WHERE
we "encounter" the "LIVING"
JESUS CHRIST
"Reflections" regarding THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING JESUS (continued) ~~
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Prayer ~~ "Come Holy Spirit! Come and transform the hearts of all your people! Come quickly, so we may at long last "see" the new heavens and new earth!" |
FIRST ~~
Through reading Sacred Scripture in the
light of tradition, we realize that the words of the
Bible are not dead, but are alive! 
Today many people want to believe that the Bible is "just a story"~~ that it is not really true.
The New Testament of the Bible is a TRUE biographical account of the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who is a real historic person!
Some other religions attest to the fact that He exists and revere Him as a great prophet
but they continue to deny His Divinity.
It is when we begin to truly believe that all that has been written in the
Gospels of the New Testament, that
Jesus Christ will really become alive
to us!
That all which the Holy Spirit revealed to the
writers Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John is the TRUTH!!!
When we first "encounter" Jesus in the
Bible, we may be saying to ourselves, "God couldn't possibly expect us
to follow all the teachings that are written there! The teachings are too difficult to follow!"
But, through the light of the Holy Spirit, we will come to realize that
YES! He does expect us to
believe, listen and to put into action all that He has revealed to us in the Gospels.
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In this way, we are able to "stay on the path"
that leads to our celestial home ~~ the place that God has prepared for us from the beginning. |
The word "Gospel" means "Good
News" and the Good News
is that
God sent His only begotten Son to redeem US!
SECOND ~~
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We are offered the most precious gift of "encountering" Jesus during the Sacred Liturgy or Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Jesus, our Brother, willingly offered Himself for our salvation through His passion and death on the cross. |
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But "..... to ensure that the memory of so great a gift would abide with us for ever, He left His Body as food and His Blood as drink (John 6:54-59) for the faithful to consume in the form of bread and wine." ( taken from the work of St. Thomas Aquinas, Corpus Christi ) Christ is truly present in the He is not a "piece of bread," or a "cup of wine." It is the living presence of Jesus, Himself, in His Body and Blood and Soul and Divinity as GOD! ~~ under the appearances of bread and wine. |
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Thus, His sacrifice is offered to the Father in an unbloody manner at every Holy Mass. It is at the hands of His priests that His ORIGINAL AND ULTIMATE SACRIFICE is constantly being renewed.
It is vitally important that we understand Who it is that we receive! The "Living" Jesus Christ has left Himself as a PERPETUAL GIFT of HIS LOVE FOR US in the Eucharist!
It is when we receive Him in the state of grace (free from mortal sin) and knowing Who we are receiving (1st Corinthians 11:27-29) that we, ourselves, enter into a spiritual intimacy with the "Living" Jesus Christ!
| Christ is present in the Priest who celebrates the memory of the sacrifice of the cross. |  |
Because the Sacred Liturgy, the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass, is the highest and the most perfect act of worship in the life of the church, it is our most perfect prayer!
Our attendance at Mass and worthy reception (being in the "state of grace" ) of the Eucharist is vital to the life of our souls!
Christ is also truly present when people gather together to celebrate the Holy Mass because as it says in Scripture, "For where there are two or three gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them." ( Matt. 18:20 ) That is why it is important that we take time from our busy lives to come together and to unite ourselves with the priest and other people in order to ask for His forgiveness, to Adore Him, to thank Him for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us and to petition Him for new favors.
The supernatural gifts initially given at
Baptism, of Faith, Hope
and Love, along
with the gifts of
the Holy Spirit, are nourished and deepened through the Eucharist.
In this way we are able to live out the fruits
of the Holy Spirit.
| The Eucharist is the very center and summit of the life and worship of the Church established by Jesus Christ! |  |
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Through the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, Christ comes to us every minute of every day during all of the Holy Masses celebrated throughout the world. It is only through His love, mercy and forgiveness that we are able to approach His "never-ending" gift of Love! |
As we receive our Divine Banquet, in the Holy Eucharist, the "Living" Jesus Christ continues to gently stretch out His arms in beckoning Love and bids us not only to "Come TO Him,"
but
to "Come WITH Him!"
He desires to embrace our hearts with His love and
walk with us
on our earthly journey!
THIRD ~~
It is when we are brought together to pray and profess our faith as a community and through the sharing of the Holy Eucharist that we become truly united to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Through Holy Communion (Holy Eucharist) we enter into a deep, spiritual union with the "Living" Jesus Christ
AND
because we share in His life, we are also then brought into communion with our brothers and sisters who share the very same life.
Because all humankind is made in God's image and likeness, we are able to "encounter" the
"Living" Jesus Christ in all human
creation: born or unborn.
It is when we realize that Jesus "lives" in each man, woman, child and baby that we will be able to truly "feel" their emotional needs and to "see" their physical sufferings.
Once this happens, we will be compelled to try to fulfill these needs! ( Matt 25:31-46 )
THEN ~~
The
final encounter with the "Living"
Jesus Christ will be
when we are
joyfully united with
Him for all eternity!
Our Lady of Guadalupe is waiting at the "gates of Heaven" to greet us when
Jesus will say, "... Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." ( Matthew 25: 34 )
"Eye has not seen and ear has not heard..."( 1st Corinthians 2:9 )
what God has prepared for those who love Him!