February 15, 2025
Reflections By Rev. Fr. David Okolie

THE EUCHARIST CLEANSES SINS? (CATECHESIS FOR THE 20TH SUNDAY(B)

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Rev. Fr. David Okolie

Dearest friends,

There is no doubt that the *HOLY EUCHARIST* remains the GREATEST GIFT Jesus Christ gives to us. The Spiritual richness of this Holy Food is a testament to the above. The Church understands the loftiness of this wondrous gift and reveres it as the Heart and the Summit of her entire Life and Ministry (cf. CCC n. 1407).

The beauty and the richness of the Holy Eucharist shine out in the individual lives of the faithful when it is WORTHILY received. Thus, when the Church encourages the faithful to always dispose themselves properly whenever they receive it, it is for their own GOOD. It is only when the faithful do not understand this concern of the Church that they would begin to approach the Holy Eucharist *CARELESSLY/UNWORTHILY.*

๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸผSadly, some of the faithful now think that the Holy Eucharist can be received anyhow; even when such persons are in MORTAL SIN(S). It is certainly erroneous and sacrilegious to be doing that.

Now, the Sacrament of Penance/Confession is a concrete expression of the desire of Jesus Christ that we are always purified in order to receive him in the Holy Eucharist worthily and so attain the riches of this Holy Banquet. So, it would amount to SELF-DECEPTION and SACRILEGE for a faithful to think that he/she would be living in MORTAL SIN(S) and at the same time receiving the Holy Eucharist/Communion. The Church discourages such Sacrilegious attitude in the following clear terms: *โ€œAnyone conscious of a grave sin must receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before coming to COMMUNION… The Eucharist is NOT ordered to the forgiveness of Mortal Sins โ€“ that is proper to the Sacrament of RECONCILIATION…”* (cf. CCC nn. 1386, 1395).

๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿผ *Finally, dearest friends, is there any SINFUL lifestyle that you are into which you think it is better to be forgoing/abandoning the Holy Communion/Eucharist than to sincerely REPENT from such lifestyle?* Here, praying earnestly for the gift of *WISDOM* becomes indispensable in order to discern the TRUTH and always live by it.

We pray the Blessed Virgin Mary to always support us with her powerful intercession. Amen๐Ÿ™๐Ÿผ

Happy Sunday and remain blessed!

CATECHESIS โ€œNKUZI NKE OKWUKWE” FOR THE 20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME(B)
READINGS: R1 Prov 9:1-6, R2 Eph 5:15-20, Gosp. Jn 6:51-58).

contributor
Rev. Fr. David Okolie is a Priest of the Catholic Diocese of Okigwe, Imo State, Nigeria. He is a prolific writer, retreat preacher and social media evangelizer.

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