We continue to reflect on the wonderous gift of the Eucharist.
We senior Catholics may remember the hymn O Sacrum Convivium.
O holy banquet in which Christ is received. His Passion is called to mind. The soul is filled with grace and the glory yet to come.
Holy Communion is the fruit of the Sacrifice of the Mass. St. Maximian Kolbe said: “If angels could be jealous of men [sic], they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”
We receive the very Body and Blood Soul and Divinity of Jesus in Holy Communion. The person distributing Holy Communion says: “The Body of Christ” and we answer a resounding “Amen.” “So be it!” We believe, and we want to be more and more like Jesus who nourishes us with His Very Self. In these days when we are so conscious of calories and fat content and whatever else, we want to become what we eat. Like Jesus Himself.
I read in the bulletin of another parish that if you do not believe that the consecrated bread and wine are truly the Body and Blood of Jesus, perhaps you should not come forward for Holy Communion. Your “Amen” would be false.
If you are sensitive to gluten (celiac disease), low gluten hosts are available. We get ours from the Benedictine Sister of Clyde Missouri who invented them. To be valid matter for consecration the host must contain a miniscule amount of wheat gluten.
The Sisters’ website states: “Our breads are made of wheat starch (wheat flour from which most of the gluten protein has been removed) plus water. The last gluten testing was done in April 2023 and the average content per wafer was 70ppm which equals 70 micrograms per .2 g of product. Each wafer weighs approximately .2 g.” You might give that information to your doctor or ask for a bit of an unconsecrated host to see how it would affect you. If there is no problem, please coordinate with the priest or deacon 15 minutes before Mass. Don’t continue to abstain from receiving Holy Communion.
Saint James Catholic Church 