One message of this Jubilee Year of Mercy is that we can be assured God loves us. Perhaps the greatest proof of this is the gift of his body and blood in the Eucharist.
Pope Francis said, “the Eucharist is Jesus, who gives himself entirely to us.”
Isn’t this the core understanding of what love is all about—to sacrifice, to give of ourselves for the sake of the beloved?
Perhaps this is a reason why we build cathedrals and churches that are as beautiful as we can make them. They are not so much a places for us to meet as they are a home for the living presence of Jesus.
- R. R. Tolkien, the British university professor and author who gave us The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, once wrote to a friend. “I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament.”
Our prayer today: Dear Jesus, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, we know you in the breaking of the bread and we worship your living presence in the Blessed Sacrament.