Dear friends in Christ

Behold the Lamb of God! With these words St John the Baptist introduces Jesus to the world on the banks of the Jordan River. These words are still said every day by priests before the moment of Holy Communion, as we are invited to make an act of faith in Jesus, and an act of humility before we approach the Altar to receive Him. The image of the Lamb evokes gentleness and meekness. For the ancient Jews the image of the Lamb evoked sacrifice, since it was this animal that was slaughtered in the Temple as a sacrifice for sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who by His death, has definitively healed our sins. Jesus consistently reaches out to sinners, that they may be recipients of the mercy He brought to mankind. We can never lose hope of forgiveness when it is Christ Who forgives. All we have to do is approach Him in confident faith and trust. This happens first of all in Baptism by which all sin is cleansed. Subsequently in the Christian life this is achieved by the Sacrament of Penance, Confession. This Sacrament facilitates a pure and innocent approach to Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist. The Church takes care to remind us that we should not approach Holy Communion if we are conscious of serious sin, without first having gone to Confession. This is the consistent teaching of the Church based on the doctrine of St Paul who says that if we eat and drink the Body and blood of the Lord unworthily, then we eat and drink damnation on ourselves (cf 1Cor 11:27) Let each of us take care, examine our lives and consciences, and see if we always approach Holy Communion with the correct dispositions, having purified our lives of anything that is contrary to the teaching of Jesus. We ask Our Lord to show us how to be meek and gentle, as He is, and to be filled with love-sorrow when we approach Him, The Lamb of God.

God bless you!

Msgr Kevin Hale