The past three months have been a long stretch for us, enduring a fast that none of us ever expected. No doubt we are hungry. Hungry for human contact, hungry to reconnect with family and friends beyond the walls of our home. Hungry for peace of mind in the midst of current tensions simmering from coast to coast. Hungry to get back to “normal.”
And some of you have been hungry for bread itself. I don’t mean what one can find on the shelf at a nearby grocery store, but the bread of life, Jesus himself.
Welcome back. Today’s feast, which celebrates the core of our worship, provides an opportune setting for us to come together for the first time in months to celebrate Jesus’ presence in our lives. Of course, there are many ways that Jesus is present. He is present in the beauty of nature, from the smile of a baby to a view of the Cascades. He is present whenever we are gathered in his name and he is present in the Word of scripture. His greatest presence, however, is his real presence in the Eucharist.
Today’s feast is an fitting time for us to reflect on what happens at Mass. As every Catholic knows, bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ. They are not symbols of the Lord. They become the Lord. We call this sacrament holy communion because it is the joining of the faith community with Jesus Christ becoming present in each person who receives the Eucharist. Receiving communion isn’t just a private event between Jesus and the person who receives him. When doing this, he or she is publicly proclaiming to be part of the Catholic community.
This is an timely moment for some Eucharistic theology. At Mass, during the consecration, the substance of bread and wine are changed, although their appearance remains the same. Now, if you are skeptical, my response is this. If God, our creator, can create all that exists out of nothing from viruses to all living creatures, from the bluffs of our island to the most distant galaxies out of nothing, who are we to limit what God can do?
Granted, if you look at a host through a microscope, you couldn’t tell the difference between one that is and is not consecrated. The molecules of a consecrated host will resemble that of an unconsecrated host, not the molecules of a human body. Still we know the substance has been changed. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the bread and wine when consecrated truly become Jesus Christ. The substance of our gifts has changed, which is why they are now treated with reverence.
When we receive communion, we are receiving Christ, thus we have the potential to be changed as well. We believe this because of what Jesus said at the Last Supper. Detailed accounts of this meal appear in the gospels. They speak of Jesus blessing bread and saying, “This is my body.” Then sharing the cup and saying, “This is my blood.” Unlike some other passages in scripture, when he speaks figuratively or metaphorically, we now find Jesus speaking literally.
In the Eucharist, Jesus endeavors to nourish us. He knows our needs even before we express them. He is there for us, but we have to go beyond just receiving him to fully appreciate all that he is offering us. We have to let his presence transform us. When we allow Christ to do that, we are preparing ourselves to accept his gift of eternal life.
Think of the Eucharist as the Lord’s dying gift to you. We receive his body and blood, his humanity and his divinity. Now you may be thinking, “But I can’t have the cup.” True, but when you partake of one species, you actually receive both the body and blood of Jesus Christ. You become the body of Christ. Ideally, we then feel empowered to manifest his presence to others by what we say and do.
I presume that you have received the latest issue of Northwest Catholic, which contains a pastoral letter from Archbishop Etienne, entitled The Work of Redemption. Beginning today, we are entering a Year of the Eucharist. In the year ahead, he is urging us to deepen our awareness of the Eucharist. Some of you, for example, are doing that by reading the book on the Mass, which we are giving out to interested parishioners.
The archbishop notes, “There is nothing else like the Eucharist on earth: comparisons cannot do it justice!” This food and drink is different from any other food and drink. Do you view the Eucharist in the same way he does?
Not every one does. When it comes to human behavior, we tend to become complacent if we do the same task often enough, going through the motions without much thought. Now that you have been away from the sacrament for three months, I hope you are eager to become one with him, like a child about to receive first communion, saying “Amen!” with gratitude as you do so. We cannot be satisfied with just receiving communion though. We have to let his presence transform us. You have heard that we are what we eat. Christ’s body and blood becomes our flesh and blood. When we attentively partake of Christ in communion, we allow ourselves to be drawn deeply into the way he thought, felt, hoped and acted.