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Church of the Eucharist - New Evangelization

Chapter 6: Worthy is the Lamb!

Rev. Fr. Vincent Martin Lucia

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Ch 6

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When Jesus instituted the Eucharist,
Scripture says:
'He had always loved those
who were His own in the world,
but now He showed
how perfect was His love'²¹³
by giving us the complete Gift
of Himself in the Eucharist.

The Lord's Supper
was instituted at the Passover meal
to show that the Eucharist flows directly
from the shedding of Christ's Blood.

Like the unblemished lamb
slaughtered as a Passover victim,
with its blood sprinkled on the doorposts,
Christ was slain on the Cross
to give us the gift of everlasting life
in this Most Holy Sacrament.

'If anyone eats this Bread,' He said,
he shall live forever.'²¹⁴

He gave up His Body on the Cross
so that He may give us His Body
in Holy Communion.

Good Friday follows Holy Thursday
as Good Friday is the price He paid
to give us the Gift of Himself
in the Holy Eucharist.

This is why He said
on Holy Thursday night,
'There is no greater love
than this: to lay down one's life
for one's friends.'²¹⁵

May His Sacrifice inspire
enough people in the parish
to be willing to make a sacrifice for Him
by taking one of the night hours,
between midnight and six a.m.,
so that we may have perpetual adoration.

Scripture reminds us that Jesus
spent whole nights in prayer.

God cannot be outdone in generosity.
Whenever we are generous with Him,
He is ten times more generous with us.

Whatever hour you may choose
is most pleasing to the Lord,
but since these difficult night hours
must be covered in order to have perpetual adoration,
please consider, for the following reasons,
making this sacrifice if you can.

When Jesus said,
'With desire I have desired
to eat this Pasch with you,'²¹⁶
He was speaking to the heart of every man,
but knew that not every man would respond
to the gift of the Eucharist.

In every age
these words would come to pass:
'I fostered them
like one who raises an infant
to his cheeks...
Yet, though I stooped
to feed My child
they did not know
that I was their Healer.'²¹⁷

'The more I called them,
the farther they went from Me.'²¹⁸

'You study the Scriptures,' Jesus said,
'believing that in them you have eternal life,
and, yet, you refuse to come to Me
to possess that life.'²¹⁹

Jesus knew that the Eucharist,
meant for all humanity,
would not be accepted by all,
and that what happened
at His Eucharistic discourse
would be repeated in every age.
'How can this man give us His flesh to eat?
This sort of talk is hard to endure.'²²⁰

His disciples failed to understand.
He was not speaking of the flesh
as we know it,
but the 'life-giving Spirit'²²¹
of His Risen Body after the Resurrection.

'It is the Spirit that gives life,
the flesh has nothing to offer,' He said.
'The words I spoke to you are spirit and life.'²²²

But His disciples broke away
and would not remain
in His company any longer,
just as the majority of men
in every century
would not believe in His Real Presence
and would refuse to keep Him company
in Eucharistic adoration.

Jesus' Agony in the garden
was His realization
that His Gift of Perfect Love
would be appreciated by so few
and rejected by so many.
'His Heart was filled with sorrow
to the point of death.'²²³

Why so many refuse to love Him
in Eucharistic adoration
is explained in the statement:
'Your King comes to you
without display,'²²⁴
for Jesus comes to us so humbly
under the appearance of the Sacred Host
that He is often ignored
and treated as if He is not there.

'There was in Him no appearance
that would attract us to Him.
He had no form that we should look at Him
and no beauty that we should desire Him.
Without beauty, without majesty we saw Him,
and we took no account of Him.'²²⁵

The Lord's words,
'They are rejecting Me as their King,'²²⁶
describes the indifference
surrounding Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament
where He is often left alone
and abandoned by His own.

'He was spurned and avoided
and we held Him in no esteem,
a thing despised and rejected by men.'²²⁷

'And, yet, ours were the sufferings that He bore,
ours the sorrows He carried.
He was pierced... crushed for our sins.
Upon Him was the chastisement
that makes us whole.'²²⁸

This is why the angels cry out to man:
'Worthy is the Lamb that was slain
to receive all honor, glory and praise.'²²⁹

In other words...
Jesus deserves perpetual adoration!

The Lamb is the Sacrificial Presence
of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
He deserves unceasing adoration
for all He has done for our salvation.

When Scripture exclaims:
'The Lamb is the Lord of lords
and the King of kings,'²³⁰
it is a clarion call to Christ's followers
that Jesus is worthy to be adored as King
as the Church declares
on the Feast of Christ the King,
'Worthy is the Lamb.'

For all He has done for all mankind,
He deserves, in every parish,
the perpetual adoration of His people.
Where Christ is adored as King,
by being honored day and night,
He begins His Eucharistic Reign.

This is the meaning of the passage,
'The Lamb on the throne will shepherd them.
And God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes.'²³¹

'Christ must reign
until God puts all enemies
under His feet.'²³²
Christ's enemy is Satan
who wants to rule the world himself,
and who wants for himself
the adoration that belongs to Christ alone.

This is why in the desert Satan told Jesus,
in a perverted outburst of jealous pride,
'Prostrate Yourself in homage before me.'²³³
Jesus replied, 'You shall do homage
to the Lord your God.
Him alone shall you adore.'²³⁴

When Jesus was arrested, Scripture says,
'It was out of jealousy
that they handed Him over;'²³⁵
a jealousy incited by Satan,
whose violent hatred of Christ
and the adoration due to Christ as King
was graphically illustrated
during the Lord's Passion
when 'they put a crown of thorns on His head,
a reed in His hand'²³⁶Š 'and dressed Him
in a robe of royal purple.'²³⁷

'Making a fool of Him',²³⁸
'they genuflected before Him
and pretended to do Him homage'²³⁹
in mock adoration they protested
that Christ is not worthy
to be adored as King.

When Scripture says Satan
'will fight against the Lamb,'²⁴⁰
it means he will attack
faith in the Eucharist
and fight against the adoration
Jesus deserves as King.

"According to the Gospel," explains the Pope,
"the devil's effort is directed
to opposing the Kingdom of God
as his jealous hatred
of the glory due to Christ alone
is the unseen force behind all opposition
to adoration of the Lord in the Blessed Sacrament."

Satan's anger,
directed against the Kingship of Christ
and the adoration due to Christ alone,
was demonstrated on the Cross
with a sign above the Lord's Head
where they put the charge against Him in writing.

Scripture References

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