Every time I hear the priest during the consecration at Mass echo Jesus’ words “Do this in memory of me,” I think that this is something Jesus wants us to do—almost like a command—but it is the best direction or responsibility he could have given his followers: Receive the true Body and Blood of our saving Lord! That is better than winning any lottery or taking any life-saving, tried-and-true medication!

To receive the actual Body of the Lord into your own body, to be that intimate with Christ, who died on the cross and rose from the dead, and who is the Second Person of the Trinity is such a tremendous gift to each of us! What an awesome invitation he gives us at every celebration of the Eucharist! I am so blessed to comply!

And how about that prayer we say at Mass, the “Gloria”? We say, “We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory.” What we are doing is really helping us! We are giving the attention, praise, gratitude, and honor to God, and taking the focus off ourselves! God won’t be less of who he is if we don’t do this, but we gain by reinforcing our understanding, as we prioritize and emphasize who deserves our love and attention. We are creatures with emotions and intelligence; we are reminded that we should use our power and creativity to give proper time and attention to acknowledge who God is and that he is always with us.

Dane was a big girl. She sat behind me on the school bus that transported us to a private high school in a nearby town. My cousin, Donna, was sitting next to me. I don’t recall what I said to Dane or what exactly provoked her, but, to my surprise, she grabbed the two ends of my winter scarf that was draped around my neck and proceeded to pull. I don’t think she was trying to end my life or even injure me, but she certainly scared me.

Dane was twice my size and probably did not realize her own strength. I poked Donna and she reached over and freed me from my predicament. I suffered no ill after-effects from the incident, but when my mother saw the remaining irritation mark on my neck when I got home from school, she had quite a phone conversation with Dane’s mother. Needless to say, I did not sit in front of Dane on the bus after that.

What brought that incident to my mind? Well, February 3, the memorial of St. Blaise, is the day we Catholics have our throats blessed in church. St. Blaise, a doctor and bishop of Sebastea, in what is now Turkey, is credited with having saved a child who was choking on a fishbone. Saints & Angels Catholic Online tells us that St. Blaise was a “physician of souls” and a “beast tamer” as well.