as we participate in the sacrifice of the Mass, we renew our commitment to follow Christ. Like the people in Moses’ day, we are being offered a choice between life and death. Let us choose life and let us live that life to the fullest, by our prayers, our words, our actions, and all that we are!
Questions for reflection
Is there one thing you can do to improve your participation in the Mass? What is that one thing? Can you share it with a brother and ask him to hold you accountable to it?
When you say “Amen!” as you receive Communion, do you really think about what you are saying? Can you truly say that you mean it?
Praying with Scripture
“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God” (2 Cor 1:20).
Friday
The Eucharist Is About Love
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
1 John 4:7–9
There are many kinds of love: romantic love, brotherly love, the love of beauty or art, etc. But there is one love that surpasses all others: agape, which is the love that is willing to surrender all things for the good of another.
That is what Jesus did. He gave his life for us to make us worthy to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus knew that many would reject his teaching on the Eucharist, yet he did not hold back on speaking the truth about it. As a result, many of his followers walked away. When Jesus asked his disciples if they wished to leave him also, “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God’” (Jn 6:68–69).
We can take comfort in these words of Peter. Will we be like Peter and acknowledge that there is no other who can satisfy all our longings? Let us today commit our lives more fully to our Savior and carry out his call to share the gospel with the lost. Let us take in the words from John’s Gospel and marvel at the love that made the Lord of the universe our friend. May we choose this day to love others as Jesus has loved us.
Questions for Reflection
How are you living out Christ’s command to love others as he has loved you?
What one person in your life can you love in a sacrificial way today, following Jesus’ example?
How can you help another man draw near to the One who has the words of eternal life?
Praying with Scripture
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jn 3:16).
Saturday
Go Deeper
How has Christ shown me his abundant life and love this week?
Where do I find the most satisfaction in my faith? Why?
Am I committed to loving and receiving Christ in the Eucharist? If not, what holds me back? What will I do to draw closer to him in the Blessed Sacrament?
Have I shown sacrificial love this week? If not, why not? If so, was I as generous as I could be?
Do I show others the reality of the Eucharist in my words and deeds? Do I receive Communion with reverence? Do I let the Blessed Sacrament make a lasting impression on everything I say and do?
