BLESSED BY THE EUCHARIST with Jo-i Villas - Charism in a Year

There is tremendous dynamism in the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass. But as with everything God offers us, what we actually experience depends on our understanding, on our openness to receive, and on our response. The Mass is an encounter with Jesus. It is a life-changing encounter. It is intended to bring us ever deeper in our personal relationship with Jesus, in responding to the call to holiness, in becoming a true disciple. It empowers us to reach out and build his Church and society. Every aspect of the Mass is meaningful. But there are certain portions that provide great opportunities for continuing conversion and pastoral formation for laypeople. Every Eucharistic celebration in fact should challenge us to live our faith in an ever-deeper way. If we understand what God wants to teach us at Mass, if we humbly accept what God wants us to learn and to live out, then the Eucharist becomes the greatest way by which God brings His people to become what He intends them to become. Jesus tells us what that is: “So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48). The Eucharist is our path to holiness and Christian perfection.