Volume II No. 22        June 2, 2002

From the Priest

The Holy Eucharist and the Sacred Heart

     "I am the Living bread that comes from heaven  (Jn 6:51)."

     Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ - ang Banal na Katawan at Dugo ni Kristo, ang sentro ng ating pananampalataya.

     The Body of Christ is the greatest expression of God's love for us; hence, the inevitable link to His Most Sacred Heart which is the embodiment of Devine Love.. The Holy Eucharist personifies the love and sacrifice, communioN and holy presence of Christ.

     Love/Sacrifice. The inconceivable love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, being one with the Father,  is uniquely manifest in His supreme sacrifice in obedience to the Father: His death on the Cross. He allowed his Most Sacred Heart Heart to be pierced with a lance so that he could give the last drop of His Most Precious Blood for our salvation. Though the salvific act of Christ on the Cross happened two thousand years ago, He continues to offer His life for us to the Father at every celebration of the Holy Eucharist. " Surely, greater love no man has than that he give his life for his friend"

     Communion. Every time we partake of the Body and Blood of Christ at Holy Communion, there is a fusion between God and man. We receive Him in our hearts and He becomes part of our body just as we are incorporated in His Body. Many though we are, when we gather in the Holy Eucharist, we became One Body in Christ united by His Most Sacred Heart. The Body of Christ unites us as One Community. We became One Family through His Most Sacred Body. Christ's Eucharistic Heart is like the surging of His Precious Blood which gives life and unity to His entire body, the Church.

     Holy Presence. That Christ is truly present in the Holy Eucharist - His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - is a fundamental pillar of our Faith. As Catholics, we believe in His real presence in a special way in the bread and wine transformed into His Body and Blood as proclaimed at the consecration; in Jesus own Words: " This my Body ...this is my Blood...do this in remembrance of me"; in the Priest, the alter Christus, presiding over the Holy Eucharist; and in the people of God who make up His Church on Earth.

     The Challenge. The Challenge of the Eucharist is for us to become Christ's living presence in the community. This entails following the example of sharing which he instituted at the Last Supper in the breaking of the Bread, His own Body, and in the miracle of the loaves. But more important than the sharing of material goods is the sharing of one's life for others - what he is, himself, - for the redemption of the community; e.g. in his death to selfishness, personal honor and glory and in one's willingness to die for the brothers.

     Are we His living presence in the community? Are we willing to be broken and to be shared, and to share?

     HAPPY CORPUS CHRISTI SUNDAY!

Rev. Fr. Rufino P. Yabut

Parish Priest

SHJ-MBS Parish Church