“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in them” (John 6:56).
It is hard to think of a verse from scripture which sums up in a more precise way the entire challenge of the Catholic faith more profoundly than this passage from John. In it, Jesus invites us to believe that He has loved each one of us so much, that not only has He come into the world to show us His love, but He also wishes to give us His Body and Blood in order that we might know that His love for us is unconditional and constant.
As Catholics, the Eucharist challenges us to believe that a simple piece of bread will be transformed by the Holy Spirit to become Christ’s Body and Blood. The reason why God the Father sends the Holy Spirit forth to bring about this transformation is that He wishes His Son to dwell in our hearts and allow us to share eternal life with Him. The word which is used in scripture for this “indwelling of God” in our midst is “abide.” God wants to live in us and allow us to know that we are that important to Him. In the Eucharist, Jesus comes to be with us and show us His undying love for us. The Eucharist is the sacrament of His real presence, a presence that is not just outside of ourselves, but that comes into our very being and is digested by our act of consuming His Body and Blood. When we receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we are consuming Him who “abides” with us here and now so that our eternal communion with Him might begin today and not wait until we are with Him in Heaven. This is what Jesus means when He tells us: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” The Eucharist continues the proclamation which God the Father made when Jesus was born and took flesh among us. This proclamation is simply that God loves us so much He cannot wait until we get to Heaven— He desires to abide with us now. This He does by continuing His Son’s presence with us through the sacrament of the Eucharist.
Now as amazing as all that has been said above is, it is really only half the equation. The other half of the equation was perhaps most beautifully articulated by St. Augustine when he distributed the Eucharist to people in his diocese in the early 400’s in Carthage. When St. Augustine distributed the Eucharist to people at Mass he would say: “Christian become what you receive, the Body of Christ.” In this simple phrase, St. Augustine articulated the reason why Jesus gives us His Body and Blood. This gift is given to us so that Christ might abide in us and we might become like Him. As St. Augustine expresses so beautifully, Jesus gives us His Body and Blood so that we might become His Body in the world. The Christian receives Christ in order to become another Christ in the world. Each one of us by our Baptism has been made a member of Christ’s Body. Through the Eucharist, Christ gives Himself to us and continues to build us up to make Him present in the world. God loves us so much, that creating us in His image and likeness, we are all called to become His co-workers in the world. The transformation that the Eucharist is to work in the lives of each Christian is powerfully summarized in the the Third Eucharistic prayer, which we will use at all of our Masses this Sunday, as it states: “Grant that we, who are nourished by the Body and Blood of your Son and filled with His Holy Spirit, may become one body, one spirit in Christ.” The effect that the Eucharist is to have in the life of Christians was also beautifully summarized in the writings of a spiritual giant in the life of the Church, St. Theresa of Avila, as she wrote: “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.”
Back in 2004, St. John Paul II invited the Church to celebrate the Year of the Eucharist. During this year, he wrote an apostolic letter called Mane Nobiscum Domine, or in English Remain with us Lord. In it he wrote about the transformation that ought to take place in the life of each Christian at the celebration of the Eucharist. To summarize it very briefly, Pope John Paul said that at every Mass three things occur between the Christian and Christ. These three events or moments are: Encounter, Communion and Mission. It is important to say just a little bit about each of these three.
The first thing that happens when we come to Mass for the celebration of the Eucharist is that we have an encounter with God. In this encounter, we are invited to hear God’s Word proclaimed and and to be fed on the Body and Blood of Christ. Today’s first reading from the Book of Proverbs says a little something about this encounter. At times we may have no idea how to live our Christian life or deal with the struggles of the world. However, as Proverbs tells us, we do not have to know. Jesus invites us to His table and with His Word and His Body and Blood He will feed us so that with the help of the Holy Spirit we can find our way. He encounters us in the Eucharist in order that He might be with us and help us to become what He calls us to be.
As a result of this encounter, we are established in communion with Christ and the Church. Jesus uses the word “abide” to describe the way in which He will come to dwell in those who eat His flesh and drink His blood. As we hear His Word proclaimed and receive His Body and Blood, by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus comes to dwell within us and we are established in communion with Him and the other persons of the Holy Trinity. This communion leads to the eternal communion that we are called to have with Him in Heaven for all eternity. Thus He speaks of the eternal life to be enjoyed by those who receive Him. However, there is also another type of communion which is established by our encounter with Jesus. This is a communion with one another. As Christ dwells in us, we are built up into His body on earth, the Church. As His Blood flows through our veins by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are grafted together as one family and community in Christ— we become Church. One of the best ways to think of the communion that Christ calls us to through communion with Him is illustrated by the cross: it is a vertical and horizontal communion. By sending His Spirit into our hearts we are established in a vertical communion with God and the Holy Trinity. Bound together in love by the Trinity, we are built up in communion as brothers and sisters in Christ. The Church is to be one Body and one Spirit in Christ.
The communion which Christ calls us to within the Church through the Eucharist binds us together in a common mission. As we become the hands and feet of Christ, we are all of us called to speak His Word and proclaim His message in the world. Every Christian has a mission according to his or her vocation. After each Eucharist, we are sent into the world. The word Mass actually comes from the Latin dismissal from Mass, “Ite Missa est” (Go, Mass is finished). This sending emphasizes that Jesus gives us His Body and Blood not just to show us His love for us, but in order that we might be sent out into the world as His disciples and messengers. We are to bring Him to our work places, homes and schools. For some the vocation might be to pray, for others it might be an active ministry. However, all are called and sent with a mission to take their part in the Body of Christ.
This call to be an active member of the Body of Christ which the Eucharist gives to each of us also invites us to consider our participation in each Eucharistic celebration. There are different ministries that each of us can play in the parish’s liturgical assembly. Over the course of the next year, I would like to turn my attention as pastor to developing the different liturgical ministries here in the parish. Once September arrives, the parish will begin workshops to train ministers of hospitality, lectors, Eucharistic ministers, ministers of Communion to the sick and shut-ins and new altar servers. These ministries need to be developed before we can open the doors of our parish to invite others to join us. While not everyone can be involved in a liturgical ministry, everyone has a role in the liturgy. Some might be too shy, parents need to look after children and others might be too elderly. However, even those who do not take up an active ministry are called to have a role in the liturgy. Our parish liturgy is missing something when a member is absent. It is enough to sing in the pews, pray for the needs of the parish and be actively present. Each one adds by what they do and bring to our celebrations. In the coming months, if you do feel called to an active ministry in the liturgy, as you hear of the workshops for these ministries, please offer your name and step forward.
The incredible and all loving challenge of the Eucharist is not just that Christ gives us His Body and Blood and desires to abide with us. What is equally incredible is that He does so in order that we might become His presence in the world through this gift of Himself. Jesus loves each one of us so much He calls us to the dignity of being His presence in the world. He has come to be with us for all eternity and to give us His abiding presence today. His love cannot wait. As He comes to abide with us, Jesus invites us to allow His love to transform us so that we might be His presence in the world today— members of His Body the Church. As we are invited to receive His Body and Blood today, let us meditate on the wonderful challenge that was articulated by St. Augustine: “Christian, become what you receive, The Body of Christ.”
Fr. Michael McGourty – Pastor
