The children’s song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” teaches kids the comforting truth that Jesus holds us in His hands, nurturing and protecting us every day of our lives. He loves us more than we can ever fathom, and as we enter Holy Week, we see that love so evident upon the cross.
But His gift of Himself goes even further than that. At the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, He gave us the gift of Himself. It’s a gift that we can hold ever so briefly in the palm of our hands.
Jesus is present—body, blood, soul, and divinity—in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is not merely a symbol; it truly is Jesus. And at every Mass, we can receive Him if we are free of mortal sin.
Thus, it is the responsibility of every Catholic, especially clergy, to protect and defend the gift of Christ in the Eucharist.
In a recent press release, Judie Brown, president of American Life League, said that Holy Week is the perfect time to ponder worthy reception of the Eucharist and Canon 915, the canon law that states that “those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to Holy Communion.”
Judie reminds us that Catholics, especially those in public positions of authority, cannot be pro-abortion—a manifest grave sin—and receive Christ in the Eucharist. She explains that “bishops and priests should be proclaiming this truth from the pulpit, teaching it in catechism classes, and publishing it in church bulletins.”
The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our Christian lives because it is God Himself.
We know that Christ is present in the Eucharist because He Himself told us. In John 6, Jesus told His disciples that He is the “bread of life.” He continued, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
Many of His disciples walked away from Him on that day. They did not understand, or like, His teaching. But Jesus did not call them back and say He was speaking figuratively. He let them leave. This teaching was that important.
And at the Last Supper, Jesus blessed and broke the bread and said, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.”
“Do this.” Replicate this. Jesus meant that at every Mass, He will, through the priest, change the bread and wine into His body and blood.
Yet 31% of Catholics have not been properly catechized and believe that the Eucharist is just a symbol of Christ. This number should be zero, for as Catholic author Flannery O’Connor once said to a group of people disputing the truth of transubstantiation, “Well, if it’s just a symbol, to hell with it!” She later stated, “That was all the defense I was capable of but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the true center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.”
St. Robert Bellarmine also understood the importance of protecting Christ in the Eucharist, and when discussing the truth of the real presence, he gave this analogy:
Suppose a prince promised you a hundred gold pieces, and in fulfillment of his word sent a beautiful sketch of the coins, I wonder what you would think of his liberality? And suppose that, when you complained, the donor said, “Sir, your astonishment is out of place, as the painted crowns you received may very properly be considered true crowns by the figure of speech called metonymy.” Would not everybody feel that he was making fun of you and your picture?
Now our Lord promised to give us his flesh and blood. The bread which I shall give you, he said, is my flesh for the life of the world. If you argue that the bread may be looked upon as a figure of his flesh, you are arguing like the prince, making a mockery of God’s promises.
Jesus told us that the Eucharist is His body. It is a gift freely given and a gift worthy of immense trust.
Knowing that He is truly present means that the Eucharist should be the center of our existence. Understanding this, we naturally long for and protect Him. Our protection must include praying that our priests and bishops adhere to Canon 915 and that we only present ourselves to receive Him when we are free of mortal sin.
Jesus is our everything, and He comes to us during every Mass. We are blessed to, however briefly, hold our whole world in our hands, receive Him on our tongues, and allow Him to nourish our souls.
This article first appeared in LifeSiteNews at lifesitenews.com/blogs/holy-week-is-a-good-time-for-priests-to-warn-abortion-supporters-not-to-receive-communion/?utm_source=most_recent&utm_campaign=catholic.
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