Jesus Touches Us with the Sacrament

Father Paulo Ricardo. Photo: Wesley Almeida / cancaonova.com

Why often when we communicate or confess it seems that nothing changes ?, challenges priest Paul

Let’s reflect on the healing that Jesus wants to give us, especially spiritual healing for the forgiveness of sins. Why often when communicate [receive the Eucharist] or confess, it seems that nothing changes? If Jesus is real, why, when we receive the sacraments does it seem that nothing changes?

We need to understand one thing: God works in our lives, He is present as a living God. God chose an instrument to play in our lives, but when he plays it is not the Trinity that touches us directly, but He touches us through the humanity of Christ. He dwells in inascível light in Heaven but he wanted to come to this world and became man in the womb of the Virgin Mary, God created for Himself a body and a soul like yours. Jesus is a man like us and it is Christ’s humanity that touches us. When God wanted to save us, so he wanted to save us through the humanity of Jesus.

When the man Jesus dies on the cross our salvation happens. When his humanity dies and  God does not, we are saved, but if you do not receive this salvation in your life it is no good. As Christ did to deliver salvation for us? Through seven instruments that are the sacraments that sprang open on the cross through the open chest. When the soldier pierced the Lord’s side flowed blood and water which are the signs of the sacraments. The first is water that is the sacrament of baptism, the blood is the greatest of the sacraments: the Eucharist. It is as if Jesus had a carpentry shop and needed to use tools to model the wood of our hearts.

If you do not receive the seven sacraments receive it is difficult to touch the humanity of Christ. Baptism is the touch of the permanent grace of Christ, he touches us with his living water. Only two sacraments do  we receive often, communion and confession, the others are once received once, except  for the anointing of the sick in the case of serious illness and marriage in case of widowhood.

Speaking of confession, what often happens in our lives is that we confess and we do not see anything changing. If you go to confession and have the least regret, you are forgiven of their sins, but that does not mean you recover all the grace lost. When you sin and lose talents and your repentance is minimal you recover a few talents, then our way to God is like a stone that is thrown in the air, it will decelerate until it begins to fall, that’s what happens to people who confess without a true act of fervent faith. They confess less and less and become pagan who are within the Church but have no real life, the Holy Spirit is not acting because the person did not let Christ truly touch you.

In the passage of the Gospel where Jesus is in the crowd and he feels that someone that someone touched  him. He feels the touch because it was a touch of love, but with others nothing happened since they acted without fervor, without hope, for them Jesus was a curiosity, a “circus lion”. He was there for a show.You came to the PHN to see the circus lion? But know that you came to see the Lion of Judah who wants to touch and change your life today. If you came here to walk around, because your colleagues are here, selling drugs or getting a girlfriend, know that you fell from his horse because Jesus will catch you. Here is the invitation that you are in sin, do not go walking to the confessional but go running because you need the Risen Christ the touch. You need to touch the Christ with the faith of the woman who was bleeding.

Father Paulo Ricardo. Photo: Wesley Almeida / cancaonova.com

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A communion made with the faith of this woman is capable of changing your life a lot more than if you take communion every day without fervor, without faith and openness of heart. Let Christ touch you. It is important to know how to confess, you need true repentance. But watch out! Repentance does not mean feeling. Confession is a court and what you have to do is accuseyourself, do not go explaining put forth the priest what you feel. Sometimes, the person goes to confession in an act of vanity, thinking “how I am wonderful as I have done it?” Should not be so. You go to the confessional to say you hate your sin.

You are the defendant, you must therefore be accused, and the priest sitting there is the judge, but it is not the priest himself is the risen Christ, and when raises his hand to absolve you it is wounded palm of the Risen Christ who touches. For confession to bear fruit you need to be the accuser, you can not feel anything, but need to have an attitude of faith, you make your list, confesses your sin and make the firm resolve never to sin. I am Sorry, and I’m not going to try.

PHN – Not Today – is the project never to sin again, just affirming that every day. We offend God when we sin because we hurt ourselves.

The sacrament of communion is the Risen Christ who gives as a spiritual meal. The problem is that crowds of people get in the communion line with indifference.
If you love Jesus really, after communion you will feel a spiritual force. You feel the power of communion when Jesus loves your brother. To feel the force you need to receive communion correctly. If you are in mortal sin, do not receive.

When you receive and confess and  nothing happens, many times it’s because you do so without faith.Grace is given as the willingness and cooperation of the recipient. Stop crawling like a snake, you were made to fly like an eagle, but for that you need to touch the humanity of Christ.

Love is not a feeling, it is eternal, is a blood covenant that says I do not give up on you. Do not give up on yourself! You were made to love and not to be selfish. It was done to give life and not to use others and throw them away. To fly like a bright star, like the saints, for this is the will of our Father in heaven. God does crazy things for us. He died for us, He wants us to go to heaven. If you have pain, sores, ask God through the Holy Spirit to change the wounds of throbbing pain into glorious wounds of love. The Spirit transforms suffering into love. Carry your cross to Christ and let him touch your wounds.

Fr. Paulo Ricardo

Portuguese Version