Aug. 14, 2024

By Father William Muench
NCC columnist

In a special way, August 2024, continues this year’s celebration of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. This month, we continue the special celebration of the Holy Eucharist that was developed at the National Eucharistic Congress. That congress proclaimed our Catholic faith in and belief in the presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. It was quite a celebration. Catholics, Bishops, priests, deacons, lay men and women from every part of our country gathered to pray together and proclaim our faith in the sacred presence of Jesus in Holy Communion – the heart and soul of our Catholic faith.

During August this year, the Gospel reading at Mass each Sunday is from the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 6. This chapter is the Discourse of Jesus on the Bread of Life. This is the marvelous teaching of Jesus himself, given to us by St. John. It’s the gift of Jesus to us all in the Blessed Eucharist.

This Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel is brought up for us every year for our study and prayer. It is that important. So, I urge each of you to read and pray over John 6 during this month of August. I know that each time I take some time with John 6, I always find something new to enrich my spiritual life. John remembers Jesus’ bold words as he tells us all hopes to reach us as our bread of life. We read in John 6, “Jesus says, I am the living bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

I can only imagine how surprised those people were when they heard the words of Jesus. I must admit to you that I am also surprised as I read the words of Jesus in John 6. Jesus truly reaffirms boldly his presence as the Bread of Life. The words of the Lord lead me to realize God’s great love for us in the gift of this wonderful Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Each time I preach and teach about the Holy Eucharist, I try to emphasize God’s great love for us. Jesus wants to be united with us. Jesus wants to be part of our very being. I want to emphasize how important it is for all of us to prepare ourselves each time we go to Holy Communion so that we will realize all that is means to have Jesus come to us.

As the priest at the altar, I have the opportunity to pray a special prayer in the liturgy as I prepare myself for Holy Communion. I can only imagine how important it would be if each one of us would take a moment as we approach the priest or a Eucharistic Minister to receive Holy Communion to welcome the Lord Jesus in a short prayer. “Come, Lord Jesus, transform my very being, become a part of all that I am. Stay with me to lead and guide me this day. Give me the words and the wisdom to help me make this day blessed with your presence. Give me the power to bring your love to everyone I meet this day.”

I believe that the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is so powerful that we become formed as leaders of the Lord’s Church, each time we receive Holy Communion – showing others the way to live in the Lord’s way, making our world a better place. I continually challenge my friends – those friends who have drifted away from the Lord and from the Church – to give me (and the Lord) six months – six months of frequent Holy Communion and allowing the Lord to find them and bring them back in his life to live well as disciples of the Lord.