Tag Archives: Eucharist

Why I’m Catholic

By | April 9, 2013

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I had grown up a Presbyterian Christian who believed that as long as you were a Christian who believed in Jesus, you belonged to the “church.” It didn’t matter which church you belonged to or where you went to worship on Sundays, it just mattered if you believed in Jesus. If you believed in Jesus, you were doing just fine.

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Accepting the Challenge from Blessed JP2: Be Not Afraid

By | October 22, 2012

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I believe that Pope John Paul II was one of the greatest Popes to have ever served the Church. History has shown him to be a man who can be all things to all people. He was an athlete, an actor, a writer, a priest, a bishop, an activist and most of all a follower of Christ . . . In terms of leadership and bravery, William Wallace has nothing on this guy. During the years of Pope John Paul II’s service to the Church, he encountered many things that would make the average person run and hide.

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Sunday, Sunday, Sunday: 08/12/2012

By | August 6, 2012

Did you know that there’s a tug of war going on right now? It’s between your flesh and your soul. Because of sin, our spirits can sometimes become slaves to our bodies. When things are in right order, when our soul guides our flesh, that’s what elevates us to sainthood.

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Why Do Catholics Exclude Others from Receiving the Eucharist?

By | July 16, 2012

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Only Catholics can receive the Eucharist at Mass because the Eucharist is the Sacrament of our unity in Christ; those who receive it need to have unity in the Faith.

The practice of excluding some people from Holy Communion is a Biblically based, ancient Christian discipline observed by both Catholics and many Protestants.

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Why Do Catholics Fast before Mass?

By | June 21, 2012

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Fasting is all about the “disposition” of your soul. That means the “condition” or “state” that your soul is in. In order to prepare the soul, we have to prepare the body.

We are physical beings. When we force our body to do something hard, like not eat or drink, it reminds us that hunger and thirst for spiritual food is even more important.

Since the body and soul make up the one person that you are, they have to do things together . . . like get ready for Jesus in the Eucharist.

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Holy Thursday Devotional

By | April 5, 2012

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Listen “Remembrance” by Matt Maher Listen on iTunes Listen on YouTube Reflect “Rabbi, where are you staying?” Each day the Church responds: Christ is present in the Eucharist, in the sacrament of His death and resurrection. In and through the Eucharist, you acknowledge the dwelling-place of the Living God in human history. For the Eucharist is the Sacrament of the Love which conquers death. It is the Sacrament of the Covenant, pure Gift of Love for the reconciliation Read more [...]

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This Is My Body: One Girl’s Journey From Doubt to Belief

By | April 4, 2012

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Joanna and I became friends in college, when I was a junior and she was a freshman. Her family had converted to Catholicism when she was a teenager and she struggled to embrace their new beliefs. I was a theology major who loved my Catholic faith and a good discussion. Joanna would often knock on my door, offer me a pudding snack, and spend hours grilling me about the Church. Not Just a Symbol Joanna’s biggest issue with the Catholic Church was the Eucharist. Having been raised Episcopalian, Read more [...]

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That Awkward Moment When You Say “And also with you”

By | December 8, 2011

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Have you had that awkward moment yet? I have. Actually, a couple times. Everyone around me remembered to grab their instructional pew cards. But no, I haven’t mastered that necessary skill I need to remember not to say “And also with you.” So there I stand, awkwardly sputtering the words my mind automatically supplies.

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Funny Mass Stories: Stolen Statue at Wedding

By | November 29, 2011

Editor’s Note: This is a true story told by a priest who would prefer to remain anonymous. I was celebrating a wedding, the first wedding in the parish where I was assigned as a newly ordained priest. It was for a couple that was not particularly faithful and whom I had never gotten to know because I had just shown up at the parish. The deacon of the parish was to assist me by preaching since he knew them. We walked in for the entrance procession and everything went just swimmingly well Read more [...]

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Saint Quotes on the Eucharist: Jesus to St. Faustina

By | November 25, 2011

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“… Now you shall consider My love in the Blessed Sacrament. Here, I am entirely yours, soul, body and divinity, as your Bridegroom. You know what love demands: one thing only, reciprocity.” Jesus to St. Faustina

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Why Do Catholics Have to Attend Sunday Mass?

By | November 24, 2011

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When we skip Mass on Sunday, we are violating our covenant with God. We are saying to God, “I don’t need to be united to you. I don’t need to worship you.” It may seem innocent, but we are actually declining His marriage proposal. We are not showing up for our own wedding.

When we make a decision to deny His invitation to covenant we are saying we don’t want a relationship with Him. Because our God loves us and is a gentleman, he allows us to do this.

However, it’s a grave sin to miss Mass.

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What is Mass?: A Wedding Feast

By | November 22, 2011

Now a lot times we think the bride wears the white dress to show that she’s a virigin or that she’s pure, and that is part of the tradition. In this case, the linen garment shows in an outward way that on the inside is pure. This is one of the reasons that in Corinthians the Church says before you go to receive the Eucharist, you should be in a state of grace. You should not have serious sin. You should not have mortal sin in your soul. You should go to Confession before you go to Communion.

What the Church is trying to teach us, what God is revealing to St. John to reveal to us is Revelation. The book of Revelation is not a book of damnation and hell; the book of Revelation is about a wedding.

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Sleep vs. Mass: Jesus Always Wins

By | November 22, 2011

There is something about Mass being the first real moment of my day that I don’t think I could do justice describing. It changes my entire approach to the world around me. Someone might argue that it’s unnecessary to go everyday but if I could why wouldn’t I? The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. Receiving the Eucharist is more productive than anything else I could do in my whole day. It not hard to see how consuming Christ is more important than that extra moment of sleep or playing video games. He is all that I need. If I don’t go to Mass, I refuse an incredible invitation from the God of the universe!

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Why Should I Care?: The New Roman Missal

By | November 22, 2011

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I hope by now you’ve heard that some of the words we say at Mass are going to be changing. The english-speaking world is getting a new translation of the Roman Missal – the book of prayers at Mass.

For the past couple weeks at my parish in place of the homily we’ve been listening to a teaching on the new words. Honestly, as I sit there on the hard pew with my eyelids getting heavier by the minute, I can’t help but ask myself, “Why should I care?”

The answer is simple: words matter.

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Did You Know?: The Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena, Italy

By | November 16, 2011

Lately he had been having doubts about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Was the bread and wine really transformed into the Body and Blood of Jesus?

He said Mass at the Church of St. Christina. As Peter raised the Host and consecrated it blood started flowing out of it, onto his hands and the altar. God was telling him (and us) that yes, He is truly present in the host.

Peter was confused and tried to hide the blood.

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What is Mass?: A Resurrection Celebration

By | November 14, 2011

Why did we switch the “Sabbath” from Saturday to Sunday? What does the Mass have to do with the Resurrection, besides being on the same day of the week, Sunday? How does that effect me? How can I live out the Resurrection celebration in my daily life? Fr. Fred explains the answers to these questions and tells us how we can still celebrate Christ’s rising from the dead today!

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Saint Quotes on the Eucharist: St. Maximilian Kolbe

By | November 12, 2011

“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.” – St. Maximillian Kolbe

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Did You Know?: The Eucharistic Miracle of Avignon

By | November 9, 2011

Two monks got in a boat and rowed to the Church. When they saw that the water was halfway up the main doors they feared the worst. They pushed open the doors to the church and saw that the main aisle and the altar were completely free of water. The rest of the Church was filled with four feet of water, but the altar remained dry. The Blessed Sacrament was just as they had left it. They also saw that some papers, books and cloths which had been placed under the altar were dry.

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What if Jesus is Really Present in Eucharist? [Video]

By | November 8, 2011

“And the moment he held that bread up, for the first time I looked at it and for a split second, for a nano second, in my soul I thought … what if? What if that’s really Him? What if that’s really who they say it is?” Mark Hart, XLT: Life Teen Training Convention, 2010

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Saint Quotes on the Eucharist: Blessed Mother Teresa

By | November 5, 2011

“When you look at the crucifix, you understand how much Jesus loved you then. When you look at the Sacred Host, you understand how much Jesus loves you now.” – Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

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