Thursday, November 20, 2014

J.M.J. The Most Blessed Eucharist is our special focus each Thursday. Jesus is the Bread of Life and the Chalice of Everlasting Salvation! 

Our Lady is "Woman of the Eucharist." We ask her to help us love and live the Eucharist--all the days of our lives!

Who can forget what Saint John Paul II (1978-2005) wrote in his last Encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia? Dated April 17, 2003, which that years was Holy Thursday, the Holy Father offered these words (Article 53):

"If we wish to rediscover in all its richness the profound relationship between the Church and the Eucharist, we cannot neglect Mary, Mother and model of the Church. In my Apostolic Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae, I pointed to the Blessed Virgin Mary as our teacher in contemplating Christ's face, and among the Mysteries of Light I included the institution of the Eucharist. Mary can guide us towards this most holy Sacrament, because she herself has a profound relationship with it.

"At first glance, the Gospel is silent on this subject. The account of the institution of the Eucharist on the night of Holy Thursday makes no mention of Mary. Yet we know that she was present among the Apostles who prayed “with one accord” (cf. Acts 1:14) in the first community which gathered after the Ascension in expectation of Pentecost. Certainly Mary must have been present at the Eucharistic celebrations of the first generation of Christians, who were devoted to “the breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42).

"But in addition to her sharing in the Eucharistic banquet, an indirect picture of Mary's relationship with the Eucharist can be had, beginning with her interior disposition. Mary is a “woman of the Eucharist” in her whole life. The Church, which looks to Mary as a model, is also called to imitate her in her relationship with this most holy mystery."