"The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break,is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16)
This is an incredibly important weekend for us as Catholics. On this day, we remember that the Eucharist is the most important prayer of our faith. We celebrate what God has done for us in giving us the Eucharist over and over on altars throughout the world. We dedicate ourselves to our faith and to receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in our lives. We remember. We celebrate. We dedicate ourselves. It’s the journey of faith.
In remembering the Eucharist as the most important prayer of the Catholic tradition, we are recommitting ourselves to believing that this bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of Jesus expressed at the Last Supper, the bread and wine on the altar change not in appearance but in identity. It is now the Body and Blood of Christ! The Lord himself gave the Church the Eucharist, and as seen in today’s second reading from Paul to the Corinthians, the first generation of Christians were celebrating the Eucharist and believing that, indeed, receiving this Bread is to receive Christ. We remember that this weekend. It is the foundational prayer of the Church, and the prayer from which all other forms of prayer and community service derive.
With that, we celebrate what God has done for us. Our belief in the Eucharist leads us to a place of awe and wonder in God’s plan for you and me, His children. He makes himself available to us weekly, or even daily. Think of it. Though imperfect and sinful, we have a chance for eternal life. Each time we participate in the Eucharist, we are sacramentally participating in the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. For it is the same Jesus who suffered, died and rose from the dead, who is present on the altar! Can you see what God has done for us? He lets us participate in His life in consuming His Body and Blood, the Eucharist.
In remembering and celebrating the Eucharist, we dedicate ourselves to making it a priority in our lives as Catholic Christians. We will never truly understand the Eucharist from a scientific point of view. It is a mystery that is to be embraced. We know deep in our hearts of the truth of the Eucharist. An eye that sees the world only through the prism of science will see only bread and wine; the eye of faith will see the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ. We know it to be true because we have experienced its effect in our lives. Due to the power of the Eucharist, we are holier and closer to the God who created us. We simply know that and thus dedicate ourselves to its place and practice as the center of our lives. It is that much of a priority.
We participate in the very life of God in receiving the Eucharist. Let’s give this feast of His Body and Blood its due in remembering the identity of the Eucharist as the Body and Blood of Christ, celebrating what God has done for us and dedicating ourselves to it. It is the foundation of our faith!
