We all desire to have a closer relationship with Jesus. Well, we have come to the right place, the Holy Mass! Just as Jesus is truly in Heaven, so also is He truly present on earth in the Eucharist. In Holy Communion, He is present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.
In the first reading, the High Priest Melchizedeck, who was a mysterious figure in the Old Testament blessed Abraham and offered a sacrifice of bread and wine, which prefigured the Eucharist.
In the second reading, St Paul teaches that every Mass offered is a renewal of the offering of Jesus on Calvary, who shed His Blood that we may be forgiven and attain Heaven.
In the Gospel, Jesus multiplied five loaves and two fish to feed a multitude. Soon after this miracle He would start teaching about the true, living Bread, that is, the Eucharist which He would institute at the Last Supper. There, He also ordained the first Priests, the Apostles and commanded them to:
Do this in memory of Me.
Ever since in keeping with the command of the Lord the Mass is celebrated at every hour of every day somewhere in the world.
Today is also a very special day for our Parish and College because of the young people making their First Holy Communion. Jesus will come to each of you in a most special way today for the first time in the Holy Communion. You have been looking forward to and preparing for this day for a long time now with much excitement. On Wednesday you went to Confession so that your souls would be clean to meet Jesus.
We all need to go to Confession regularly so that we are always clean of heart, to receive Our Lord in Holy Communion. Every Mass is a great miracle where Jesus becomes truly present. Every single Communion Host is another Jesus.
This reminds me of the story of Blessed Carlo Acutis. He was born in England on 3rd May 1991. He was mostly of Italian background. Carlo received his First Holy Communion at the age of seven. After than he was seen regularly before Jesus in the Tabernacle before and after Mass. Bl. Carlo said:
My life plan is always to be united to Jesus. He would say: Find God and you will find the meaning of your life. Blessed Carlo called the Eucharist: My highway to Heaven. He would say: If we get in front of the sun, we get a sun tan, but when we get in front of Jesus in the Eucharist, we become saints.
In addition, Blessed Carlo had a tender devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom he called:
The only woman in my life. The Rosary he referred to as: The shortest ladder to Heaven and the most powerful weapon after the Eucharist to fight the devil.
Blessed Carlo was a catechist, and he made a Holiness Kit for his friends whom he was instructing, which consisted of:
· Love God with all your heart.
· Each day go to Holy Mass and receive Holy Communion.
· Pray the Rosary every day.
· Read a little of the Bible every day
· Make a visit to Jesus in the Tabernacle every day
· Go to Confession once per week.
· Help others as often as you can.
· Rely on your Guardian Angel as your best friend.
Blessed Carlo learnt computing so he could build websites mainly for evangelization. He built a website cataloguing all the Miracles of the Eucharist.
As a teenager Blessed Carlo sadly developed leukaemia and died at the age of fifteen in 2006. He will be canonised as a Saint of the Church on 7th September this year (2025).
Today at the Divine Mercy Shrine we will have a Eucharistic Procession at the end of Mass. We will process around the grounds of the Shrine with Benedictions throughout the Procession concluding with a formal benediction at the Altar. Jesus always remains with us truly present in the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar. The Church is His House. Let’s always remember to approach Our Lord with faith and profound humility and always come to receive Him in Holy Communion in the State of Grace. Then He will truly become: Flesh of our Flesh and blood of our blood.
Praise be Jesus in the Adorable Sacrament of the Altar, now and forever. Amen.