I often think about how to speak with Christians of other denominations about the truth of the Holy Eucharist.  Faith in what Jesus says about His Body and Blood is a gift and I pray that our separated brothers and sisters will have the grace to see the truth of what Jesus says in all of the Gospels about his gift of the TRUE Bread from Heaven, Himself!

I feel more confident in God’s gift to me of being able to express myself in writing more so than in public speaking. The written word can be read and thought about and endures much longer, so I put forth this challenge to my brothers and sisters of other Christian faiths in the words that I write at this present time.  At the same time I would like to challenge my fellow Catholcs to ponder the Truth of the Eucharist and to share it.  Here goes:

Today’s Gospel highlights the challenge of the belief of Jesus’ words to His disciples about His Body and Blood.  He asks, “Does this shock you?”  It does shock some of the disciples because of their response, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”  Jesus challenges them, “What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?”  In other words, “Would it be easier for you to believe, if you knew who I truly am?  Do you believe in WHO I AM?”

He then says, “The words I have spoken to You are Spirit and Life, BUT THERE ARE SOME OF YOU WHO DO NOT BELIEVE.” (emphasis mine).  Stop right here and think a minute; as protestants, which means in essence, “protesting;”  think if you are not one of those PROTESTING what Jesus is saying here in the Gospel of St. John.  Think to yourself, am I not one of those to whom Jesus is referring who DO NOT BELIEVE?  You believe in Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, but you do not believe in the truth of His words about His Body and Blood.  In John 6:53, “Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.”   “Amen, Amen” means, this is the TRUTH. The TRUTH of the words of GOD, not just any man.

Allow me to challenge further, by putting forth the words of Jesus that CLEARLY debunk the fallacy of a figurative meaning concerning the Eucharist:  “For my flesh is TRUE FOOD and my Blood is TRUE DRINK.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood HAS LIFE ETERNAL and I will raise Him up on the last day.” John 6:54-55.

“The words I have spoken to you are SPIRIT and LIFE.”  BELIEVE THEM, in other words.  “It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail.”  Through the Holy Spirit this is made possible.  Brothers and sisters I challenge you to believe this Truth, because ETERNAL LIFE is promised to you based on your belief of what He says.  Think on this a minute or more..Jesus our Savior, with His great love and power as GOD, who you believe He is; why would he NOT want to share Himself with us as our food?  How could He not WANT to?  How could He NOT make this possible?  He can do all things.  All He has to say is “Let there be light” and there is light. So how could he not also say, “This IS my body. This IS my Blood,” and not have it be so? Nowhere in scripture is Jesus recorded as saying “This is a symbol of my body, this is a symbol of my blood.”  Think about this. Truth has spoken!  Jesus cannot deceive us.  He is our LOVING SAVIOR.

In this Gospel reading, which you can find starting in John 6:60-69 (and the many verses before), in whichever bible you have, the truth is the same.  You will read that the ones who did not believe in the truth of what Jesus was saying to them “returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him,” while Saint Peter and the other Apostles knew to believe beyond all doubt, because of WHO Jesus was.  “To whom shall we go?  You have the words of Eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

My dear Protestant brothers and sisters, protest NO MORE and BELIEVE as St. Peter and the Apostles did, because of WHO you profess to believe that Jesus is. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  He is GOD.  He wants YOU to believe. Immeasurable graces await you.  I invite you to explore this truth and what it means to you if you were to come to believe as St. Peter and the Apostles did and come to the fullness of what you are meant to experience, “God truly with us!”   It means ETERNAL LIFE.  Jesus came that we may have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10).  He is present in the Most Blessed Sacrament, contained in all the tabernacles of every Catholic Church in the world out of love for His people.  He is waiting for you.  Come and see!   May God Bless you always!

-Jackie Stutmann

There is something simple everyone can do each day to remember Our Blessed Mother. The blessings are immeasurable!  The Rosary is of course of the utmost importance, because Our Lady of Fatima requested that we pray the Rosary EVERY DAY for the conversion of sinners and for peace.  The Fifteen Promises to those who pray the Rosary are truly magnificent and we should all be promoting it. You can read about them at this link: http://www.ourladyswarriors.org/prayer/15promise.htm   Our Lady promises to aid us in all of our needs if we pray the Rosary and promote it.  St. Padre Pio called the Rosary THE WEAPON.  One day he was being troubled by the devil and called to his brother monks to get him his weapon.  They looked at each other wondering what he meant, and he said, “My rosary, my rosary, my weapon is my rosary!”

Another saint-recommended practice is that of The Three Hail Marys.  According to Tradition, in an apparition, Our Blessed Mother revealed her promise to St. Gertrude to those who pray the Three Hail Marys.  “To any soul who faithfully prays the Three Hail Marys, I will appear at the hour of death in a splendor of beauty so extraordinary that it will fill the soul with heavenly consolation.”    St. Leonard preached the devotion of the Three Hail Marys to be prayed morning and evening in honor of Mary Immaculate, to obtain the grace of avoiding all mortal sin day and night.  He assured his listeners:  “Those who remain faithful to this pious practice will most certainly receive the grace of eternal salvation.” * The information I am including in my blog on this topic is being taken from one of my favorite books, “Prayers and Heavenly Promises” by Joan Carroll Cruz.*

Saint Alphonsus Liguori suggested that the Three Hail Marys be prayed while kneeling  and that after each Hail Mary we should pray this wonderful gem:  “By thy pure and Immaculate Conception, O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.”  * Take the advice of the Saints and start praying!  They had to know something if they became saints, right?

The devotion was also promoted by Fr. John Baptist of Blois, who founded “The Confraternity of the Three Hail Marys.”  Pope Leo XIII (the pope famous for the Saint Michael Prayer that he received after a vision at the beginning of the 20th Century), granted an indulgence to those who practiced the devotion and then Pope Benedict the XV raised the Confraternity to the rank of an Archconfraternity. * This devotion then, is significant!

Imagine the graces that come from even ONE Hail Mary prayed with devotion!  It is the Angel Gabriel’s Salutation to Mary at the Annunciation.  It is music to Our Lady’s ears to hear from her beloved children the words of the Angel reminding her continuously of the greatness of the moment when she was to become the Mother of the Messiah, the SON of GOD!

There is MORE!  These are three more Promises of Our Blessed Lady to those who pray the Three Hail Marys in honor of the Blessed Trinity.  This is how I pray them with the promises themselves as part of the prayer before each Hail Mary:

“I offer these Three Hail Marys in honor of the Blessed Trinity and to give thanks for all the graces and privileges granted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and for those given to us through her intercession.  I pray for the grace to avoid mortal sin this day (and night) and for the grace to become a saint.

The first Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Father, whose omnipotence raised Your soul dear mother so high above every other creature that after God you have the greatest power in Heaven and on earth.  In the hour of my death, you will use that power of God the Father to keep any hostile power far from me…Hail Mary..by Thy Pure and Immaculate Conception O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.

The second Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Son, who communicated His inscrutable wisdom to you, Dear Mother..in the hour of my death you will fill my soul with the light of that wisdom so that all the darkness of ignorance and error will be dispelled…Hail Mary…By Thy Pure and Immaculate Conception O Mary, make my body pure and my soul holy.

The Third Hail Mary will be in honor of God the Holy Spirit, who filled your soul with the sweetness of His love and tenderness and mercy..in my last hour you will then change the bitterness of death into divine sweetness and delight..Hail Mary…By Thy Pure and Immaculate Conception O Mary, make my body pure and my soul Holy.”

Another way to pray the Three Hail Marys and information relating to the devotion:  http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/three.htm

I share the great news of this devotion because I want us all to be “gluttons” for graces!  Also be sure to pray the Three Hail Marys slowly and with great devotion, preferably in front of an image of Our Lady so you will be able to focus on the meaning of the words, and they will fill your heart with love and gratefulness at the magnificence of her promises!

One last thing that I just remembered..another prayer is one I pray just before praying the Three Hail Marys..as a greeting to Our Lady and to get my spiritual “cogs” turning.  “Hail White Lily of the Glorious and Always Serene Trinity.  Hail Brilliant Rose of the Garden of Heavenly Delights.  O You by Whom God wanted to be born and by whose milk the King of Heaven wanted to be nourished.  Nourish our souls with effusions of Divine Grace.”   I then go into the Three Hail Marys.  This prayer also has a promise attached to it:  “I will appear at the hour of death to those who salute me thus, in such glory that they will anticipate the very joys of Heaven.”

It all comes down to gratitude to Our Lady.  When we are grateful for all the graces she gives us, because she IS the Mediatrix of all Graces, and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit, we will obtain great graces for such sacrifices and remembrances of her that are filled with love.  You can be sure that she will not be outdone in generosity!

Our Lady of all Graces, pray for us, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ thy Son!

Amen.

Your Friendly Neighborhood

Catholic Blogger,

Jackie Stutmann