Each time we gather around the Altar at mass we do so as a community of faith united in our desire to do what Jesus commanded us at the Last Supper ‘Do this in memory of me’. Everyday people throughout the world gather in Church to be nourished by the Word of God and receive spiritual food in the Body of Christ. We bring to the table of the Lord the ups and downs of our lives and ask for his help and healing.

Because we can receive the Blessed Sacrament daily there is a danger that its significance and sacredness can be diminished for us. Coming to receive can become an empty action that we do because we are simply present at mass. Sometimes it’s only when we are prevented from receiving the Eucharist, due to illness or being housebound that we can see its true value in our lives as Catholics.

I read recently that the Astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, was given a tiny pix with the Eucharist in it, by his priest, to take on his journey to the moon. Before he ventured out with Neil Armstrong to walk on the surface, he offered a prayer of thanksgiving for their successful journey and received Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

Those actions of Buzz Aldrin are a reminder to us that we believe God is everywhere and truly present in the Holy Eucharist. Wherever we go he truly follows.  We should never be done praising God for all he does for us. Let us always remember the words we pray before we receive at mass ‘Lord I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed’.

Fr. Gerry