On the Feast Day of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ this weekend I thought I would first remind you of the importance of the “Amen” we all say after receiving this Sacrament at Mass. I wrote about it in early May as follows: “When we come forward to receive Christ’s Body and Blood and confirm that with our “Amen” we should all remember that what we are really saying is “Lord, live in me today so that I may give life, heal and forgive as you did.” Remember there is nothing casual about that “Amen” – it is the most important word we say in that Mass.”
We should all say in our prayer, after receiving The Lord, words of Thanksgiving for this great gift either in our own words or possibly some or all of the following prayer of thanksgiving given us by St. Padre Pio:
“Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have You present so that I do not forget You. You know how easily I abandon You.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak and I need Your strength, that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my life, and without You, I am without fervour.
Stay with me, Lord, for You are my light, and without You, I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me Your will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear Your voice and follow You.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love You very much, and always be in Your company.
Stay with me, Lord, if You wish me to be faithful to You.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for You, a nest of love.
Stay with me, Jesus, for it is getting late, the day is coming to a close, and life passes; death, judgment, eternity approach. It is necessary to renew my strength.”
Recently I came across this reflection on the question of ‘How can God be present in a tiny host?’ [It was in a book by Harold Buetow ‘God Still Speaks: Listen!’ quoted by Fr. Botelho.]
Some time ago, a street-corner preacher who knew how to make religious truths come to life was faced by a hostile crowd. “How,” one of them demanded, “is it possible for bread and wine to become the Body and Blood of Christ?” The preacher looked calmly at the stout questioner for a moment and answered, “You have grown somewhat since you were a child and have more flesh and blood than you had then. Surely, if a human body can change food and drink into flesh and blood, God can do it too.” “But how,” countered the heckler, “is it possible for Christ to be present in his entirety in a small host?” The preacher glanced up at the sky and down at the street before them and answered, “This city scene and the sky above it is something immense, while your eye is very small. Yet your eye in itself contains the whole picture. When you consider this, it won’t seem impossible for Christ to be present in his entirety in a little piece of bread.” Once more the heckler attacked. “How, then, is it possible for the same Body of Christ to be present in all your Churches at the same time?” The preacher’s answer: “In a large mirror you see your image reflected but once. When you break the mirror into a thousand pieces, you see the same image of yourself in each of the thousand fragments. If such things occur in everyday life, why should it be impossible for the Body of Christ to be present in many places at once? Just tell me, what isn’t possible for God?