“When I received the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion, my soul trembled under the influence of God’s presence.” Divine Mercy in My Soul # 846
In His great love for us, the Lord Jesus gave us a great miracle of mercy: the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
The Eucharist is central to devotion to The Divine Mercy, and many of the elements of the devotion are essentially Eucharistic – especially the Image, the Chaplet, and the Feast of Mercy. The Image, with its red and pale rays, represents the Eucharistic Lord Jesus, whose Heart has been pierced and now pours forth blood and water as a fountain of mercy for us. It is the Image of God’s sacrificial gift of mercy made present in every Mass.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” John 6:51
Several times in her Diary, St. Faustina writes of seeing the red and pale rays coming, not from the Image, but from the Sacred Host; and once, as the priest exposed the Blessed Sacrament, she saw the rays from the Image pierce the Host and spread out from it all over the world (see paragraph # 441). So too, with the eyes of faith, we should see in every Host the merciful Savior pouring Himself out as a fountain of mercy for us.
Jesus Himself raised the reception of the body and blood in the Eucharist to a level of command and urgent necessity. Just read John 6 for the many direct urgings Jesus places on the importance of the Eucharist. So critical is it that Jesus says, “Amen Amen, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” John 6:53
A couple quick stories that two dear brothers related to me. The first tells of the first time he received the Eucharist. He was not raised Catholic. He married a Catholic woman and they had a son. After the urging of his son, he went through RCIA. But, at the least minute he couldn’t complete the class due to an issue. So, he repeated the year and on Easter Vigil received the Holy Eucharist for the first time. When he returned to the pew, he realized he was sobbing. The second story is of a brother who was divorced and refusing to receive the Eucharist until he was in the right state of soul. He related how hard it was to attend Mass and see Jesus in the Eucharist but not receive Him. After a couple years, he finally ‘fixed’ all the situation that he felt he could come to Jesus again at Mass. He called me right after that Mass. I’ll never forget answering the phone to hear him sobbing. I asked what was wrong, thinking something tragic. He responded through sobs, “I received the Eucharist today at Mass.”
Do you treat the Eucharist with this level of importance and urgency? Do you tremble under the influence of the presence of God when you approach during Communion? There have been tremendous moments of the closeness of God’s presence when I’ve received Him, I am greedy and want more and more.