Sue O’Donnell. 14.09.20
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10 v 16)
The infinite merits of the Lord Jesus,
Bless us profoundly in the Holy Eucharist.
His body is lifted up on the †
To offer a sacrifice for our forgiveness.
His blood is poured out upon the ground
To gift us newly found mercy.
We as His adopted family
Are richly blessed indeed,
To be possessed of the body
And the precious blood of Christ Jesus.
Our humanity is changed by His divinity.
Sanctity is made our very own
To name and claim in the holy host
And the sacred cup of divine wine.
The bread and wine, the work of human hands,
Have miraculously been transubstantiated,
As in response our faith is dedicated
To the Messiah who is our Saviour,
The One in whom we find grace and glory.
This is our salvation true story,
Because of the Lord Jesus’ perfect holiness.
By forgiveness won for us at the †,
The Lord Jesus saves and sanctifies us.
“O Lord, forgive what I have been, sanctify what I am, and order what I shall be.” (Traditional prayer)
“ ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour’.” (Luke 1 v 46)
Lord, we are called to imitate Your divine love which forgave us. To clarify this You hung on the † in agony, Your mortality put to death taking on our punishment.
I come to the Holy Eucharist with the utmost gratitude, desirous of receiving Your body and blood as a sacrament in all its reality and holy power.
I receive You, Lord Jesus, under the veil of a sacrament in repentance, with love, hoping for mercy and determined to better strive after holiness. I come to praise and thank You. I delight in this Holy Eucharist, a
holy feast of love and mercy, for You are my God and my King forever, being my Saviour.
You, working together with the Holy Spirit of faith, enable me to say ‘All is well with my soul’ for I believe in Your strengthening love for us, Lord Jesus.
I know You will never fail us, for that You have told us. A sure sign of this is Your unique offering in the Holy Eucharist, renewed daily. Vivified by the Holy Spirit, we become united with Your offering to honour our Father.
I could do none of this on my own, but being united to Your sacred heart changes everything. “Blessed be Your most Sacred Heart, Lord Jesus. Blessed be Your most Precious Blood,” (based on the Divine Praises) Your saving blood.
“Blessed be Jesus in the most holy Spirit, the Paraclete,” (The Divine Praises) who makes this holy communion possible so as to consecrate us in Your service.
May Your sacred body and precious blood save us from final separation at death, keeping our body, soul and spirit for the eternal joy of the heavenly company of the Trinity.
Until then, please grant us Your peace which surpasses all understanding, as long as prayerfully we work for an increase in holiness, offering ourselves to You, Lord Jesus.
You are our praise and thanksgiving, a supreme offering to honour our Father. You refresh our resolve to become more like You, having ransomed us at the †. Thank You for being the atoning sacrifice.
How mercifully our sins are dealt with as if they never were. This is the pure goodness of holy love, that love which works miracles, that love which is gracious. You safeguard us by uniting us to Yourself.
As heavenly bread You satisfy the hungry soul. With the living water of the Holy Spirit You quench our thirst for experiencing true love and mercy, O ever loving Lord, God’s Word of promise fulfilled.
You combine our heart with Yours to make us one. Becoming one with You, we are richly blessed by the Holy Spirit who shapes life according to our Father’s will and wishes.
Our Father gave You to us as the living Bread, the Redeemer of all that had gone wrong between us and the sovereign Lord. It is this love which nourishes our faith, that leads us to desire holiness.
O Lord, You are the Christ. May we ever, guided and chided when necessary by Your Holy Spirit, respect and cherish the love You have for us, that love which perfectly reflects the love of God.
May we ever submit to You, Lord Jesus, that without ceasing we can offer our life as a token of our praise, our appreciation, our heartfelt thanksgiving for this new life You have ordained for us. And ever let us
venerate You at the †.
We rejoice to receive You beneath the veil of a sacrament, the bread and wine of the Holy Eucharist substantiated into Your body and blood, Lord Jesus. One day we hope to see You face to face.
Until then, we must persevere to become more like You in attitude and action, acclaiming You as Saviour at all times, rejoicing so to do, offering all thanks to the Lord God for His profound love and mercy, a faithfulness from age to age.
Lord, remember not our sins, but look upon our faith and please plead mercy for us before the throne of grace.
For being not “...already perfected” we, as believers “Press on that we may lay hold of that for which You also laid hold of us.” (based on Philippians 3 v 12)
We are on a journey home to heaven, an earthly pilgrimage. We can undertake and maintain this only if You remain close to us, Lord Jesus. May the Spirit draw us to You, ever enhancing our friendship.
Let it be with sincerity we say “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal...” (Philippians 13 v 12, 13)
That is the goal You make possible for us, thank You Lord. We are highly honoured and ever indebted to You for this, “...the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus,” (v 14) as we seek Your life giving company.
“ ‘The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, the God of my strength in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge” (2 Samuel 22 v 2, 3 )
Lord, You are my everything necessary to learn how to live a worthwhile, productive, faith filled life. “I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” (v 4)
Lord Jesus, You are our saving help, the Divine Healer. This is of vital importance, because we are told there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine people who need no repentance.
May Your Spirit always call us to repentance when we err and stray, in all failures to disobey however slight. We want nothing to impair our blessed relationship with our Father, as won for us by You at the †, Lord Jesus.
We receive merciful forgiveness by becoming members of Your Body, the Church, inviting us to the sacraments. Having been bought at such a high price of Your sacrifice, we must live for the glory of the Trinity.
There is no reason for life other than to love, honour and serve our Father, through You now, Lord Jesus, by means of the sanctifying Spirit. Then to live together with You as the Trinity, completely united in love eternally. What joy awaits us because of Your † and the Holy Eucharist. All thanks and praise ever be offering us a share in Your infinite merits.
It is made very clear to us that “It makes no sense to think that we can share in Your cup Lord Jesus, one moment, and then the cup of demons at another time.” (based on 1 Corinthians 10 v 21 The Truth) How foolish this would be!
Therefore in coming to receive so directly and intimately from You, we ask You to watch over us by Your wise and ever caring Spirit. And through Your infinite merits sourced in our Father’s loving care and kindness, be
ever with us.
Be with us, Lord Jesus, in Your offering upon the altar of blessing which is given to lead us to enjoy the treasures of Your eternal, heavenly kingdom, where we will be fully blessed by the company of the Almighty Trinity, all praise ever be. Amen.
Images by Artist Christine Garwood
http://www.christinegarwoodartist.co.uk/
Season
Key Themes
EUCHARIST
COMMUNION
