Father Francisco Cervantes

CatholicView received an email from a young Middle Eastern man who who asked for prayers because of the grim situation that is currently happening in his country.  Father Francisco Cervantes has this to say concerning the troubling happenings because of Christian belief:

“I am overwhelmed by the events happening in the Middle East and especially Egypt in regards to the persecution of Christians by terrorists using religion as a pretext for murder and persecution.  I feel helpless and I, too, ask God where He is in these kinds of horrible situations.  I am immediately reminded of the biblical verse in the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, Verse 11 when Jesus said this:  “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” […]

Is the blessing of receiving the Eucharist diminished if you only receive the wafer and not the wine?