Thursday in the Second Week of Easter

We pray through Easter Thursday with a simple rhythm of invocation, offering, and thanksgiving that places our whole day on the altar with Christ. We hear Saint Gaudensius of Brescia explain the Eucharist as Christ’s abiding gift, our living memorial of redemption, and the food that sustains us on the road to the Lord. 
• opening prayers and the sign of the cross 
• Morning Offering through the Immaculate Heart of Mary 
• the Eucharist as the legacy of the new covenant and pledge of Christ’s presence 
• “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood” as a call to real communion 
• priests and people keeping the memorial until Christ comes again 
• bread from many grains as an image of the one Body of Christ 
• wine from many grapes and the cross as the winepress 
• the words of institution and the command to remember 
• a closing prayer for reconciliation and freedom from sin 
If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Cristeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Cristeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.

Transcript

Opening And Sign Of The Cross

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Thursday in the second week of Easter. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day, in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, for the remission of my sins, for the intentions of my family and friends, and in particular for the intentions of the Holy Father. Amen. From a sermon by Saint Gaudensius of Brescia, Bishop. The heavenly sacrifice instituted by Christ is the most gracious legacy of his new covenant. On the night he was delivered up to be crucified, he left us this gift as a pledge of his abiding presence. This sacrifice is our sustenance on life's journey. By it we are nourished and supported along the road of life until we depart from this world and make our way to the Lord. For this reason, he addressed these words to us unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have life in you. It was the Lord's will that his gifts should remain with us, and that we who have been redeemed by his precious blood should constantly be sanctified according to the pattern of his own passion. And so he commanded those faithful disciples of his, whom he made the first priests of his church, to enact these mysteries of eternal life continuously. All priests throughout the churches of the world must celebrate these mysteries until Christ comes again from heaven. Therefore, let us all, priests and people alike, be faithful to this everlasting memorial of our redemption. Daily, it is before our eyes as a representation of the passion of Christ. We hold it in our hands, we receive it in our mouths, and we accept it in our hearts. It is appropriate that we should receive the body of Christ in the form of bread, because as there are many grains of wheat in the flour from which bread is made, by mixing it with water and baking it with fire, so also we know that many members make up the one body of Christ, which is brought to maturity by the fire of the Holy Spirit. Christ was born of the Holy Spirit, and since it was fitting that he should fulfill all justice, he entered into the waters of baptism to sanctify them. When he left the Jordan, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, who had descended upon him in the form of a dove. As the evangelist tells us, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan. Similarly, the wine of Christ's blood, drawn from the many grapes of the vineyard that he had planted, is extracted in the wine press of the cross. When men receive it with believing hearts, like capacious wineskins, it ferments within them by its own power. And so, now that you have escaped from the power of Egypt and Pharaoh, who is the devil, join with us, all of you, in receiving this sacrifice of the saving Passover with the eagerness of dedicated hearts. Then in our inmost being, we shall be wholly sanctified by the very Lord Jesus Christ, whom we believe to be present in his sacraments, and whose boundless power abides forever. Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke the bread. Then he gave it to his disciples and said, This is my body, which is given up for you. Do this in memory of me. Alleluia. This is the bread come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever. This is my body, which is given up for you. Do this in memory of me. Alleluia. O God, who for the salvation of the world brought about the paschal sacrifice, be favorable to the supplications of your people, so that Christ, our high priest, interceding on our behalf, may by his likeness to ourselves bring us reconciliation, and by his equality with you free us from our sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever. Amen. Let us praise the Lord and give him thanks. All that I have and all that I am, I give to your hands, Jesus, through the heart of Mary, your blessed mother. Amen. Sacred heart of Jesus, have mercy on us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. If you found this time of prayer and reflection fruitful and would like more opportunities to grow in your faith, consider joining the Christeros and purchasing our publications now available on Amazon.com. The Christeros app is available on the Apple app and Google Play Store. More information on the Cristeros can be found at theCristeros.org.