every mass is sunday
"This is the bread that comes down from heaven for a man to eat and never die." —John 6:50
We are in the middle of celebrating the Easter season, what St. Athanasius called the "fifty-day Sunday." We are very excited because Jesus has risen from the dead and has promised to raise us also. Death, which previously had cast its shadow over life, no longer has its sting (1 Cor 15:55). Death has lost its victory. The light of the risen Christ now overshadows life. Jesus is "the Light of life" (Jn 8:12).
As we eagerly await our own death, Jesus' final coming, and our resurrection, we glory in the risen life, especially when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. When we receive "the Living Bread come down from heaven" (Jn 6:51), we recall Jesus' promises: "I will raise him up on the last day" (Jn 6:44). "He who believes has eternal life" (Jn 6:47). "If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever" (Jn 6:51).
At every Mass, we believe that Jesus changes the bread and wine into His Body and Blood. This same Jesus will change our deaths into everlasting life. Therefore, every Holy Communion, like every day of Easter, is in one way a Sunday, a celebration of the risen Christ.
Prayer: Father, draw me to the eucharistic and risen Jesus (Jn 6:44).
Promise: "Philip went down into the water with the eunuch and baptized him." —Acts 8:38
Praise: Fourteen-year-old St. Pancras' bold generosity earned him martyrdom.
Reference: (For encouragement in praying the Mass daily, order our tape Loving the Mass on audio AV 54-3 or video V-54.)
Rescript: †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, XXX 11, 2011
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