The Body and Blood of Christ
H. Luis Felipe Copete, L.C.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Christ, our King, Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Lord Jesus, at this moment I place myself in your presence. I beg you to please send your Holy Spirit upon me to increase my faith, my hope and my charity. Give me the grace to listen to your voice and to keep it in my heart, so that I may then put your word into practice. Help me to remain close to you so that I may always enjoy your love and mercy. Amen.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to Mark 14:12-16. 22-26
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was being sacrificed, his disciples asked Jesus, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?” He said to two of them, “Go into the city, you will find a man carrying a pitcher of water; follow him and tell the owner of the house where he enters, “The Master commands to ask, ”Where is the room where I am to eat the Passover with my disciples?”' He will show you a room upstairs, furnished with couches. Prepare the supper for us there." The disciples went away, arrived in the city, found what Jesus had told them, and prepared the Passover meal.
While they were at supper, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take this, this is my body”. And he took a cup of wine in his hands, gave thanks, gave it to them, and they all drank, and he said to them, “This is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which will be shed for all. I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God”.
After singing the psalm, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
In this Gospel passage you can see how the disciples ask Jesus where he wants to celebrate the Passover. On this day, and for the rest of your life, Jesus wants to celebrate the Passover with you in your heart. If you ask Jesus exactly the same question that his disciples asked him, there is no doubt that he will answer you: I want to celebrate Easter with you and I want you to prepare your heart for it, for I am at the door and I knock, waiting for you to open to dine with you. (Ap. 3. 20)
More than 60 days ago we celebrated Holy Week, a week in which we see how Jesus gave himself to save humanity. Today, we celebrate the Body and Blood of our Lord. The Body that was immolated because of our sins, and the body that Jesus, without any interest whatsoever, gives us so that we may receive it in the Holy Eucharist. If we eat of this bread, of his body, we will live forever. Jesus is the bread of life, he is the God who makes himself small, who makes himself vulnerable, first as a baby, and then gives his life for us and remains in the form of bread to be with us in a sacramental way until the end of time. What other person has done this for you?
Lord Jesus, You know me very well. You know perfectly well what is in my heart and yet You are there, at the door, waiting for me to open to You. Give me the grace to prepare this supper as You want me to prepare it; help me to prepare my heart to let You in; help me to remove all selfishness, all unforgiveness, all that prevents me from receiving You as You deserve. For, although it is I who need You, it is You who are outside begging for my love. Let me receive You in communion as You deserve. Thank You Lord for the gift of Your Body and Blood in the Eucharist! Amen.
«Jesus prepares a place for us here below, because the Eucharist is the beating heart of the Church, it generates and regenerates her, it gathers her together and gives her strength. But the Eucharist also prepares a place for us above, in eternity, because it is the Bread of heaven. It comes from there, it is the only matter on this earth that really tastes of eternity. It is the bread of the future, which already makes us anticipate a future infinitely greater than any better expectation. It is the bread that satisfies our greatest desires and nourishes our most beautiful dreams. It is, in a word, the pledge of eternal life: not only a promise, but a pledge, that is, an anticipation, a concrete anticipation of what will be given to us. The Eucharist is the “reserve” of paradise; it is Jesus, viaticum of our journey towards the blessed life that will never end.»
(Homily of H.H. Francis, June 3, 2018).
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
To prepare myself and ask for help from the Blessed Virgin Mary, to receive Jesus worthily in the Eucharist this week. If I cannot attend the Eucharist, I will try to make a spiritual communion during the day.
Farewell
We thank You, Lord, for all Your benefits, You who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
