Page 46 - Nurturing the Nurturer 2018 Flip Page Program

Those events, in the Mass, the Holy Spirit makes present – not in our memory, not in a
figure of speech, not in our imagination – those events are truly made present at Mass.
The Holy Spirit makes those saving events present so that his victory can continue
in us and in the world.

The CCC has a very beautiful line: “In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot
of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ” (CCC 1370).

When we walk through those wooden doors and the Mass begins, we are at the event of
Calvary; it is here, so that it can continue to take place in us; and Jesus can continue his
victory over sin and death and the power of the devil in us. The suffering, death and
resurrection are made present on the altar so that what took place in him can continue to
take place in us.

Relationship – the Mass is also about a relationship with God. I give myself to God in the
Mass and he gives himself to me in the Eucharist. The Mass is an exchange of hearts.

St. Catherine of Siena – was reflecting on the

coldness of her heart; how she was annoyed with
people (do you ever find yourself like that?); how
she found it difficult to love and she kept saying to
Jesus: “Jesus, change my heart! I give you my
heart.” Shortly after that she had a mystical
experience. Jesus came to her, opened up her chest,
took her heart and closed it up…Not long after,
Jesus came back to her; and he appeared holding out
to her in his hand, his bright red human heart and he
said to her: Catherine, you offered me your heart and
I took it. Now I am giving you mine. He opened up
her chest again and placed his sacred heart in her
and closed up her chest. From that day forward, she could never say: “Jesus, I give you
my heart.”

The exchange of hearts – that is what the Mass is. In the Mass, the priest says: “Lift up
your hearts” and we say: “we lift them up to the Lord.” Jesus will come down and change
the bread and wine into his Sacred Heart and give it to you. The Mass is the exchange of
hearts. The Eucharist is the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Around the year 700, there was a priest in Italy who had doubts about the Real Presence

of Jesus in the Eucharist. When he pronounced the words of consecration: “This is my
Body; This is my Blood” the wine and the bread changed into the body and blood of
Christ, like it always does, but this time so that you could see it. The precious blood

coagulated into 5 clumps so that everyone could see. They didn’t consume it this time
because of this miracle so they kept it. It remained. Finally in 1971, a group of scientists
tested it and found out it was real human flesh, heart tissue.

46