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  • Remain In Me (4/24/2024)

    Jesus tells us in the Gospel passage today to remain in me. He is speaking to His disciples and of course to us. So how do we remain in Him? We first enter into union with Him at our baptism. We are claimed by Christ when we become a son or daughter in this beautiful sacrament. As we mature and reach the age of reason we are offered the gift of the Holy Eucharist, where Jesus comes to dwell within us in a special way. In this time of our Eucharistic Revival we are asked by our Church to remember how special the Eucharist is. We believe the Precious Body and Blood of Jesus is really and truly Jesus, not merely a symbol or something less than the real presence of Jesus.

    We know it takes faith to believe this, that a miracle takes place at every Mass. We believe the simple elements of the bread, which looks and tastes pretty ordinary, become the Body of Jesus, yet retains the look and taste of the host. The same goes for the grape wine that is changed into the Precious Blood of Jesus. This simple bit of wine becomes this presence of Jesus’ blood, yet remains looking and tasting like wine. So, it does take faith to believe. This holy gift nourishes our souls!

    I believe that if we remain on the vine as Jesus encourages us in the Gospel today we can accept the gift of faith and believe in the real presence. If we remove ourselves from the vine we put our soul in danger of everlasting separation from God. That is the worst thing that could happen to anyone!

    So I repeat what Jesus says; “Remain in me.” If you struggle with your belief, ask God to give you the grace needed to help you believe. God, in His mercy, will always provide you with the opportunity to obtain grace. If you have separated yourself from the vine, God is waiting for you to come back. He never tires of waiting and never stops loving you.

    Deacon Ray

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