Divine Mercy by A. Harrington 2006
One and the Same Sacrifice
We can trust in the Lord’s mercy. If we are sorry he will forgive us. The Eucharist is most certainly the Sacrament of Mercy. Each time we receive Holy Communion we are receiving Jesus: body, blood soul, and divinity, and therefore his mercy.
The Eucharist is God’s ultimate expression of his mercy because it is one and the same sacrifice as Calvary (CCC #1367)…it is the same sacrifice of the cross. Jesus gave of himself freely. He held nothing back. His mercy is a free gift. For this free gift we only need trust in it and be truly sorry.
In the Gospel today John 20: 19-31 the Lord appears to doubting Thomas and shows him his wounds. Thomas replies “My Lord and my God.” I am not sure where I picked this up but at mass during the consecration when the priest says the words: “This is my body which is given up for you” and then raises the host I always pray those words…”My Lord and my God”. I say them as an act of faith. In other words, ” I believe this is you Jesus!”
Hidden Mystery
Believing that the Eucharist is Jesus is an act of faith. We can’t see that this is Jesus’ body. We can only take the Lord’s word for it, “This is my body which is given up for you.” There is no proof of this we can make. We can only choose to takes the Lords words and trust. I find this quote from St. Cyril as listed in the Catechism ( CCC # 1381) to be helpful: “Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he is truth he can not lie.”
Sometimes we just have to choose to believe!
The Eucharist is a Mysterium Fidei or mystery of faith. It just can’t be proven. We must trust and believe. Let us do so, for as Jesus said in today’s gospel, ” Blessed are those who have not seen and believed.”
