MISSION AT ST. PATRICK’S

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 November 1940, Page 4

MISSION AT ST. PATRICK’S

BLESSED SACRAMENT The Solemnity of the Blessed Sacrament was celebrated at St. Patrick’s Church, Greymouth, yesterday, in the course of the Redemptorist Mission. The numbers receiving Holy Communion at the Masses yesterday morning, showed a considerable increase. The Novena for Peace was continued in conjunction with yesterday’s ceremonies, and will conclude with d General Communion of the parishioners on Sunday morning, when four Masses will be celebrated at 6 a.m., 7 a.m., 8.30 a.m. and 10 a.m. The Mission closes on Sunday evening, when the Papal Blessing will be given the congregation. The preacher, last evening, was Rev. Father Gartlan, whose text was “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endurith unto life everlasting,” (St. John). “Hearing this, the multitude said ‘Lord, give us always this bread,’ and He continued ‘I am the Bread of Life; he that cometh to Me shall not hunger, and he that Believeth in Me shall never thirst!’ He then tells them clearly that the bread is His Flesh: ‘The bread that I will give you is My Flesh, for the life of the world.’ When they objected, saying ‘How can this Man give us His Flesh to eat?’ He insisted on the literal truth of His words, telling them with still greater emphasis that they must not only eat His Flesh,’ but must also drink His Blood: ‘Amen, Amen, I say to you; except you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you; he that eateth My Flesh and drinketh My Blood hath everlasting life and I will raise him up on the last day, for My Flesh is meat indeed, and My.‘Blood is drink indeed; he that eateth My Flesh and Drinketh My Blood abideth in Me and il in him!” Speaking of the institution of the I Blessed Sacrament, Father Gartlan I said: “Jesus fulfilled the promise at the Last Supper. ‘With desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you before I suffer! Taking bread He blessed and broke, and gave to His disciples and said: ‘Take ye and eat, this is My Body.’ And taking the. chalice He gave thanks and gave to them, saying: ‘Drink ye all of this, for this is 'My Blood of the New Testament i which shall be shed for you and for ' many unto the remission of sins.’ The ' woYds were in themselves unmistak- ! able, but they were doubly so in the light of the promise already made I that He would give them His Flesh to eat and His Blood to drink. The Apostles believed as we believe, that when He said ‘This is My Body; this is My Blood,’ that the bread and wine were changed into His Body and Blood.” “Our Lord did not institute this great Sacrament for the Apostles alone,” continued Father Gartlan. “He instituted it to belong to the Church for all time, for after this solemn act of consecration He had said ‘Do this in commemoration of Me.’ In every Catholic Church, in every country and nation on" the j earth, you will find the little lamp burning before the Tabernacle'to. re--1 mind us that Jesus Christ, Who walked the roads of Galilee and Judea; Who died upon the Cross of Calvary, is present in the Sacrament of His Love —the Holy Eucharist.”