The Eucharist: Bishop Barron, The Catechism, and Cooper

6 Facts About the Eucharist taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself.
2. All who eat the one broken bread, Christ, enter into communion with Him and form but one body in Him.
3. By this sacrament, we unite ourselves to Christ, who makes us sharers in his Body and Blood to form a single body.
4. The signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpassing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ; they continue also to signify the goodness of creation.
5. Christ calls himself the bread of life come down from heaven.
6. We must, therefore, consider the Eucharist as: thanksgiving and praise to the Father; the sacrificial memorial of Christ and his Body; the presence of Christ by the power of his word and of his Spirit.

Spiritual Communion

I stumbled upon this Bishop Barron video the other day and had to share it with you all! It was such a beautiful reminder of our faith in the Eucharist. I think I need to watch it every few months to help ward off any passivity toward receiving the Eucharist. I feel it’s so easy to forget the deep, beautiful, spiritual truths of what we believe.

This video is especially important since we are unable to receive the Eucharist now. I fear the ease of watching Mass has been a little too enjoyable for me. There is a lot less stress surrounding getting the kids ready and keeping them quiet.

There has been a blessing in disguise from this time of spiritual communion, namely that the spiritual communion prayer we say every week has been incredibly convicting.

Here it is again:

My Jesus, 
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. 
I love You above all things, 
and I desire to receive You into my soul. 
Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, 
come at least spiritually into my heart. 
I embrace You as if You were already there 
and unite myself wholly to You. 
Never permit me to be separated from You.

As I say it out loud I am half-tempted to stop. These words are so holy and saintly, they feel like a falsehood pouring from my lips. Am I really able to say this with the utmost sincerity? Am I lying to myself and God by speaking these words?

It wasn’t until these last couple weeks that I felt this strong conviction. I can walk through each line of the above prayer and find areas in my life that do not uphold the words I am speaking. The line I’ve been really struck by is “I love you above all else.”

That is a powerful line.

If I take an honest look at my life am I living in such a way that shows this is true?

There are places in my life, both small and large, that are caught up in worldly things. There are a million things a day that I choose over Jesus, over His will for my life. Am I allowed to speak these words if they feel like an empty promise, a half-hearted attempt? I think we have to speak these words. Especially if they feel empty.

We should say confidently, “I love you above all else,” because we trust that He makes our love for Him whole. Not only that, but He gives us the desire to even love Him in the first place. It is all an incredible gift that we need to recognize and learn to receive. Our desire to love Him is enough, for now at least, and His mercy is abundant! If we are truly seeking Him then He will bring us to a point where we can say these words with the sincerest of hearts.

Every line in this prayer stirs up questions in my heart. Can I really say that? I am so far from being able to say these words with the sincerity that I wish I could! But I am going to keep saying them until they come true. Until He makes them true.

Our Eucharistic Minister

I especially love to see my friends children, who put on their vestments, hold a bible (or random book) above their heads, and process around the room chanting “Alleluia.”

I hope you all are doing well and finding the good during all the craziness 🙂