Dear Friends,
This is the third week we are invited to journey with Christ as he continues to explain to us the true meaning of the Eucharist. Sacrament of unity, and food for our journey, the Eucharist is explained to us today through the prism of the real presence. And the most amazing thing is that WE ARE TAUGHT BY GOD HIMSELF! What an amazing blessing it is for us to be taught by God about His true presence in the Eucharist! Here we receive Christ Himself who said, “Behold I am always with you until the end of the ages.”
Undoubtedly, the mystery of the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist constitutes an ongoing challenge even for very devout Catholics. Many among us still have difficulty to understand it and to grasp it when Christ says, “I am the bread of life.” While the people of his time saw an insult in the statement, and even saw themselves treated as cannibals, the people of our times just see in the Eucharist, a “wafer” and a “drop of wine.” We forget the eucharistic miracle that occurs at the consecration when bread and wine are transubstantiated to the true body and true blood of Christ. Christ does not declare that “this is like my body,” or “this is like my blood.” He says, “This IS my Body,” and “This IS my Blood.” While we see nothing change through and with our human eyes, it our faith that makes us see Him here the very same way the two disciples on the journey to Emmaus saw him at the breaking of bread.
What is for you today? What do you see and believe is happening here as we gather around Christ who is the Victim, the Altar and the Priest sacrificing Himself for your sake? What and who do you think you are receiving? And if this is just a “wafer,” what is the meaning of this utterance and confession, “Lord, I am not worthy that you shall enter into my house. Say only a word and my soul shall be healed!” Sometimes, it tends to become just a repetition and we miss to deepen the true meaning of our own words and confession. Today, we are once more given the opportunity to dive into the mystery of God who makes himself available to us to journey with and to carry out our brokenness as He breaks himself into pieces for you and I.
This truth leads us to another consideration, mainly that the way we receive the Eucharistic Christ is revelatory of our belief and our faith in the true presence of Christ here. If we believe in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, this should impact and guide the respect and devotion we demonstrate at the reception of Christ. When we respond, “Amen” to the confession of the priest as he says, “The body of Christ,” we declare nothing else but the acceptance of that truth: that we are truly receiving Christ, body and blood, soul and divinity; the Source of our life.
Friends, today, as we approach the table of the Lord, let us be mindful of Who we are receiving. As He feeds us, Christ transforms us to be like Him as we become living Eucharist. By and through the different and multiple sacrifices we accept today for the sake of brothers and sisters in need, we make Christ present to them, and we make the Eucharist present to them. Through us others experience the presence of Christ we celebrate here. Christ transmits us eternal life as He feeds us, so that we may do likewise. For as Saint Paul says, when we receive Him, we no longer live for ourselves but for His sake and the sake of our bothers and sisters in need and with whom Christ has Himself identified.
And let us continue to pray for one another and for our parish family.
Fr. Emery