The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus Christ

"Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “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.”

"The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 

" Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 

"For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 

"Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6: 51 - 58).

Sunday June 11th 2023, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (the Most Holy Body and Blood of Jesus). 

Today, the Church demonstrates her faith in the most precious Eucharist: the source, center and summit of her life. It is also the occasion of great thanksgiving for this immense gift and the radical faithfulness of Jesus to His Bride all these 2000 plus years.

The Church and the world needs the Eucharist desperately.

"The Church and the world have a great need for Eucharistic worship. Jesus awaits us in this sacrament of love. Let us not refuse the time to go to meet him in adoration, in contemplation full of faith, and open to making amends for the serious offenses and crimes of the world. Let our adoration never cease." (CCC 1380).

Jesus Christ is everyday inviting everyone to come to the Eucharist. "Come and eat bread without money." (Cf Isaiah 55: 1 - 2). The more we respond to this invitation, the more we experience the salvation Jesus Christ won for us.

The Eucharist brings us immense peace. Do you lack peace of soul? Then go often to the Eucharist. The Prince of Peace is waiting to heal your heart and mind of fears, worries and doubts. He will heal you and immerse you in peace.  When you cannot receive Jesus physically, make a Spiritual Communion. You will be blessed. 

Are you hungry for the Eucharist? How strong is your faith in the Real Presence?

Jesus I believe in Your Real Presence in the Eucharist.

Jesus I believe in Your Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

Jesus I believe in Your Real Presence in me in the Sacrament of the Present Moment.

The mode of Christ's presence in these above three forms is unique and very real. The whole of Jesus is present in each of these modes.

Thank You Jesus. Thank You Jesus. Thank You Jesus. Amen.

The Eucharist is Jesus-Emmanuel. God is with us in this Sacrament.  Come receive him, adore him, This is Jesus, our Lord.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The Widow's Mite.

The Tithe of the Poor Widow. 

"In the course of his teaching Jesus said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in s­ynagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”

"He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. 

"Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. 

"Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” (Mark 12: 38 - 44).

Saturday 10th June 2023 in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time. 

Our key Scripture for today is the contribution of the poor widow to the Temple. Jesus was sitting in a strategic location in the Temple and observed people as they came to make their offerings.

When Jesus observed the poor widow make her offering, Jesus called His disciples to himself and said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury."

Let us reflect on one widow which the Church honors on Saturdays. 

Mary the Mother of Jesus was a widow for most of her life. 

Tradition recounts that Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary did not live long enough to see the public ministry of Jesus. From what we gathered from traditional sources, Mary, Joseph and Jesus lived a modest life even when Joseph, the main bread winner was still alive. 

We can only guess that things did not change much after Joseph died.

What can we learn from Mary the poor widow? 

We know that after Jesus started His public ministry, Mary followed Her Son everywhere He went. She was at Cana for the first miracle of Jesus.

 When she got the malicious message that Jesus had gone mad from too much preaching and not eating for days, Mary went with some relatives to check out the story.

At the foot of the Cross, one of the last words of Jesus was to commit Mary to the care of John the Evangelist. 

The poor widow Mary earned the title the "first disciple" of Jesus. She learned everything she could about the teaching of Jesus.

The Church honors the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturdays especially on the First Saturday of each month.

"For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she [Mary], from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

What a wonderful Mother we have in Mary.

The Church honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. 

For Prayers and Meditations on the Sacred Heart of Jesus click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2021/06/consecrate-yourself-to-sacred-heart-of.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The Feast of St Ephrem the Syrian, Deacon & Doctor of the Church.

Jesus Son of David. 

"As Jesus was teaching in the temple area he said, “How do the scribes claim that the Christ is the son of David? 

"David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit, said:

"The Lord said to my lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I place your enemies under your feet.’

"David himself calls him ‘lord’; so how is he his son?” The great crowd heard this with delight." 

(Mark 12: 35 - 37).

Friday 9th June 2023 9th Week of Ordinary Time is the feast of St Ephrem the Syrian (306 - 373).Deacon and Doctor of the Church. 

There is so much to write about the accomplishments of Ephrem the Syrian. Let us consider these:

Ephrem had a keen intellect. His pen was like a sharp sword. Part of his genius is that he used poems and hymns to combat the heresies of his time. He expounded the mysteries of Christ and the Glorious Virgin Mary. Ephrem had a great devotion to Mary and was not shy about it.

"David himself calls [Jesus] ‘lord’; so how is he his son?

Well let's consider the profile of one of the most admired characters in the Bible. 

"I have found David, my servant." (Psalm 89: 21). The figure of David dominates much of the Hebrew Scriptures. 

Who is David?

* The youngest shepherd son of Jesse of Bethlehem.

* He slew Goliath with a sling shot.

* He founded Jerusalem as the capital of a unified Israel.

* Committed adultery with Bathsheba.

* To cover up adultery, had Uriah killed.

* Psalmist and liturgist.

* Priest, Prince and Prophet

* Calls God his Father.

* God calls David champion.

* God calls David "a man after my heart."

Is it surprising that David is the most illustrious in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David? The choice, the call and the anointing of David increases our trust and confidence in Divine Providence.

June is the month the Church honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

For Prayers and Meditations on the Sacred Heart of Jesus click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2021/06/consecrate-yourself-to-sacred-heart-of.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

Love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

This is the greatest commandment. 

"One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” 

Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: 

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

"There is no other commandment greater than these.” 

"The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

"And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” 

"And no one dared to ask him any more questions. (Mark 12: 28 - 34).

Thursday 8th June 2023 in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time. 

In our key Scripture for today, Jesus answered the scribe:  Do you want to know the greatest commandment? To fulfill the law perfectly, love God with all your heart and all your being and love your neighbor likewise. 

Genuine love for God is inseparable from genuine love of neighbor.

If we desire to love God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength, we must love God as Jesus loves Him. How?

Embrace God's holy, gracious and mysterious will in everything, everywhere and always. We must believe and act like Jesus: "My food is to do the will of God." We must believe firmly and repeat often: "Father, in Your will is our peace."

St Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church writes:

"When we will what God wills, it is our own greatest good that we will; for God desires what is for our greatest advantage. Let your constant practice be to offer yourself to God, that He do with you what He pleases."

The Church honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the month of June. Friday June 16th is the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

You are so mistaken.

You are greatly mistaken. 

"Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,

 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.

"Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants. So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants, and the third likewise. And the seven left no descendants.

"Last of all the woman also died. At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her.” 

"Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.

"As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

"He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled.” (Mark 12: 18 - 27).

Wednesday 7th June 2023 in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time. 

Do you believe in the Resurrection of the dead? 

Our God is not "God of the dead but of the living."

We Catholics believe in the Communion of the Saints. The saints are very alive. We cannot see them but you can touch them with your prayers. They touch us with their answers to our prayers. This is real. 

Think of St Anthony of Padua, Patron Saint of lost items:

St Joseph, Patron Saint of a Happy Death. 

God is a living God of a living people. 

All things are possible for God. 

All things are easy for God. 

I trust in the Lord with all my heart. I lean not on my own understanding, experience, knowledge, perception or ideas. In everything I do, I acknowledge Him and He promises to direct my path. 

June is the month of honoring the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

The Feast of St Boniface, Bishop and Martyr.

Feast of St Boniface, Bishop and Martyr. 

"Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. 

"Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.

"At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.

"But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.

"He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.

"He had one other to send, a beloved son. 

"He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’

"But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. 

"What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this Scripture passage:

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes?”

"They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away."  (Mark 12: 1 - 12). 

Monday 5th June 2023 in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Boniface (680 - 754), Bishop and Martyr. 

The well educated English Benedictine priest was sent by Pope Gregory II to evangelize the German tribes. Boniface was consecrated the first Bishop of Germany. He organized the Church in Germany and was martyred in Friesland (present day Netherlands) when he went to preach there. St Boniface is the patron saint of Germany.

This is one of the saddest parables in the Gospel.  Read the whole story in Mark 12: 1 - 12.

The ungrateful and grasping tenants had killed and thoroughly abused other messengers before the landlord sent his own Son.

What is the point of the whole story? 

The incredible and longsuffering nature of God. No human king or landlord could tolerate a fraction of what these malevolent tenants did. While we are thankful for God's patience with our sins, it will be a mistake to think that this time of grace and mercy will last forever. Repent and seek the face of the Lord today. 

The Church honors the Sacred Heart of Jesus in June. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com

Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.

The Feast of St Nobert, Bishop. 

Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God. 

"Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.

"They came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man and that you are not concerned with anyone’s opinion. You do not regard a person’s status but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.

"Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?”

"Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius to look at.” 

"They brought one to him and he said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied to him, “Caesar’s.” So Jesus said to them, “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” 

"They were utterly amazed at him." (Mark 12: 13 - 17).

Tuesday 6th June 2023 in the 9th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Nobert (1080 - 1134), Bishop.

 Nobert started life as a prodigal of some sort. The grace of Christ knocked him off his horse and then embraced him. Nobert quickly rose from the rubbles and showed his true colors. He became a priest and then a Bishop and worked hard to implement the reforms of Pope St Gregory VII. He was a noted preacher. He died as Archbishop of Magdeburg in Germany.

"Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?” (Mark 12: 14).

After examining the coinage in use for transactions in Israel, the Pharisees and Herodians were caught in their own trap when Jesus asked them: "Whose image and inscription is this?” They replied him, “Caesar’s.”

"Jesus said to them, ‘Give back to Caesar what belongs to Caesar – and to God what belongs to God’. This reply took them completely by surprise."

Caesar has a right to his taxes because he got his power from God. Do not deny God what rightly belongs to God, viz: Sunday worship, keeping His commandments, knowing, loving and serving Him and paying your tithes. Jesus  "reply took them completely by surprise."

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com