Hello everyone! Heyo! Welcome back to Scattering Flowers with Elise and Miles, a podcast where we read the Daily Gospels and the Saint of the Day.
Let’s get started! Today is Friday, June 12th, and for the summer weeks we are going to do the ABCs of our Catholic faith and saints.
Today is the letter E for Eucharist, and the scripture to reflect on is John 6, 51.
I am the living bread, which came down from heaven.
If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever.
And the bread which I shall give for the rest of the world is my flesh.
Eucharist means Thanksgiving.
At the Mass, when the priest blesses the bread and wine, the bread becomes the holy body of Christ, and the wine becomes the blood of Christ.
It’s not just a symbol or a reminder.
It really actually is truly Jesus, just like he promised at the Last Supper.
Every church has a gold box where the Eucharist, Jesus, is in the tabernacle.
We usually bow or kneel or pray quietly, taking the Eucharist fills you with Jesus' love, peace, and strength.
Today’s Saint of the Day is E, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
She was born in 1774 and died in 1821.
She was a patron saint of Catholic schools.
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton is the first American citizen to be canonized.
Born in New York City, Elizabeth was raised in a small home.
She was well-inducted, but her mother died when she was four, and her younger sister died the next year.
Her father remarried, but the new marriage was not happy and ended in separation.
At 20, Elizabeth married William Seton, a wealthy businessman.
A couple of happy years later, they had five children, and unfortunately, after 10 years of marriage, the business failed and William died of tuberculosis.
While in Italy seeking a cure for her husband, Elizabeth encountered the Catholic faith, and she longed to convert.
However, she knew that her family would disown if she did.
In the end, she converted for Jesus fully present in the Eucharist, our Blessed Mother Mary, and because the Church is the true Church founded by Jesus Christ, Elizabeth’s family did abandon her.
The Eucharist is a mystery and what is called a sacrament, something far greater than we can see with our eyes.
Jesus loves us so much that he wanted to make himself present with us always.
Eventually, she started a parish school and then began a religious order for women.
Elizabeth, now known as Mother Seton, gave us an incredible example of faithfulness and willingness to follow Jesus no matter what.
Let’s pray.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Dear Jesus, thank you for the Eucharist.
Thank you that we can always be with you.
And help us to use the things that we learn to help us draw closer to you.
Saint Elizabeth and Seton, pray for us.
Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Thank you so much for listening.
We’ll be back next week scattering more flowers.
See ya! Thank you for watching!