June 18, 2017 Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus: I am the living bread that came down from heaven.

Gospel – John 6:51-58

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds:  “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.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”  Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and me in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

1396 The unity of the Mystical Body: the Eucharist makes the Church. Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ. Through it Christ unites them to all the faithful in one body—the Church. Communion renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism. In Baptism we have been called to form but one body. The Eucharist fulfills this call: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread:

1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant’s union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.

1357 We carry out this command of the Lord by celebrating the memorial of his sacrifice. In so doing, we offer to the Father what he has himself given us: the gifts of his creation, bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the words of Christ, have become the body and blood of Christ. Christ is thus really and mysteriously made present.

1524 In addition to the Anointing of the Sick, the Church offers those who are about to leave this life the Eucharist as viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ, received at this moment of “passing over” to the Father, has a particular significance and importance. It is the seed of eternal life and the power of resurrection, according to the words of the Lord: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” The sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here the sacrament of passing over from death to life, from this world to the Father.

From “Great Crusade of Salvation” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (CS-45:4)

4) And as to the Eucharist, what have I taught you by giving Myself in Communion to you, daughter, and in your presence, My son?  That today, as yesterday, I am alive, that I am true food and absolute consolation for man.

From “The Door to Heaven” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (DH-32:11)

11) Tell them that I am calling them: Come, eat, because My Body does not live in those who do not eat... If only men would understand who it is that is inviting and leading them. If only they could comprehend the splendid palace to which they have been invited and taste the tenderness of the meal offered to them, they would find out it embraces all the delights and is sweeter than honey, whiter than milk, more generous than wine and more delicate than wheat bread. And with all this, men continue to cry out that they died of hunger, when they have bread from Heaven within their grasp.

From “In Adoration” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (Ch-III:23,30)

23) “But if you feed yourselves with My Body and Blood, you experience the very life of God; you dwell in a foretaste of life in Heaven…!  Because you gaze at Me with the eyes of faith while you wait to see Me, face to face, in the light of Glory.

30) “Tell My beloved to come to the One Who truly loves them, to come to feed themselves, not only with My Body and Blood, but with My Presence, because the hunger that they experience is a Gift of Mine, a hunger for Me, although it is hidden and disguised by so many confused yearnings.

From “Springs of Mercy” Testimony of Catalina Rivas (SM-114:6, 132:3)

6) Look steadily at Me.  Other shepherds grab the skin of their sheep to make them love and follow them.  I grabbed your human nature  The former feed themselves with the milk of their sheep.  I feed Mine with My own body and blood.  They cover themselves with their very beautiful robes.  I clothe those who are Mine with Myself.  They kill their sheep and sell them for their own needs.  I have allowed Myself to be sold in order to save those who are Mine and I have handed Myself over to death in order to save their lives.

3) Finally, believe that at the moment when the Priest has uttered the sacred words, the substance of bread and wine has changed into the substance of My Body and Blood which is hidden under its appearances.  And no matter how your eyes, your taste, your touch, your senses and your reason itself struggle against that miraculous change, convincing you that on the altar there is nothing but bread and wine as before, put them [your senses etc.] aside, against the testimony of My word.

Each week we will be presenting a portion of the following Sunday’s readings, and linking it to relevant parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and messages from the Testimony of Catalina.  Pay special attention to the italicized underlined sections. We hope this is inspiring and educational. Any comments you have are certainly welcomed.