For always

THE STORY is told about a man who was met by a barking dog. The owner assured him: "Don't worry. Don't you know the proverb that a barking dog does not bite?" The trembling man said: "Yes, I know the proverb. You know the proverb, but, does your dog know the proverb?"

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How often have you heard that the Eucharist is Jesus' Body and Blood (Mk. 14, 12-16), but do we really know the meaning and the significance of this in our lives? Do we really understand this? Do we really appreciate the Eucharist as a dying man's last gift for us? Do we recognize it as His means of being united with us in a special way forever? In many ways, we are like dogs who have no appreciation at all of something of so great a value. It is like putting a precious Picasso painting before a dog. Maybe he will look at it with curiosity, sniff it, urinate on it, and then walk on. Pardon the comparison, but in many ways, it is really disheartening how we ignore and how ignorant we are of the Eucharist at times, priests and laity alike.

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Remember the story about a priest who found out that the microphone was not functioning as he began the Mass? He tapped it, opened his arms and in a loud voice said: "Ah, something wrong with the mike!" And the whole congregation responded in chorus: "And also with you!" For some of us, because the Eucharist is always available, we tend to take it for granted, and often, we are so "automatic" in our responses during the Mass.

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The Mass should be prayed with the heart. It should not be rushed. Love is not rushed. Nor is the Mass just a show. Without the heart, without love, the Mass can end up just a dry function, an entertaining performance, or an empty act.

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I remember how, as a little boy so caught up in TV or play, I once told Mama that I will just pray 10 rosaries at home instead of going to Sunday Mass. Looking back to that experience, I remember what Mama told me: "Jerry, not even 100 rosaries can equal the value of one Mass." I really appreciate Mama for teaching me the value of the Eucharist at an early age. Parents, by your words and the example of your lives, are you teaching your children to really appreciate the Mass?

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The Mass is the highest form of prayer, but do we pray it? Many lay people "attend" Mass and we priests "say" Mass, but, do we pray the Mass? We miss the point when we look at it as an obligation, or as a schedule to be met, and as something to be done and to be done with, fast.

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It is not easy to go to Sunday Mass, and I admire people who go no matter how tired, or how sleepy, or how busy they are. The church may be hot or crowded, the service may be long and boring, the sound system may be hardly audible, but they are there, because they have a date with the Lord. Be assured of God's appreciation and blessings for those who do it religiously and constantly, in His memory.

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The priest is the celebrant of the Mass, but sometimes he becomes the depressant. On the other hand, the priest, instead of becoming the celebrant, could become the celebrity of the Mass. These two extremes must be avoided. Christ should be the center of the Mass. Christ is present in every Mass, but every priest must be aware that he can MIS or REpresent Christ by the way he celebrates the Mass.

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Representing Christ in every Mass is not the burden of the priest alone. The laity, too must cooperate and participate to make the Mass a joyful, prayerful and meaningful celebration. As someone beautifully put it, the word CHRCH is not meaningful because there is no U in it. Gets mo?

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Beyond the devotion we have for the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and the celebration of Christ's sacrifice in every Mass, the Eucharist should lead us to making Christ present in our daily lives. Our love for the Eucharist must not only be devotional, emotional, or sentimental. It must also be real and actual.

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The church, the Body of Christ, is being dealt with heavy punches these days, and a lot of these are, so to say "below the belt." Maybe we need it for our purification, but definitely, the church will survive and come out stronger in the end. We must not lose heart. All our trials should lead us to bend our knees in prayer and humility.

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Today, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, let each one of us ask these questions: Am I helping in building up the Body of Christ? Am I a representative of Christ, one who makes Christ present in the world again? Badly wanted: Men and women who, by their word and example, make Christ present and alive in this world of ours.

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Please say a special prayer for us, your priests, today. We remember you too in our Masses today.

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A moment with the Lord

Lord, help me to appreciate the Real Presence in the Eucharist, and become your real presence in the world. Amen.