How many times have we heard and read St. John's Gospel speaking of 'In the beginning was the Word and the Word was God…" and then St. John tells us "…and the Word became Flesh and made His dwelling among us."
Do we really and truly understand the magnificence of this, the crux of what has been given to us (Catholic's) by God?
I was reading a Daily Devotional (Protestant) that I receive each day, and it was so beautifully written, about the Word made manifest to us in our lives and it calls for us to really understand the true meaning of God's Word made manifest in our daily lives. True, we are ALL called to reflect Christ, the Word of God in all of our daily actions and in every aspect of our humanity. This Word is made manifest when we do good deeds, acts of mercy and serve our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but we also know that St. James tells us "Faith without works is dead", so conversely I believe that we cannot WORK our way to Heaven either, we must have Faith. What does St. Paul tell us that Faith is? As my brother in Christ and Co-Host of our radio show, "Zip" Rzeppa would say it; "Any 5th grader, properly Catechized in the Faith could explain it!" Well, to coin the phrase of a recent television show, 'Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?' Well, are you? Most Catholic's do not understand their Faith, nor understand Church Teaching fully. Even the Pope does not understand it, FULLY, but we thank God for His enlightenment given to us through the Holy Spirit.
Faith – "…the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, to we really understand and have the Faith, that what we receive at EVERY Holy Sacrifice of the Mass IS the Word, the Word of God which became Flesh, the Word of God which, through Transubstantiation BECOMES FLESH for us? Do we BELIEVE it? DO WE HAVE THE FAITH ENOUGH TO BELIEVE THIS IS THE TRUE BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, GIVEN UNTO US FOR OUR SALVATION? (Sorry for all the caps, but for those of you who know ME…know that I am VERY impassioned when I talk about the Eucharist)
Protestants use the word Manifest and Manifestation a lot in their discourses of Religiosity; but for those of us who are Roman Catholic, it should hold and have a SPECIAL meaning for each of us. The Word of God made Flesh – which is made MANIFEST for us during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass – The TRUE Flesh of Christ, made MANIFEST inside each of us, therefore, we are what we eat…right? Christ is made Manifest in our Bodies, transforming us – He who was made sin, but knew NO sin – so that we, sinners, mortals, humans, could be that SAME WORD MANIFEST DAILY!
As we approach the celebration of the Birth of the Messiah, the celebration of God's Second Covenant with His people – Grace in place of Grace, let us continue to prepare our MINDS and our BODIES, each day, and realize that God loves us so much that He gives us His Son – Manifested – within us in the Eucharist! Thank you God for loving me…a sinner! Thank you God for healing me… and most of all… Thank you God for the GIFT of Eternal Salvation!
Praise be Jesus Christ now and forever more… Let the Church say… AMEN!
God bless you and may the Word of God continue to be made Manifest in you, everyday. Be blessed to be a BLESSING to someone else!
Evangelist Richard L. Lane
Co-Founder, Qorban Ministries
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