in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit in grace to you and peace from god our father and the lord jesus christ and with your spirit my brothers and sisters let us acknowledge our state and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred lord jesus you raise the dead to life in the spirit lord have mercy lord have mercy lord jesus you bring pardon and peace to the center christ have mercy christ have mercy lord jesus you bring light to those in darkness lord have mercy lord have mercy may almighty god have mercy on us forgive us our sins and bring us through everlasting life amen let us pray father of mercy who gave us in same game in a shining witness of love for the poorest and most the banded grant that by his intercession as faithful witnesses of the heart of your son jesus we too may be servants of the most needy and rejected through our lord jesus christ your son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit one god forever and ever amen a reading from the acts of the apostles saul still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the lord when set up high priests and asked him for letters so to synagogue the reply came i am jesus whom you are persecuting now get up and go into this city and you will be told what you must do the men who were traveling with him stood speechless for they heard the voice but could see no one saw got up on the ground but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing so they let him by the hand and brought him to damascus for three answered here i am lord lord said to him get up and go to the street called straight and ask at the house of judas for a man from  your name but billboard said to him go for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before gentiles kings and children of israel and i will show him what he will have to suffer for my name so i and i a swings and entered the house laying his hands on him he said saul my brother the lord has sent me jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy spirit mediately things like scales fell from his eyes began at once the reclaim jesus and the synagogues that he is the son of god the word of the lord would go out to all the world and the lord be with you a reading from the holy gospel according to john unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you do not have life within you whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and i will raise him on the last day for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and i in him just as the living father sent me and i have life because of the father so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me this is the bread that came down from heaven unlike your ancestors who ate and still die whoever eats this bread will live forever these things jesus said while teaching in the synagogue in comparing them the gospel of the lord time it's always a great great celebration within parishes throughout the diocese and really i would imagine throughout the whole country the st and nd weekends of may are unique in that way so for the past year or so catty kists and catholic school teachers have been instructing their students all about the mystery of the real prizes and the kids get it and on st communion day when the preacher might even have a little bit of a quiz with the children and ask them about the sliver of bread and the cup of wine they know one mediately because they've been taught that the bread is the body of christ and the blood the wine is the blood of christ and they further on the stand that when they receive that holy communion two things happen to them the st is that they become a little bit like jesus they become a part of jesus when jesus and his into them at the same time jesus becomes part of them that he dwells within them so we heard that as we work our way through the bread of life discourse and as it comes to a conclusion tomorrow with that with that final episode that important teachings that jesus said that not everybody gets this concept and i would imagine that our young in wonderful boys and girls over time will forget that concept adults certainly do not everybody gets the fact that bread and wine become body and blood not everybody understands that when we receive we become like jesus and jesus becomes like us polls certainly didn't get it i saw rather in his former life he didn't get it all until this tremendous conversion experience took place where the lord appeared to him and said why do you persecute me it was a revelation that jesus two elves in the in the lives of people so after this conversion  experience paul ultimately got it saying damien feast we celebrate today damian the leper the impressive story of that priest who went to hawaii and to work in the leper colony he got it he got it when he realized that jesus christ dwelled within the lives of the leprous people that he served and you know the story about how he worked among them for many many years and he spilled scolding water on his hand and he didn't feel anything and he realized that he had contracted leprosy that he had become one of them really had become jesus christ in their midst and i remember reading the story where he get up at nantes and address the people and said to them we leopards my brothers and sisters we lepers were all the same day man got it pole eventually got it we don't always get it when we don't treat one another as if they were the personification of jesus we miss the point that we don't get the message that jesus came to bring appreciation for the institution of the eucharist that we may be nourished by the real presence of the lord in our lives let us pray to the lord for those who oversee the political and economic structures of states and nations that they just leave provide for those unable to defend themselves let us pray to the lord for families not at peace because of domestic violence that they may find help in healing through the assistance of caring people let us pray to the lord for our parish community that we will grow in faith and holiness during this easter season let and for our brother yardley and all those who have died that they may have a share in the home of the risen lord let us pray to the lord almighty god you call your pray brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours will be acceptable to god the almighty father made a lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praising glory of his name  receive oh lord we pray the offerings placed upon your altar in commemoration of bless a damien so that as you brought him glory you may through these sacred mysteries read to wash your pardon don't times to what claim you will lord but in this time above all to laud you yet more gloriously when christ our passover has been sacrificed he never ceases to offer himself for us but the and ever pleads our cause before you he is the sacrificial victim who dies no more the lamb one slain who lives forever therefore overcome with pascall joy every land you are indeed holy oh lord the fount of all holiness make holy therefore these gifts we pray by sending down your spirit upon them like they do for all so that they may become for us the body and blood of our lord jesus christ at the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his passion he took bread and giving thanks broke it and gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and eat of it for this is my body which will be given up for you in a similar way when supper was and he took the chalice and once more giving thanks he gave it to his disciples saying take this all of you and drink from it for this is the chalice of my blood the blood of the new and eternal covenant which will be poured out for you when for many for the forgiveness of sins do this in memory of me celebrate the memorial of his death and resurrection we offer you aboard the bread of life and the chalice of salvation giving thanks that you have held us worthy to be in your presence and minister to you humbly we crave that partaking of the body and blood of christ we may be gathered into one by the holy spirit remember lord your church spread throughout the world and bring her to the fullness of charity together with franc timothy your cardinal archbishop his brother bishops and all the clergy remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection and all who have die in your mercy welcome them into the light of your face have mercy on us all we pray that with the blessing virgin mary mother of god with blessing joseph her spouse with the blessing apostles and all th evil graciously grant peace in our days but by the help of your mercy we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress as we await the blessid hope and the coming of our savior jesus christ for the kingdom the power and the glory are yours now and forever lord jesus christ who said to your apostles peace i leave you my peace i give you look not on our sins but on the faith of richard and gracious may partaking at the heavenly table almighty god confirm and increase strength from on high in all who celebrate the feast day of blessing damian that we may preserve an integrity