Bethlehem: Receiving the Bread of Life

From Bishop’s Pastoral Letter:  Bethlehem: Receiving the Bread of Life
 
[6] “Bethlehem” literally means “House of Bread.” It has this name because of its location in the grain producing region of Old Testament times. How appropriate that Jesus is born here. After the multiplication of the loaves and fish, Jesus identified himself as “the bread that came down from heaven,” (Jn 6:41). As bread satisfies our hunger and strengthens us physically, Jesus fills our empty hearts with the love and wisdom of God. We feast on his every word. As Scripture says, “Not by bread alone does man live but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord” (Dt 8:3).
 
[10] Jesus’ own invitation “Take and eat, this is my body” (Mt 26:26) requires a worthy response on our part. As St. Paul tells us, we should examine ourselves before receiving Holy Communion. His words are strong: “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the Body and Blood of the Lord. … For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Cor 11:27 and 29).
 
[11] When St. Paul speaks about “discerning the body,” he is telling us two very important conditions for the worthy reception of the Eucharist. First, we must recognize the Eucharist for what it is. We must hold firm that this is no ordinary bread, no blessed bread, no sacred sign. We must believe that the Eucharist is truly the Bread of Life. It is Jesus, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, whole and entire, before whom the angels bow in adoration. Without such Catholic faith, no one should dare receive the Eucharist.
 
[12] Secondly, we need to recognize the holiness of Christ who comes to be our food and drink. Thus, we should approach Holy Communion in the state of grace. As the Catechism of the Council of Trent beautifully expresses, “Before [Jesus] gave to His Apostles the Sacrament of His precious Body and Blood, although they were already clean, He washed their feet to show that we must use extreme diligence before Holy Communion in order to approach it with the greatest purity and innocence of soul.”
 
[13] Therefore, anyone whose life objectively stands in serious, public contradiction to any one of the Ten Commandments needs first to repent with a firm purpose to sin no more before receiving Holy Communion. Anyone who has committed a mortal sin needs to approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation, make a good confession and be absolved before receiving. As St. Paul solemnly warns us, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Cor 11:27). The Sacrament of Reconciliation cleanses us of our sins, whether mortal or venial, thus disposing us for the proper reception of Holy Communion.
 
[14] We are all sinners. Thus, we need the humility of the shepherds to whom the angel brought the glad tidings of our Savior’s birth. When the angel announced to them that “In the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord” (Lk 2:11), they rejoiced. They knew that they were sinners. They recognized that Jesus had come to save them from their sins. And so they hastened to the manger. We, too, need to acknowledge our sins, seek forgiveness and hasten to Bethlehem.
 
[15] Jesus, the Bread of Life, longs to be our food and drink. He comes to the weakest and the strongest among us. The repentant sinner and the struggling saint find in him, “the true bread come down from heaven” (Jn 6:32). Before so great a sacrament, we humbly echo with ardent faith the words of the Centurion … “Lord, I am not worthy.” Repenting of our sins and receiving the Eucharist, we come to Bethlehem and Jesus makes our soul his manger and our home his dwelling place.