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Sunday, June 17, 2001

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The Body and Blood of Christ


Genesis 14:18-20
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Psalm 110
Luke 9:11-17

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"intensely eucharistic"

"This is My body, which is for you." —1 Corinthians 11:24

Jesus continues to say to each of us: "This is My body" and "This is My blood." Jesus says: "My flesh is real food and My blood real drink" (Jn 6:55). When we receive Holy Communion, we receive the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus.

Most of us reading this believe in the miracle of Jesus' eucharistic presence. However, we may need to cry out to Jesus: "I believe. Help my lack of faith!" (Mk 9:24, our transl) How deeply do we believe in the Eucharist? How do our lives answer this question? Do you make any sacrifices necessary to receive Jesus daily in Communion? Would you walk twenty miles to go to Mass? Would you give up the possibility of having grandchildren by encouraging your only child to be a priest? Would you risk your life to receive Communion in Muslim countries or China? Do you make visits to the Blessed Sacrament? Do you try to make frequent holy hours before the Blessed Sacrament?

Pope John Paul II has called us to be "intensely eucharistic" (Towards the Third Millennium, 55). If this book, One Bread, One Body, has been used by the Lord to deepen your faith in the Eucharist, please tell us, and we will be forever thankful for the Lord letting us be part of His wondrous works. Praise our eucharistic Lord forever!

Prayer:  Jesus, with great desire, I desire to receive You in Holy Communion (see Lk 22:15).

Promise:  "Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus raised His eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to His disciples for distribution to the crowd. They all ate until they had enough." —Lk 9:16-17

Praise:  "O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine."

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, January 4, 2001


Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, January 24, 2001