From the Pastor

Dear Friends in Christ,

We continue our journey through John Chapter 6 as the Church encourages us to reflect on our relationship with Jesus present in the Holy Eucharist. Our Lord makes the bold proclamation today,
  Jesus promises that those who remain in Him, will have eternal life. One cannot get closer to Jesus than receiving him in the Blessed Sacrament. It would seem really important than to receive him with reverence and devotion and attention. Our minds often get distracted though don’t they? Here is a little help to keep us focused on the Eucharist at Mass during the Consecration and when we receive the Eucharist.

You can write these down and bring them with you to Mass until you memorize them or you feel comfortable talking to Jesus in your own words. I hope they are helpful. God Bless you.

Prayer during the Consecration
It is during the Consecration, when the priest says the words of institution, that simple bread and wine are turned into the Body and Blood of Christ. If you don’t already do it, it would be a very good and pious action to say a word of praise to God who has just come before you in a true miracle when the priest raised the Host and the Precious Blood in the Chalice. Here are a few suggestions.

• Blessed and praised every moment Be the most holy and divine Sacrament!
• My Lord and my God!
• Sacrament most holy! O Sacrament divine! All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine.

Prayer before receiving Holy Communion
As you come forward in the communion line, prepare your heart to receive God. Here is a prayer that is attributed to Saint John Vianney. Try and pray this in your heart a number of times before receiving.
 
Thanksgiving after Receiving Holy Communion
Here is a prayer you can say when you get back to your seat after receiving. We have just received the most precious gift in the world so it is good to say thank you to our Lord.
 
What the Catechism Teaches on the Eucharist
"Take this and eat it, all of you": communion
1384 The Lord addresses an invitation to us, urging us to receive him in the sacrament of the Eucharist: "Truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." 1385 To respond to this invitation we must prepare ourselves for so great and so holy a moment. St. Paul urges us to examine our conscience: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself. "Anyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to communion. 1386 Before so great a sacrament, the faithful can only echo humbly and with ardent faith the words of the Centurion: "Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea" ("Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul will be healed.”). And in the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom the faithful pray in the same spirit. O Son of God, bring me into communion today with your mystical supper. I shall not tell your enemies the secret, nor kiss you with Judas' kiss. But like the good thief I cry, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 1387 To prepare for worthy reception of this sacrament, the faithful should observe the fast required in their Church. Bodily demeanor (gestures, clothing) ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest. 1388 It is in keeping with the very meaning of the Eucharist that the faithful, if they have the required dispositions, receive communion when they participate in the Mass. As the Second Vatican Council says: "That more perfect form of participation in the Mass whereby the faithful, after the priest's communion, receive the Lord's Body from the same sacrifice, is warmly recommended." 1389 The Church obliges the faithful to take part in the Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days and, prepared by the sacrament of Reconciliation, to receive the Eucharist at least once a year, if possible during the Easter season. But the Church strongly encourages the faithful to receive the Holy Eucharist on Sundays and feast days, or more often still, even daily. 1390 Since Christ is sacramentally present under each of the species, communion under the species of bread alone makes it possible to receive all the fruit of Eucharistic grace. For pastoral reasons this manner of receiving communion has been legitimately established as the most common form in the Latin rite. But "the sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly." This is the usual form of receiving communion in the Eastern rites.