At one of the Masses this weekend I ran into one of the nightmares of every parish priest: an insufficient supply of consecrated hosts during Communion. While I began kicking myself for not planning better and doing a rough count of heads to see how many times I would have to fracture each host to ensure that everyone would be able to receive Our Lord, it provided an opportunity to reflect on one of the central truths of our faith: The Real Presence in every single fragment of either species of the Eucharist.

Even the smallest drop of the Precious Blood or the smallest particle of a Host contains the fullness of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Even with the good people of the 4:30 Mass at St. James having to receive a half or a quarter of a host, they were still offered all the spiritual benefits of the Eucharist that they were prepared to receive. I fear that far too many of us take this for granted, or perhaps were never really taught to appreciate the gift that God offers us in the Eucharist: His True Body and True Blood. With all this in mind, it’s an opportunity for us to reflect on a few things.

1. How reverently do we receive the Eucharist?
With the hurried pace of the world in which we live, it’s not always easy to slow down and recognize that we are doing more than simply eating or going through the motions. Whatever we can do in preparing ourselves in prayer to receive the Lord or anything we can do to be more reverent in receiving the Eucharist will be time and effort well spent.

2. What do we do to prepare ourselves to receive the Eucharist before we even get to Church? In addition to keeping the fast before Communion, we are also called to regularly avail ourselves of confession so that there is nothing standing in the way of the graces that God wants to give us in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Nothing would make me happier than feeling as though I had to add confession times at all the parishes of the region because people were lining up around the corner to be forgiven and healed. Fr. Lambert and I both think that would be a wonderful
problem to have.
 
3. Finally, what do we do to thank God for this incredible gift? Even taking just a
brief moment at the conclusion of Mass to tell God how much we appreciate
this Sacrifice is invaluable in building a spirit of gratitude in our lives, and it would
say a lot to our children, families, and the parish community as a whole.

As we continue this Lenten season, know that my prayers remain with you all, and I ask that you please continue to pray for me so that we can all grow together as a Eucharistic community, committed to serving the Lord.

God bless,
Fr. McCullough