Day Eighteen of Lent – “This is My Body…This is My Blood”

REFLECTION AND PRAYER
Day Eighteen of Lent
“This is My Body…This is My Blood”

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28

The first celebration of the Most Holy Eucharist took place at the Last Supper when Jesus instituted both the Priesthood and the Holy Eucharist in the presence of His Apostles. The offering of this ritual Sacrifice culminated in His physical sacrifice upon the Cross, when He drank the bitter wine and exclaimed, “It is finished!” Our Blessed Mother witnessed this eternal outpouring as she stood at the foot of the Cross. As she did so, she adored every drop of His Precious Blood falling to the ground to sanctify the world.

After the Resurrection, our Blessed Mother was privileged to share in her Son’s life in a new and profound way, every time she shared in the feast of the Holy Eucharist. She drank her Son’s own Precious Blood and ate His Sacred Body as she joined the Apostles for the Holy Mass.

The image of the suffering and death of her Son was forever burned into her mind and stamped upon her heart. But the union she shared with Him through her reception of Holy Communion brought perfect clarity to His suffering and death. With every reception of His Body and Blood, she also received His Soul and Divinity. In this gift of the Eucharist, she experienced His closeness like never before and knew that His death on the Cross was the source of her new and profound union with Him. No longer was He someone whom she gazed at from a distance with love. No longer was He someone whom she carried only in her womb. He was now someone whom she consumed and thus entered into her own heart and soul in the deepest way.

As she gazed at Him and saw Him breathe His last, all earthly hope of being with Him was lost. But in that moment, as He cried out, “It is finished!”, her relationship with her Son was forever changed. His life had been given back to God the Father, yet she was among the first to receive Him in the Holy Eucharist.

Reflect, today, upon the deep relationship that our Blessed Mother had with her Son. Her communion with Jesus reached a new and more profound level of love as she was privileged to receive Him into her body and soul in the Holy Eucharist. We too are all called to this same depth of communion with Jesus. We too are all invited to become one with Him as we partake of the gift of the Holy Mass. Reflect upon how deeply you believe in the presence of our Lord in this Sacrament. Reflect upon how completely you open yourself to the graces of this Gift. Recommit yourself to being consumed by our Lord as you consume His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. Know that the union you are called to live with Him is on account of His glorious gift of the Cross.

PRAYER

My loving Mother, as you gazed upon your Son you saw Him breathe His last. You watched Him die and offer His life for the salvation of the world. But you also saw so much more. As you saw His sacrifice come to completion, you also saw it transformed into a new beginning. You witnessed the beginning of the Most Holy Eucharist of which you were privileged to partake for the rest of your life.

My dear Mother, pray that I may have the grace of a faithful participation in the reception of the Body and Blood of your Son. May I, like you, receive Him with the utmost faith and allow His saving Sacrifice to consume every part of my soul.

My dear Lord, You gave us the Eucharist as the gift of Your continual presence among us. In this precious gift, You invite me to enter into communion with You on a profound level. As I gaze at Your Cross and see Your Blood poured out, help me to open my soul like a sponge soaking up Your divine presence. Unite Yourself with me, dear Lord, as I give myself to You.

40 Days Journey with Our Lord
Day Eighteen: Empty Glory

“Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple…” (Matthew 4:5). As we continue to ponder this second temptation of Jesus, consider the physical environment in more detail. The devil took Jesus to this high and lofty place on the parapet of the Temple. The parapet was part of the flat roof of the Temple. It was a place where the teachers of the law would sit to show their elevated position—a place of self-elevation, vainglory, and pride. The devil had tempted many of the religious leaders of old with this vainglory, and they willingly embraced it.

This elevated position of symbolic glory and honor produced empty, not true, glory. It was empty in the sense that it was given by the “ruler of this world,” the devil, to those who were all too willing to bathe in this passing and superficial light.

Jesus, however, had no interest in an empty glory. He certainly hoped that all people would come to know Him as the Son of God so that they could turn to Him and be saved, but Jesus also desired that all people honor Him and glorify Him because of the truth that He is God and is worthy of all praise. This was quite different from the empty glory the devil was promising.

Each of us gives in to empty glory when we become overly concerned about the opinions of others. What are people saying about me? What do they think about me? What reputation do I have? This form of empty glory is not based on the truth; it’s based on the confused opinions people hold. Opinions do not matter. Only Truth matters.

Our true glory is found in the truth that we are sinners who are redeemed by Jesus Christ. We are weak but made strong in Him. We are sheep in need of a Shepherd. We are nothing without the saving grace of God in our lives. When we see these truths and believe them with all the powers of our souls, then worldly opinions do not determine our value and worth. Only our identity in Christ matters. We are God’s sons and daughters. This is the source of glory that will never change, except by our free choice to sin and reject God.

Ponder any ways that the evil one tempts you to vain and empty glory. Social media can be very useful for sharing pictures and life events with family and friends, but it is also one of the best examples of a modern way that the devil tempts us with vainglory. How many likes did I get? How many friends do I have? What comments did people make? When we become overly worried about such questions, it shows that we are overly concerned with the opinions of others, rather than with our knowledge of who we are in the mind of God.

PRAYER

My glorious Lord, You had no interest in the vanities of worldly glory. You cared nothing about the false opinions and judgments You endured in this world. Instead, You shared fully in the true glory of the Eternal Truth of Who You are, always have been, and always will be. Help me to shed the false opinions and temptations to earthly glory so that I can take my identity and glory only in You.

Mother Mary, pray for me. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source: mycatholiclife