Body and Blood The Eucharist. He is the Eucharist. “Are you crazy?” You may ask, “All of Jesus is contained in a piece of bread and a cup of wine? What?” Yes. Jesus is present in the form of bread and wine. The night before Jesus was crucified, He gave His disciples His Body and Blood. Hence, He said, “Take this all of you and eat of it. This is My Body. This is My blood.” (See Mathew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:17-20, John 6:22-59) So, we Catholics believe that the same Jesus Who walked this earth, died on the cross, and rose from the dead is not just sitting up in heaven watching us and He is not just “alive in our hearts and minds.” We know that He is physically present in the Eucharist. That’s why we go to Mass, and we have priests so that they, with the power and authority of God, can give us Jesus in the Eucharist. We visit Catholic churches because Jesus is there. We eat bread and wine when we go to Mass because we are consuming all of Jesus. In second grade, I made my First Communion (first reception of the Eucharist). I knew in my mind that Jesus was present because that is what my parents and catechists told me. However, it wasn’t until fourth or fifth grade that I started thinking, “Oh my goodness! Jesus? I’m receiving Jesus? Jesus…that Jesus…all of Jesus…the strong carpenter arms, the nail-marked hands and feet, the heart burning with love, the divinity of God--the all-powerful, miracle-working, forgiving God!” My mind was blown, and it continues to practically blow up every time I realize Who I’m really receiving when I’m receiving the Eucharist. Jesus: An Awesome Person to Know In this age of late elementary school, I started to know Jesus and stopped simply knowing about Him. Now, for a quick recap of my last post. I wrote that I wanted to be a nun because I thought that was my best shot at becoming an impressive saint. In middle school, I read more and more about the lives of the great saints. I would twist my lips, though, when I read about a saint hearing the actual voice of Jesus while praying or having the ability to heal a blind man. Why couldn’t I do that? These great people often vowed themselves as virgins and quickly devoted their lives to God as nuns and priests. If becoming a nun was what it took to put “saint” in front of the name “Jacqueline,” I was willing. However, as I got to know Jesus—especially as the Eucharist—I started to have other reasons for wanting to become a nun. Sure, becoming a nun would make me a saint (please know, I’m being sarcastic!), but look at all of the other benefits! Benefits like…Jesus. Nuns do everything with Jesus, and for me, spending time with Jesus was getting pretty amazing! I could talk to Him about anything and He would understand. Even better, He would talk back! He would speak to me whenever I read the bible or when I had a discussion with my dad about God. He spoke to me when I knelt to pray. I didn’t have the miraculous visions that I originally wanted, but He spoke nonetheless, and I saw Him everywhere. He was in nature and in others. He was most fully present in Church! Mass was when I got to physically embrace Him (receive the Eucharist) and hear Him tell me He was perpetually giving Himself to me in love. I learned that nuns spent all of their time with Jesus. “Who wouldn’t want to be a nun?” I thought. “Everyone should be nuns and priests so they can spend every second living for and with God.” I entered middle school and my desire for “nunhood” grew as I knew Jesus more and more. He would hold my hand when my social anxiety was kicking in. He was present when other kids made fun of me. He was there to play with me and He would inspire my creativity. I’d dream about going to the eternal kingdom to spend time with Him and His angels in His heavenly palace. He challenged me to be kind to my sisters and classmates. He asked me to pray more because He loved talking to me too. I was falling in love with Jesus. Slowly, He increasingly won my affection with His constant presence and His gift of self. The great romantic God that He is was wooing me, and I was unable to resist. Stay tuned for Chapter 3 to read more of this love story
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AuthorJacqueline St. Clare: I spent six months in a cloistered convent, and now I'm a college student! Archives
April 2021
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Unexpected Church MembersAll words that are underlined can be found on the "Glossary" page
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