the real and continuing presence - tuesday after epiphany
Today we reflect on the consequence of these
words to the bread and wine. What
happens to the bread when the priest says, this is my body? What happens to the wine when the priest says
this is the chalice of my blood?
As Catholics we uphold three important
beliefs. We will reflect on two today?
First, we believe in the real
presence. We believe that Jesus Christ
is truly present, body and soul, in his humanity and in his divinity in the
bread and wine which we consecrate in the mass.
This is the doctrine of the real presence. Yes Jesus is in some way present in the
images which we make to represent him, like the Nazareno, for example, but this
incomparable to his presence in the Eucharist because we believe that he is truly
present in the bread and wine. Yes, he is
present in his words, whenever we read and listen to the scriptures, but this
can in no way supersede his presence in the bread and wine consecrated during
the mass. Why? because we believe that
he is truly present there. That is why
we kneel during the words of consecration.
We kneel in silent adoration because Christ is truly present. For as long as we are here on earth the
Eucharist, the consecrated bread and wine is our clearest sign of Christ’s
presence, this is his most real presence with us. In heaven we will see him as he is, as St.
Paul said. But while on this earth this
is the most real we can ever get to him. That is why sa binisaya we call this
consecrated bread as the santisimo - indi lang santo kundi santisimo kon
sayuron ang pinakabalaan - nothing can be holier - amo ini ang pinakabalaan,
because this is Jesus himself. So this
is the first - we believe in the real presence.
Second, we also believe in his
continuing presence. Christ continues to
be present in the bread and wine even if we have already ended the mass. Christ continues to be truly present in the
bread and wine even if we have already gone home. He continues to be truly present in the bread
and wine which we consecrated. That is
why we have a tabernacle. That is why
every tabernacle that contains the consecrated bread has a light beside
it. It is called a sanctuary lamp and
when it is lighted it announces that Christ is truly present in this chapel,
Christ is really present in our midst.
That is why every time we enter the chapel we genuflect with our right
knees, nagaluhod kita. It is our way of
acknowledging, "Lord, I know you are there, I believe you are there." Then when we go
to our pews we do not immediately sit down.
No, we kneel for a while to greet the Lord, to talk to the Lord because
we believe that Jesus is truly present and his presence is continuing in our
tabernacles. This is our second
belief. We believe that Jesus continues
to be present in our tabernacles. Manami
kontani nga ipadayunon naton ang devotion naton nga pagbisita sa
Santissimo. To visit the blessed
sacrament before we go to work, and after work.
To visit Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
I know many of you are doing it in the adoration chapel. It is a practice that should be
encouraged. Why? Because we believe in his continuing
presence. Christ assured us that He will
be with us until the end of time. His
presence in the Eucharist and his continuing presence in the tabernacle is the
most tangible assurance of this promise.
He is here with us no matter what.
In our gospel Jesus multiplied the
loaves. This is the image of the
Eucharist, the bread that we receive in Holy Communion. Jesus fed thousands with five loaves. The Eucharist is just a simple bread, it is
so small sa bagay nga indi kita makasiling nga amo na lang ini ang akon panyaga. No, we will still eat lunch after this
mass. But nevertheless the eucharist has
nourished people spiritually since time immemorial. Jesus continues to satisfy our hunger, Jesus
continues to satisfy our thirst for spiritual nourishment, our hunger for his
real presence in our lives with this bread. May we grow
in our appreciation for this wonderful gift of the Eucharist in our lives.
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