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To the Ends of the Earth. Mark C. McCann
Читать онлайн.Название To the Ends of the Earth
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9781681923857
Автор произведения Mark C. McCann
Жанр Словари
Издательство Ingram
Praying with Scripture
“And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. As it is written, ‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever’” (2 Cor 9:8–9).
Wednesday
The Eucharist Is About Satisfaction
Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.
Hebrews 7:25–28
Not only is the Eucharist about the abundant love of Jesus Christ; it is also about perfect satisfaction. God in his justice demanded a perfect sacrifice to make up for our sins, and no human being could offer such a sacrifice. Only someone who was divine and human could make the needed reparation for our fallen nature. So God in his mercy sent his Son Jesus, true God and true man, to be our Great High Priest and our perfect sacrifice. Jesus, by living a sinless human life and offering up that life on the cross, satisfied the debt for our sins.
The priests of the Old Testament had to repeat their sacrifices year after year, and these sacrifices did not come close to making satisfaction for sin. Jesus needed to offer up his perfect sacrifice only one time. The Eucharist does not repeat the sacrifice of Christ. Instead, it is the once-for-all sacrifice of Calvary.
Moreover, the Eucharist fully satisfies our deepest hunger. Our separation from God as a result of Adam’s sin leaves us with an emptiness that only Christ can fill. Through his Body and Blood, Jesus provides us with real food and real drink. As we receive the Bread of Life and the Chalice of Eternal Salvation, we know we will never hunger or thirst again. Every longing, every need, and every desire finds its fulfillment in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Questions for Reflection
Do you recognize that Jesus has made satisfaction, not just for the sins of the world, but for your personal sins as well? How do you thank him for this gift?
Do you participate fully and with gratitude in the Sacrifice of the Mass? If not, what can you do to improve your attention?
How has the Eucharist satisfied some of your deepest longings?
Praying with Scripture
“I will abundantly bless [Zion’s] provisions; / I will satisfy her poor with bread” (Ps 132:15).
Thursday
The Eucharist Is About Making an Eternal Decision
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and clinging to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Deuteronomy 30:19–20
God’s people were preparing to enter the promised land. Moses called each one to make an eternal decision: to choose life or death, heaven or hell, peace and prosperity or division and ruin. To choose life was to choose God and to receive his offer of a future salvation. His challenge to the people is our challenge every Sunday at Mass. The Eucharist is our ultimate life choice. To make such a choice lightly is to profane the Body and Blood of the Lord. Like the Israelites, we can either receive or reject the life that Christ offers us in the Eucharist.
Sadly, many Catholics go through the motions of the Mass, never fully realizing what the Eucharist is. Christians of many denominations talk about “making a decision” for Christ, but Catholics are given that opportunity every time we participate in the Mass. Our “Amen!” when we receive Communion is our “Yes!” to two things: (1) to the reality of Christ’s True Presence in the Eucharist, and (2) to the salvation he won for us in his death on the cross, which is made present again in every Mass.
How we respond to the Eucharist truly matters. Saint Paul even talked about receiving the Eucharist in an unworthy manner: “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor 11:29). Our Catholic Faith is no simple matter. Each Sunday as we participate in the sacrifice of the Mass, we renew our commitment to follow Christ. Like the people in Moses’ day, we are being offered a choice between life and death. Let us choose life and let us live that life to the fullest, by our prayers, our words, our actions, and all that we are!
Questions for reflection
Is there one thing you can do to improve your participation in the Mass? What is that one thing? Can you share it with a brother and ask him to hold you accountable to it?
When you say “Amen!” as you receive Communion, do you really think about what you are saying? Can you truly say that you mean it?
Praying with Scripture
“For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God” (2 Cor 1:20).
Friday
The Eucharist Is About Love
Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God; for God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only-begotten Son into the world, so that we might live through him.
1 John 4:7–9
There are many kinds of love: romantic love, brotherly love, the love of beauty or art, etc. But there is one love that surpasses all others: agape, which is the love that is willing to surrender all things for the good of another.
That is what Jesus did. He gave his life for us to make us worthy to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Jesus knew that many would reject his teaching on the Eucharist, yet he did not hold back on speaking the truth about it. As a result, many of his followers walked away. When Jesus asked his disciples if they wished to leave him also, “Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God’” (Jn 6:68–69).
We can take comfort in these words of Peter. Will we be like Peter and acknowledge that there is no other who can satisfy all our longings? Let us today commit our lives more fully to our Savior and carry out his call to share the gospel with the lost. Let us take in the words from John’s Gospel and marvel at the love that made the Lord of the universe our friend. May we choose this day to love others as Jesus has loved us.
Questions for Reflection
How are you living out Christ’s command to love others as he has loved you?
What one person in your life can you love in a sacrificial way today, following Jesus’ example?
How can you help another man draw near to the One who has the words of eternal life?
Praying with Scripture
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