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Á¦¸ñ The Holy Eucharist; the Greastest of all Sacrements(14 April 2022)
ÀÛ¼ºÀÚ °ü¸®ÀÚ ÀÛ¼ºÀÏ 2022-04-15


The Holy Eucharist; the Greast of all Sacrements (14 April 2022)

My dear brethren,

 At the Last Supper, our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the greatest of all Sacraments: the Holy Eucharist. As an action, the Holy Eucharist is a true and proper Sacrifice, one with the Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, because it has the same priest, the same victim and the same immolation. On Calvary and at the Mass the priest is our Lord Jesus Christ, who acts by Himself on the Cross and who acts in and through the ministering priest at the altar. On calvary and at the Mass the victim is our Lord Jesus Christ, i.e. the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which He offered in a bloody manner on the Cross and which He continues to offer in an unbloody manner on the Altar, that is, under the species of the Sacrament. The immolation was the separation of the Body and Blood of Christ on Calvary; the same is made present on the altar by the two separate consecrations, though after the Resurrection the Body and Blood of Christ are inseparable in themselves. This is the reason why communion under one species provides the faithful with both the Body and Blood together with the Soul and Divinity of Christ: after the Resurrection they are inseparable. But the two separate consecrations signify and make present the Immolation on the Cross.

 So, the Holy Eucharist is a true and proper Sacrifice, not only of praise and thanksgiving, but also a true propitiatory sacrifice, obtaining the remission of sins and all other graces that we need. Its purpose is not to add to the merits of Christ on the Cross, but rather to apply them to our souls and all our intentions. But it is very important to notice HOW are these merits applied to our souls.
 
 By the institution of the Holy Eucharist, our Lord Jesus Christ has given to all men, anywhere in the world, until the very end of time, the opportunity to be present at His Sacrifice, thus receiving the same graces as the Blessed Virgin, St John the Apostle and the holy women at the foot of the Cross. Indeed, when you are at the foot of the altar of sacrifice at Mass, you are with Mary at the foot of the Cross. If you had been there, would you have been distracted? Or rather would you have been filled with this supreme event of the whole history of mankind: the Sacrifice of the Son of God for our salvation?

 Here we touch a very important point at the very heart of the Holy Eucharist: in order to benefit from the Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary, we need to be UNITED WITH our Lord Jesus Christ crucified. The whole purpose of the Holy Eucharist is to unite us with Jesus, here below crucified, in order to be united with Him glorified for eternity. St Paul says that: ¡°we are the sons of God. And if sons, heirs also; heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ: yet so, if we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him¡± (Rom. 8:16-17). And to Timothy he says: ¡°If we suffer, we shall also reign with him¡± (2 Tim. 2:12). And St Peter says: ¡°if you partake of the sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his glory shall be revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy¡± (1 Pet. 4:13).
 
 Indeed, our Lord Jesus Christ died for all. Indeed, St Paul says to the Romans: ¡°He that spared not even his own Son, but delivered him up for us all,¡± (Rom. 8:32). And to the Corinthians: ¡°Christ died for all; that they also who live, may not now live to themselves, but unto him who died for them, and rose again¡± (2 Cor. 5:15). And to Timothy: ¡°[Christ] gave himself a redemption for all¡± (1 Tim. 2:6). Now if Christ died for all, how is it that not all are saved? Indeed, some have already gone to Hell and others will go to Hell. How is that possible, if Christ died for them? The reason is that they were not united with Jesus; they refuse to conform themselves with Christ, and especially with Christ crucified, they were ¡°enemies of the Cross of Christ¡± (Phil. 3:18).
 
 This is the drama of the Protestants who say: ¡°Christ suffered for us, we have nothing to do, He did all.¡± They leave Christ alone on the Cross, refusing to participate, with our Lady, St John and the holy women. The very word ¡°compassion¡± from Latin or ¡°to sympathise¡± from Greek mean ¡°to suffer with¡±. At the heart of their error is that they claim ¡°faith alone¡±; now Redemption is a work of love, a work of charity, and its goal is precisely to restore and establish charity in our souls; now charity unites: charity cannot see Jesus crucified and remain aloof: if we really love our Lord and contemplate Him on the cross, we cannot but say: ¡°Oh my dear Lord, I am the sinner, I am the one who should be on that cross; at least allow me and help me to sympathize with you, to suffer with you!¡±
 
 That union with Jesus crucified is worked out by the Holy Eucharist. Indeed, St Augustine says that, when we eat bread, we transform that bread into our body; but when we eat the Holy Eucharist, He transforms us into His own Body! He transforms us into Himself, so that ¡°it is no longer [us] who live, but Christ who lives in us.¡± (Gal. 2:20).
 
 He transforms us into Himself, so that we may know the Father as He knows Him: ¡°neither doth any one know the Father, but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal him¡± (Mt. 11:27). He transforms us into Himself, so that He may continue all His virtues in us, helping us in practicing all the virtues He practiced: charity, humility and fidelity, meekness and fortitude, chastity, patience, perseverance, etc. He helps us from within to overcome temptation and resist evil. He helps us to practice all these virtues; He helps us on that royal path to Heaven, the way of the Cross.
 
 And in all this, He gives us a foretaste of Heaven, fruit of charity. To some Saints as St Francis Xavier, He gave such great consolation that they would say: ¡°Stop, o Lord, it is too much!¡±
 
 May the Blessed Virgin Mary help us to appreciate the Holy Mass and obtain for us such great fruits of this Sacrifice, fruits of charity, fruits of holiness, fruits of perfect conformity with our Lord Jesus Christ, so that we may go to Heaven and rejoice with Him for ever and ever!
 
Amen.

Father François Laisney