Friday, June 8, 2012

The Source and Summit of Christian Life

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches the Eucharist is the "Source and summit of the Christian life (CCC, #1324). As Catholics, we are drawn to the altar, to be fed on the Word and the Eucharist, empowered through the Holy Spirit go out and proclaim the Good News to all who have ears.

 The Lord is clear in Scripture:

Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink (John 6:53-55).

And then at the Last Supper:

Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins (Mt 26:26-28).

I find it hard to interpret the text for anything other than what it states: the Eucharist we receive at Mass is radically changed through transubstantiation into Divine Food (the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ). The Eucharist feeds us, and empowered by the Spirit, allows us to go forth to live as Christ's witnesses in the world. Add to the fact that Jesus began His statement with the phrase, "Amen, amen" which, loosely translates to "Listen up!"--there is no doubt that this is foundational to our faith.

When I meditate on the words of Scripture and think about what I receive in the Eucharist, I am brought to tears. I have a degree in chemistry--so looking at this at a molecular level I realize how profound a gift is the Eucharist.

Jesus loves me enough to humble Himself to not only come down as an infant and ultimately die on the Cross for me, but continues to incarnate Himself in the bread and wine of the Eucharist. When I receive His Most Precious Body and Blood, I am receiving Him. When I ingest Him, He becomes part of my very fiber. His Blood mingles with mine. His Flesh becomes enmeshed in mine. In essence, His Being is co-mingled with my being. He becomes bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. I become, in reality, a Living Tabernacle--a sacred house for Christ. To think of it another way, I become a Living Sacrament--an outward sign, instituted by Christ, of an inward reality that Jesus is alive in the world and acting in and through me.

When you think of the Eucharist in this sense, I think it compels us to live differently, to think differently. Contemplating this more deeply, we see how our love and will can become transformed if we are open to the reality of the Eucharist--the Divine Indwelling--who is dwelling in us!

Let this Feast of Corpus Christi--the Body and Blood of Christ--fill us with awe and wonder as we pray and meditate on how Christ is calling each of us to be His Divine Presence in the world. I want to close with the words of St. Therese of Lisieux, who wrote:

Our Lord does not come down from Heaven every day to lie in a golden ciborium. He comes to find another heaven which is infinitely dearer to him - the heaven of our souls, created in His Image, the living temples of the Adorable Trinity. --Saint Thérèse of Lisieux

Let us always remember who we are, created in His Divine Image acting as His Divine agents in the world!


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