Last night we were at Benediction for a 40 hours of Adoration that a parish in our area is having. The homilist for the evening was a retired bishop from Michigan. He gave a wonderful homily about Jesus in the Eucharist and how the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith.
There was one thing he said, however, that really struck me. You know how it is when you have that "WOW" moment and your eyes can see something that they've never seen before? He was talking about how the Bible is very important for us and a very important part of the Catholic faith, but that it is not the only thing we have. He said that we have the Eucharist, too, and it is the Eucharist that helps us to live out what the Bible commands. Without the Eucharist, it is so much harder to carry out the commands that Jesus has left us in the Bible.
The Bishop then when on to talk about the Last Supper and it occurred to me that Jesus did not leave us the Bible at the Last Supper, nor did He leave it to us while He was dying on the cross. The two important things He left us in the last hours of His life were His own Body and Blood, and His Mother. What are the two things that Protestants have thrown out? The Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, and His Mother. Maybe some of you have thought about this before, but it was a new way of thinking about it for me. What a shame that they have turned their backs on the two last things given to us by Christ before He died.
In these last few days before the election, and in the midst of all of the distressing things going on in the world, let us turn to Jesus in the Eucharist for our comfort, our support and our joy. We will find all of these things there if we go to Him.
God Bless!
