9781644135945

The Easter Cycle
He knows and loves us, and we know and love Him in the mystery of the Holy Eucharist
and in the Sacrifice of the Mass.
The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. God could not have conferred on us a more marvelous
gift than the Sacrifice of the Mass. In this sacrifice He gives us His very self, a priceless
treasure, more desirable than all the riches of the world. By this sacrifice we can bring joy
to an eternal and holy God; by it we are enabled to render God a perfect recompense for
all that He has done for us. If we had not this Holy Sacrifice, how could we ever worthily
thank and honor God for the forgiveness of our sins? Without it, how would we be able to
obtain from Him the graces, the strength, and the light that we need? How could we ever
reach our goal of eternal life?
To give us the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Son of God must first
descend from heaven and assume our human nature. After thirty years spent in secluded preparation,
He goes forth to seek us, to search out His wandering sheep, that He may rescue and
redeem them. He accomplishes this redemption through fasting, prayer, sacrifice, and through
hardships of all kinds, and finally through the sacrifice of His own body and blood. All this He
does that He may leave us the Holy Eucharist. “Having loved His own who were in the world,
He loved them unto the end” ( Jn 13:1) through the institution of the Holy Eucharist. “This is
My body. . . . This is My blood. . . . This do in commemoration of Me.” The Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass embraces the entire life of Christ: His suffering, His subjection to His Father, His love
for us, His merits, and His prayers. All this is brought down upon the altar in the Holy Sacrifice
and becomes entirely ours. We in turn offer it up to the heavenly Father as a sacrifice of praise,
thanksgiving, petition, and satisfaction.
“I am the Good Shepherd. . . . I lay down My life for My sheep.” In the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass I offer Myself up for them with the same love, with the same intense longing for their
redemption, with which I offered Myself up on the cross. “I am the Good Shepherd.”
The sacrificial banquet of Holy Communion. “Alleluia, alleluia. The disciples recognized
the Lord Jesus in the breaking of bread.” In this Alleluia verse the liturgy has in mind the
two disciples who met our Lord on the way to Emmaus. While walking from Jerusalem
to Emmaus on Easter night, they are discussing the events of the last few days, and Jesus
overtakes them on the way. He joins them, but they do not recognize Him. They do not
know Him even when He explains the Scriptures to them. Only when they are seated at
table and He takes bread in His hands, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them to eat, do
they recognize Him. We are these disciples. We, too, recognize Him in the breaking of bread,
in the reception of Holy Communion. Thus, by becoming the food of our souls, He shows
His great love for us. He could not exercise His mission on earth as the pastor of our souls
in a manner more perfect.
“I know My sheep, and Mine known Me” (Communion). They know their Shepherd in the
grace received in Holy Communion. Each day they receive the Holy Sacrament, and each day
they do so with a purer and more fervent heart. Through the reception of Holy Communion
they daily kindle in their hearts the fire of love for Christ. He becomes all things to them. They
recognize Him and love Him in His person, in His sacraments, in His doctrines, in His commandments,
and in His members. They recognize Him and love Him in days of prosperity as
well as in days of adversity, trial, and suffering.
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