Today's photo has to do with the Eucharist. Besides getting a photo at church today of the priest holding the Eucharist during the preparation of the gifts (which I thought would be frowned upon and difficult to capture), I had no idea what to take a photo of.
Instead today I did some research and found the bible verse John 6:35 stating, "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst."
Immediately I heard the choir at my church singing in my head. If you have attended mass regularly I would not be surprised if you started humming the words to "I Am the Bread of Life" to yourself when reading this verse. (If you don't know what song I am talking about here is the link: "I Am the Bread of Life")
This is something we must remember, as Catholics, that when we recieve Holy Communion we are not just eating bread and drinking wine. The bread and the wine are "the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ". It is so easy to go to receive the Eucharist and just go through the motions. Unless you make the conscious effort to think about what the meaning of the Eucharist is, you are not doing yourself any favors. The Eucharist is such a special sacrament that we receive. Can you remember back to your First Holy Communion? To be honest I do not remember much from the actual ceremony besides getting to wear a pretty white dress and a crown of flowers, but I do remember the preparation. I think this is because it took time. I attended religious education every week and remember having to be tested on if we could recite our prayers by ourselves. At the time I don't know if I fully understood why this was necessary, but now looking back it makes perfect sense. The Eucharist is such a holy sacrament that it can not just be handed out to everyone. It is so important that the individual understands how special the bread and wine are. If you are ever to forget what this sacrament means, just focus on what the priest is saying.
"Take this all of you and eat of it: for this is My body which will be given up for you"
"Take this all of you and drink of it: for this is the chalice of My blood. The blood of the new and everlasting covenant which will be poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of Me"
It is all set out for us before we go up and receive the body and blood to remind us why we are receiving this sacrament. We are remembering that Jesus died on the cross for us. We are remembering that God is forgiving. We are remembering that after death we will be reunited with God in heaven. It is truly a beautiful sacrament that should remind you, especially during Lent, to repent so that your sins may be forgiven, to pray so that you can better understand what God has planned for you, and to be thankful for everything that God has given you. The next time you attend mass don't forget to thank God for the wonderful sacrament he has provided us and truly reflect on why you are saying "Amen" to this body and blood of Jesus Christ.