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| Fr. Ragheed Aziz Gazzi |
Charles gave an amazing homily today for the Solemnity of The Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi, as we used to call it.
Here is a link to the text at his blog, Loaves and Fishes.
He talked about what the Eucharist means to Catholic Christians in Iraq, and about an Iraqi priest who died rather than close his parish church, saying, "How can I close the House of God?".
He talked about how the Eucharist should mean as much to us, even though, as North Americans, we are able to freely receive the Body and Blood of Christ every day of the week if we want to.
Hearing his homily, and then receiving Communion immediately afterwards was pretty powerful. At the end of Mass we had benediction and Eucharistic adoration.
It seems silly to be blase' about such an amazing thing. But sometimes, I confess that I am. Sometimes I don't think about what it means as much as I should. And I certainly don't have to risk my life to do it.
So, I hope that in the future, when I receive Communion, I can do so with as much commitment to living the Gospel as the brave martyrs of Iraq.
Paula
ReplyDeleteI try not to take communion for granted.
I'm sure we can never know how precious a priviledge it is that we can do so with freedom and no fear for our lives.
IImagine the crowns the Iraqi priest will receive for his faithfulness.
We tend to become so used to having the blessing of religious freedom that we don't value it as much as those who are deprived of this basic right.
ReplyDeleteAnd I doubt if anyone ever truly appreciates what a treasure and glorious mystery the awesome Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament is!
With God's grace..may we all come closer to seeing Him with the adoring eyes of a soul transfigured by His Beauty and Holy Love.
Thank you for linking up to Heart & Home, Paula.
It's lovely to have you join in.
Have a very blessed week..Trish