Monday 5 June 2023

Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ

 When we pray the Nicene Creed, during the Mass, we say: "I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church." When we do this we testify to our faith that the Catholic Church mediates the God whom we have just professed our faith in. The theological principle of "ex opere operato" teaches that the work of the sacraments is done by Jesus Christ and that the moral worthiness of the ministers of the Church does not invalidate the sacrament. Saint Augustine was the Church Father who developed this idea. Sadly, scandal which is caused by the deficiencies and failures of clergy does impede the effectiveness of the sacraments because it damages the believers' faith. Thus, when meditating on the mystery of the Lord's Body and Precious Blood present in the sacramental species under the form of bread and wine we are compelled to believe what it teaches. The elements, once the Institution Narrative in the Eucharistic Prayer has been prayed over them, are no longer bread and wine. They are something else. Therefore, immediately, the priest genuflects in adoration and the members of the congregation also make a profound bow. This is further indicated when the minister of Holy Communion says to the communicant: "The Body of Christ" and "The Blood of Christ." He, or she, does not say: "This represents the Body of Christ" or "This is a symbol of the Blood of Christ." The process that refers to this mystery is called traditionally: "transubstantiation." If we believe in the Church then we make an act of faith that the Eucharistic transformation, under both kinds, is real, objective and enduring. The tabernacle, after Mass has been finished, continues to house the Lord is sacramental form which means that we genuflect of bow towards it when we enter the church to pay the Lord a visit. Let us be mindful of this presence when we enter our church and may it suitably influence how we are in His presence so that we edify the Lord and our fellow believers by what we do or say. 



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