The first Sunday of the month sees a traditional spiritual renewal at the shrine of the Precious Blood of Christ in Ludbreg. For the month of August, the renewal was led by the parish priest in solidum Petar Mlakar, with the theme of the meeting being 'Receiving holy communion: correct attitude and manner'.
Mlakar highlighted in his sermon that the correct attitude of the heart before God is paramount. He stressed that, alongside inner disposition, the manner in which a person receives the holy communion is equally important, pointing to the need for deep reverence for the sacrament.
To explain the theological basis of the Eucharist, the preacher reflected on the history of the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ. Pope Urban IV established this feast so that the Church might clearly affirm its faith in the real presence of Christ’s body and blood, soul and divinity, in the sacrament of the Eucharist. This decision was a response to certain currents and heresies in Christianity that called into question the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Pope Urban IV entrusted the writing of hymns to St Thomas Aquinas. The Church still sings the hymns written by St Thomas Aquinas, among them the verse 'I bow in worship before you'. The attitude of worship is defined as the attitude of a Christian before God, and especially before God present in the Eucharist, that is, in the holy host and the holy chalice.
As believers gaze upon the mystery of Christ’s love and presence in the Eucharist, the mind ceases. People are often amazed at how the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is possible, considering it a wondrous and miraculous phenomenon that transcends human understanding.
