"At Holy Mass, the bread
and wine offered undergoes
a change of substance.
The bread and wine become
the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity
of Jesus Christ.
The appearances of bread and wine remain, but the substance is Christ,
whole and entire.
The tiniest particle of the Sacred Host
is the whole Christ.
The smallest drop of
the Precious Blood
is the whole Christ."
M. Bikerstaff

“To believe in Jesus is to accept what he says, even when it runs contrary to what others are saying. It means rejecting the lure of sin, however attractive it may be,
in order to set out on the difficult path of the Gospel virtues.”

Pope St. John Paul II

HOLY EUCHARIST

At every celebration of the Holy Mass, by the sacred action of the priest acting in the Person of Christ (in Persona Christi) and by the Power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present upon the Altar. The sacrifice of Calvary is made present to us; we participate in the heavenly liturgy; the living, risen Christ is made present to us in our time and space – Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity – in the Most Blessed Sacrament.

• That is what makes the space in a Catholic Church sacred space.
• That is why you bless yourself with Holy Water, recalling your baptism, upon entering the church.
• That is why you genuflect before entering your pew.
• That is why the priests, deacons, and altar servers, if they are not carrying sacred objects, show reverence at the foot of the Sanctuary when they process in.
• That is why lectors and the extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion do the same when they come forward to serve.
• We all reverently and respectfully acknowledge the unique presence of our Lord… in the building of the church… in our very midst.
• This is what makes the Nave and the Sanctuary of our churches different from other spaces, including other Christian worship space.

He has given us this gift in order to nourish us spiritually, to set us apart, to make us holy, to be the spiritual food that sustains and leads us to our true home with Him in heaven.

M. Bikerstaff