When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from not on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. “
~Luke 22 14-20
What a lovely description given to us by Pope John Paul II when he stated, “The Blood of Christ, while It reveals the grandeur of the Father’s love, shows how precious man is in God’s eyes and how priceless the value of his life.”1 Love can cost us much. His great love for us cost Jesus everything. May we “spend” in His service all the gifts given to us by God, loving others the way Jesus loves us. We thank Jesus and honor Him as we should when we participate in this beautiful love story, receiving Him gratefully and worthily, as often as we are able to.
In his first encyclical God is Love, Pope Benedict XVI wrote that “to become a source of love, we must constantly drink anew from Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, the original source of love, for it is from His pierced heart that the love of God flows…” 2.
You are so precious in God’s eyes,
and the value of your eternal soul is priceless.
God is at work in you.
_______________________and the value of your eternal soul is priceless.
God is at work in you.1. Pope John Paul II, The Gospel of Life (New York: Random House, 1995), 45.
2. Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est, (Rome: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2005), # 7.
The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright, 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
