoration. Her heart, humble and silent, was always recollected around the mystery of Jesus, in whom she worshipped the presence of God and his redemptive love. By her intercession may there grow faith in the Eucharistic mystery, the joy of participating at holy Mass, especially on Sunday, and the desire to bear witness to the immense charity of Christ.
Don’t forget, we have Eucharistic Adoration Monday to Friday from after the 8:30AM Mass to 8:00PM. Come out and spend an hour with the Lord, it will be the best hour of your day!
God bless you,
Father Joseph Byerley
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