The Eucharist is at the heart of our Catholic faith. It is the time when we, as a Catholic family, celebrate who we are. As Catholics, we profess that through the power of the Holy Spirit invoked by the priest during the prayer of consecration, the bread and the wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. As the Catechism teaches us, the whole Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul and divinity. (Catechism of the Catholic Church N1374). Moreover, the Eucharist is not only a meal but also a sacrifice. Through his life, passion, death and resurrection Jesus Christ offered Himself to the Father so that we can today go to Him with all our anxieties, fears, hurts, wounds and sins. In return we are renewed with hope and strengthened by His life-giving presence. Furthermore, just as the body of Jesus Christ is broken for us we are also called to be broken for others. Just as we are nourished by the body and blood of Jesus Christ we are also encouraged to nourish others materially and spiritually. In short, the Eucharist helps us to be totally immersed in the very life of Jesus who is alive today.
Many people crave to have power. They are prepared to go to any length in order to be powerful. Through the Eucharist we as Catholic Christians have all the power that we need. It is a power that transforms people and situations for the better. It is a power that has a life changing effect. Jesus gave us Himself at the last supper “on the night that He was betrayed.” This was a very somber and trying moment for Jesus. Jesus was very hurt by Judas’ betrayal. After all he was one of the chosen ones to work closely with Him. He trusted Judas. Jesus was prepared to entrust him with everything that He stood for. And yet He knew that his trust was going to be betrayed. Jesus was deeply distressed by this turn of events.
Nevertheless, Jesus responded to this betrayal by giving everything that He had: Himself. Betrayal is never easy to deal with. It causes so much hurt, pain and anxiety. We may try to forget that it had occurred hoping that time will heal the wounds. We may try to sweep it under the carpet. However, the reality is that the time will come when we need to face this betrayal head on otherwise it will continue to fester within us. This is too much to face on our own. This is too much to resolve relying only on our human qualities and talents. These situations need the power of God to be resolved. Constantly nourished by the presence and power of Jesus present in the Eucharist we are enabled to respond in a manner that gives life and meaning in the midst of so much negativity and hurt.
The command of Jesus is very explicit. “Do this in memory of me.” Do not respond to hurt by adding more hurt. Do not resolve a negative situation by more negativity in the form of hate or vengeance. Rather transform it, by giving yourself totally in service to the one who has hurt you. We can only achieve this by being empowered and constantly nourished by the loving God who resides within us. Being actively involved in the celebration of the Eucharist and being nourished by the Body and Blood of Jesus we become agents of blessing and life giving change in these situations which are full of negativity and death.
Over the past weeks we have been following the story unfolding around the disappearance of a little girl called Madeleine McCann from her parent’s house in Portugal. The snatching of a little child from the protection and care of her loving parents is something that is considered to be so hurtful and so wrong. We might understand if the parents Kate and Gary McCann would feel so bitter and outraged by what had occurred. This situation would be enough to arise in them feelings of extreme anger and hatred towards the person responsible. The reality is that because the Catholic faith means so much to them Kate and Gary have found so much strength in God and in human nature. They have constantly expressed gratitude for the outpouring of compassion that they have received from so many. They have visited Lourdes to pray for their little child and they had a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI who held the photo of Madeleine in his hands as he prayed and blessed all the family. Both parents are regular church goers and it is this faith and their active participation in the Eucharist that is giving the necessary courage to continue on their journey of finding what has happened to their little daughter.
As I read their story, two things stayed in my heart and mind. First of all, these parents have shown how precious life is. They were looking for their child because as created by God Madeleine deserves the best. She has a dignity that needs to be protected and respected. Secondly, this event has prompted many people to get their act together and mobilize themselves to help both in the search for the little child as well as to support in a concrete and practical manner the parents. Many people are doing this because they desire to fight what is so evil and contrary to basic and decent human way of behaving. Out of so much pain, there is also emerging a ground swell of a deep commitment to do the right thing and to provide hope in such a stressful situation. The editorial of the Catholic weekly “The Tablet”, expressed this reality very clearly. “It is an extraordinary paradox, inexplicable without faith in God, that the appallingly wicket act of stealing her from her parents has increased the amount of good in the world.”
This is what happens when we act animated by the presence of Jesus Christ in us. This is what happens when we nourish ourselves with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ during the celebration of the Eucharist. Many years ago St Augustine expressed this amazing reality with these words, “In these signs (consecrated bread and wine), Christ the Lord willed to entrust to us his body and blood which he shed for the forgiveness of our sins. If you have received them properly, you yourselves are what you have received.” Consequently, “not only have we become Christians, we have become Christ Himself”. Let us treasure this Sacrament.
God Bless.
