Nothing So Great

29 Apr

“There is nothing so great as the Eucharist. If God had something more precious, He would have given it to us.” ~ St. Jean Vianney

“Father, do you ever wonder why God did some of the things He has done?” That question has been asked of me many times throughout my nearly thirty-five years of priesthood. I can say, “Yes, I do.” I wonder why God made us. I wonder why it is so hard to discern His will. I wonder if I am doing what God wants of me. I also wonder why God gave us His only Son.

Those questions — and all the questions that you often ask in your own minds — will not be answered fully until the moment when we see God face to face. At that moment, we will no longer care about the questions because we will be in complete union with God and will know all that we often pondered. Until that moment, we search for answers and attempt to do the best we can for our God.

God loves us incredibly. That is another question most of us have: Why? We cannot know why God loves us so much; but, He does. He loves us so much that He sent us His only Son. His Son loved us so much that He suffered and died on the cross and rose on the third day to set us free from sin and death.

The night before He died, Jesus, in His great love, gave us His Body and Blood so that we would be able to be nourished while on our journey to the Kingdom. That gift is so very precious and none of us really knows how it comes about.

The Eucharist has also been called the Real Presence since Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the consecrated species. The bread is no longer bread; but, His Body. The wine, no longer wine; but, His Blood. As Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, we reserve the consecrated hosts in the Tabernacle so that people may come to church to visit the Eucharistic Lord.

Every so often, churches place the Eucharist on the altar in exposition so that people may come to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

We may not know the answers to the many questions that we would like to ask God; but, we can take time to visit our Lord and thank Him for His deep, abiding love.

FAITH ACTION: God gave us His very best when He gave us Jesus. Jesus gave His very best when He gave us His Body and Blood. What can you give to God this day?