Today is the 42nd year anniversary of the day on which Ronald Reagan signed the bill creating MLK Jr. Day as a national holiday. It is a fine day to reflect on what both reason and faith tell us about the inherent dignity of each human person.Catholic teaching begins with a simple, profound truth: all individuals are created in the image and likeness of God. That implies no one's worth depends on race, wealth, talent, or social standing. Martin Luther King Jr. reminded the world of that same Godly principle — that justice and equality are not political inventions, but moral imperatives written by God Himself.Racism, prejudice, and division distort God's creation. But as we see others in the way He sees them, compassion becomes the replacement for prejudice. Peace is not actually begun by laws or by speeches, but in hearts that are molded in love — the sort of love that recognizes the face of Christ in every individual.

As the priest raises the host and speaks the words, "This is my body," heaven and earth meet. It's a silent, mundane moment from the human perspective — a man speaking gentle words over bread and wine. But beneath the surface, something eternal occurs.The priest doesn't do this in his own name; he does it in the person of Christ. His voice, hands, and breath are employed as instruments of the divine. The church around him falls silent — not out of ritual habit, but out of respect. The very words that Jesus spoke at the Last Supper are spoken through the centuries, transforming the ordinary into the holy.What is simple to the eyes is, in fact, the greatest miracle we have ever seen. The altar becomes Calvary. The host and chalice do not hold symbols, but Christ Himself — present, living, and sacrificed for us.