It Is Real

  Readings 060726  

I remember a boy who asked his priest,
“Father, when you say the words at the altar…
how does the bread become Jesus?”

The priest smiled,
“That’s a holy mystery.”

The boy frowned,
“Every time grown‑ups don’t know something,
they call it a mystery.”

But his grandmother whispered,
“Sweetheart, really smart grown‑ups
know when to stop pretending
we’re smarter than God.”

And the priest said,
“That’s why we kneel.”

Today we kneel before the greatest gift Christ left us—
His Real Presence.
Not a symbol.
Not a reminder.
Not a metaphor.

It is real.
It is Jesus.
And He comes for you.

The same God who fed Israel with manna
now feeds us with Himself.
The One who said,
“This is My Body… This is My Blood,”
keeps His word.

When you receive Him,
He strengthens you,
changes you,
and makes you part of His Body—
a family of faith,
a people of hope,
a community of love.

So come to the altar with wonder.
Come with joy.
Come knowing:

It is real.
It is Jesus.
And He comes for you.

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
You give Yourself to us in the Real Presence.
Open our hearts to adore You with wonder.
Strengthen our faith in Your living Body and Blood.
Make us worthy to receive so great a gift.
Remain with us always. 

Amen.

Our Ultimate Concern

 

Readings 060626

Every day we pour out our life‑energy.
We spend our hours, our strength, our attention
on something.
And sooner or later, every soul must face
the deeper question beneath all the others:
What is my ultimate concern—
not only what I live for,
but what I would die for.

Saint Paul knew his answer.
He could stand before God and say,
“I am already being poured out like a libation…
I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
His whole life flowed toward Christ,
and even his death became an offering.

And Jesus points us to the poor widow—
a woman with almost nothing
who gave everything.
Not because she had surplus,
but because she had a center.
A guiding star.
An ultimate concern that shaped her whole life.

So maybe we should pause
and consider our own ultimate concern.

Do I proclaim the word
not only with my voice
but with the way I spend my days—
my energy, my love, my sacrifice.
Do the choices I make
reveal the One my heart belongs to.

Because in the end,
our lives are measured not by what we kept,
but by what we gave.
Not by what we achieved,
but by whom we loved.
Not by what we lived for,
but by the One for whom we would die.

Prayer

Lord Jesus,
Teach my heart to pour itself out for You.
Set my days toward Your guiding star of love.
Let my sacrifices echo a quiet courage of faith.
That is steady through every race I run.
Receive my life as a humble offering of praise.

Amen.