Jesus Christ is within us. When we were baptized, we received the indwelling of the
Holy Trinity, Father Son and Holy Spirit. The Presence of Christ is brought to a new
level when we receive communion. We cherish this Presence. We receive Him at least
weekly so that we can be united to His Eucharistic Presence. This is a greater sharing
in the Presence that is already within us. We pray every day, or at least we should. We
thank the Lord when things are going right, and we seek his help when things are not
going well. “My body is a Temple of God,” and so is yours. What a realization! We have
Jesus within us! We need to keep our bodies clean from sin. We keep our temples clean
because Christ dwells there. We go to the sacrament of penance not just to restore
Christ’s presence in the temple when we have lost it due to serious, mortal sin, but
clean it when it becomes dusty and dirty with lesser or venial sin. Life for us is all about
Jesus Christ. He is among us. He is within us. The goal of our lives is to have total
union with Him. St. Paul prayed in that second reading that he might present the
Colossians, and us, as perfect in Christ. Yes, we all have a long way to go before we
can get there, meaning in being with full union with God. But we have Jesus among us
and within us. “May he make us an eternal offering to you,” we pray in the Third
Eucharistic Prayer. And He will.
-Deacon Mariano
