Bishops statement on the Most Holy Eucharist
In light of the Bishops document, "'Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper': On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist" here is a reflection on the Most Holy Eucharist and how the Theology of the Body applies to the Most Blessed Sacrament:
“This is my Body…this is my Blood”(Mark 14:22-24). “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:55). “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John 6:54).
Jesus’ words in the Gospels clearly indicates His presence within the Eucharist, especially in the sixth chapter of John. Christ says, “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” This is the Eucharist: the Body and Blood of Christ. And what does Christ then tell us? “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John 6:54). We have this gift in the Eucharist: the sacrifice of our Lord for us.
This sacrifice is a gift and an act of love, an act which Christ also calls us to participate in, every time we go to Mass. His sacrifice on Calvary and His sacrifice at the Last Supper share in the same message: Christ came to save us. He loved us so much that He was willing to give Himself to us fully for our redemption. That is the message of the Eucharist: a loving sacrifice.
But, he did it in a most special way. He became human. Christ could have opened the gates of heaven for us just by willing it. But, He wanted to show us how much He loved us. So He opened His arms wide on the cross to show us that He was willing to embrace us. As He bore the weight of our sins on the cross, He continued to reach out, and welcome us back. He took on human flesh to share in our earthly life.
And by His death, Resurrection, and Ascension, He elevated the human person to be like God. In the words of Pope John Paul the Great, he opened “to all people the prospect of being ‘divinized’ and thus of becoming more human” (Incarnationis Mysterium 2). He elevated the dignity of the human person to an even more glorious state than was found in the Garden of Eden. All out of love for us.
God is love, as Benedict XVI has told us. He desires us to share in this love. And He gives us this chance each week at Mass. In fact, we can participate in His love for us each and every day at daily Mass. Moreover, He is present within the tabernacle in every Catholic Church. His true presence, Body and Blood, right there in the tabernacle. All we have to do is walk into a Church, and just say hello. It’s that simple. And, it’s just to return His love, to let Him know that we love Him.
So we should receive this gift of the Lord in the Eucharist and remember that each time we receive His gift of self, we are called to that same gift of self. Christ offers us His Body and Blood. He gives us all of Him as He did upon the Cross. In the same way, we are then challenged to respond to His offering of a gift by offering a gift back to Him: our own selves. We too are called to give all that we can, our own body and blood, back to Him. That is how we imitate Christ through a gift of love, and this is what our “Amen” means when we receive Holy Communion.
But, this extends far beyond the confines of the Church building. At the end of Mass, we are sent forth to “Go in peace.” And in our own way, we are all sent as missionaries of the Eucharist. Just as the Blessed Mother brought the gift of Christ to her cousin Elizabeth, so too should we seek to allow Christ to dwell within us and bring Him to others. Thus, we should allow ourselves to be conformed to the King of the Universe who resides within us, after we receive Holy Communion.
Thus, when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we should imitate His most Blessed Mother when she said yes to the Angel Gabriel: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
It is purely a gift that we are able to be like the Blessed Mother, bearers of Christ into the world. For as Christ came into the world that we might become like Him, let us also take Christ into the world so that others may know Him. Let us bring Christ to the world so that it may know what true holiness is, what true happiness is:
“The Son of God came to share in our lowly humanity that we might come to share in his holy divinity. When we receive Christ in Holy Communion, we are united to the Risen Christ and come to share in his divine life. Thus, through Christ’s indwelling, we are likewise united, in the Holy Spirit, to God the Father, the source of all holiness.” (USCCB, “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist, pg. 3, Nov. 14, 2006)
“This is my Body…this is my Blood”(Mark 14:22-24). “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” (John 6:55). “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John 6:54).
Jesus’ words in the Gospels clearly indicates His presence within the Eucharist, especially in the sixth chapter of John. Christ says, “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” This is the Eucharist: the Body and Blood of Christ. And what does Christ then tell us? “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (John 6:54). We have this gift in the Eucharist: the sacrifice of our Lord for us.
This sacrifice is a gift and an act of love, an act which Christ also calls us to participate in, every time we go to Mass. His sacrifice on Calvary and His sacrifice at the Last Supper share in the same message: Christ came to save us. He loved us so much that He was willing to give Himself to us fully for our redemption. That is the message of the Eucharist: a loving sacrifice.
But, he did it in a most special way. He became human. Christ could have opened the gates of heaven for us just by willing it. But, He wanted to show us how much He loved us. So He opened His arms wide on the cross to show us that He was willing to embrace us. As He bore the weight of our sins on the cross, He continued to reach out, and welcome us back. He took on human flesh to share in our earthly life.
And by His death, Resurrection, and Ascension, He elevated the human person to be like God. In the words of Pope John Paul the Great, he opened “to all people the prospect of being ‘divinized’ and thus of becoming more human” (Incarnationis Mysterium 2). He elevated the dignity of the human person to an even more glorious state than was found in the Garden of Eden. All out of love for us.
God is love, as Benedict XVI has told us. He desires us to share in this love. And He gives us this chance each week at Mass. In fact, we can participate in His love for us each and every day at daily Mass. Moreover, He is present within the tabernacle in every Catholic Church. His true presence, Body and Blood, right there in the tabernacle. All we have to do is walk into a Church, and just say hello. It’s that simple. And, it’s just to return His love, to let Him know that we love Him.
So we should receive this gift of the Lord in the Eucharist and remember that each time we receive His gift of self, we are called to that same gift of self. Christ offers us His Body and Blood. He gives us all of Him as He did upon the Cross. In the same way, we are then challenged to respond to His offering of a gift by offering a gift back to Him: our own selves. We too are called to give all that we can, our own body and blood, back to Him. That is how we imitate Christ through a gift of love, and this is what our “Amen” means when we receive Holy Communion.
But, this extends far beyond the confines of the Church building. At the end of Mass, we are sent forth to “Go in peace.” And in our own way, we are all sent as missionaries of the Eucharist. Just as the Blessed Mother brought the gift of Christ to her cousin Elizabeth, so too should we seek to allow Christ to dwell within us and bring Him to others. Thus, we should allow ourselves to be conformed to the King of the Universe who resides within us, after we receive Holy Communion.
Thus, when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we should imitate His most Blessed Mother when she said yes to the Angel Gabriel: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
It is purely a gift that we are able to be like the Blessed Mother, bearers of Christ into the world. For as Christ came into the world that we might become like Him, let us also take Christ into the world so that others may know Him. Let us bring Christ to the world so that it may know what true holiness is, what true happiness is:
“The Son of God came to share in our lowly humanity that we might come to share in his holy divinity. When we receive Christ in Holy Communion, we are united to the Risen Christ and come to share in his divine life. Thus, through Christ’s indwelling, we are likewise united, in the Holy Spirit, to God the Father, the source of all holiness.” (USCCB, “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist, pg. 3, Nov. 14, 2006)
Labels: Eucharist
posted by Matthaeus Evangelista at 3:57 PM
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