Naturally, mysteries of faith are usually not completely comprehensible as they can be very confusing. But they are to be accepted and believed because God in Christ reveals them, and our Lord is one who can neither deceive nor be deceived. One such mystery is the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist- the Body and Blood of Christ.

In the Gospel of today, we see how difficult it was for people to believe that Jesus could give them his flesh as food and his blood to drink in order that they may have eternal life. For his hearers, it was quite abhorrent. Jesus’ words place him outside the bounds of civilized society. Some interpreters would find some way to make the words of Jesus sound respectable by reading them as symbolic: Jesus could not have meant his flesh and blood but was referring to something else. But this interpretive attempt falls apart, especially considering the exact words of Jesus at the Lord’s Supper, “This is my body…this is my blood”. Just as it is difficult for some people to comprehend how the reality of God is made present in Jesus Christ of Nazareth, it is incomprehensible for some people how Jesus could be really present in ordinary bread and wine, notwithstanding a doctrine which teaches a substantial change of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ upon the words of consecration by an ordained priest (transubstantiation). For such people, all they need is faith in the word of God, in what Jesus says. Such faith offers what the senses cannot offer.

In the Holy Eucharist, the “real” Jesus gets too close or near, indeed becomes part of us. This is precisely what the Church has found promising and fascinating.  There is finally no distance between the Lord and the faithful. The reality of Jesus, the reality of God can be held in the hand and eaten and digested. What a marvel! In the Holy Eucharist, we have a tangible gift of the one who does not withhold himself from us. One who offers to us himself-flesh and blood, to give us life. 

Jesus’ gift of his flesh as food and his blood as drink to us is a scandal for the unbeliever. A matter for which they grumble and doubt in pitiable disbelief. Such people walk away, disappointed, and disgusted. But we, believers, like Peter and the disciples remain with the Lord, believing and exclaiming: ‘Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life’. Let us, therefore, remind ourselves what the Holy Eucharist means and implies for us who receive it as the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. 

Do you know that the Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament of sacraments and distinctively called the Blessed Sacrament? It is the first in dignity among other sacraments because all other sacraments are directed to the Eucharist as their source, summit, and fulfillment. It is to it that all devotions and ecclesial life are drawn. Indeed, the Eucharist is Jesus Christ Himself under the visible appearance of bread and wine. Through the consecrating prayer of an ordained ordinary minister of the Eucharist, by power of the Holy Spirit, bread, and wine change substantially into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This sacramentality can only be appreciated with the eyes of faith.  

Do you know that the Eucharist is called Thanksgiving? It is an action of thanksgiving to God for the gift of our salvation in Jesus the Christ. The offering to us of his Son by our God is the greatest act of love and when we celebrate the Eucharist, we express our sincere appreciation of this unforgettable divine gesture. We thank Jesus our Redeemer for his redemptive act which has offered us hope of salvation and a deeper relationship with the Father through Him and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Believers who celebrate the Eucharist become people of thanksgiving and imbibe the virtue of gratitude as they live their new life in Christ to the glory of God.  

Do you remember that the Eucharist is called Holy Communion? In the Holy Eucharist, believers commune with the Triune God, the Saints and with one another. When we celebrate the Eucharist, the Angels and the Saints accompany us in the praise and worship of God who descends in the Tri-unity of persons and relates with the liturgical community, gifting numerous divine blessings to all of us. It is indeed a fantastic relationship in which we are divinized as we become what we eat. Jesus the Lord says that “whoever eats my body lives in me and I in him”. Our encounter with divinity informs and strengthens our relationship with one another. That is why we cannot be in enmity with our brother or sister or friend and still receive the Holy Eucharist worthily. Also, we must make sincere effort to avoid all anti-Christian discriminatory behaviors.  

Do you know that the Eucharist is called Holy Sacrifice? In the Holy Eucharist, Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Priest and the victim at the same time, the offerer and the offered. As we share in the Eucharist, we also share in the Lord’s victimhood. In other words, believers are called to identify with Christ’s suffering and brokenness. Our Christian life becomes one lived in the service of others and sometimes this service makes us vulnerable to hatred, shame, suffering and pain for the sake of Christ. Those who share in the Holy Eucharist must be willing to offer themselves (time, talents, and treasures) as a sacrifice for the wellbeing of other people, to the glory of God.

Do you know how much we gain from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass? When we receive the Holy Eucharist worthily, we become Christ-bearers, mobile tabernacles. Christ is the light of the world that dispels the darkness of sin. Those who receive the Eucharist equally live like Jesus the light, the light of truth and holiness dispelling the darkness of falsehood, corruption, and immorality in our world. We become like the sun without which the world will remain darkened. The Eucharist gives us sanctifying grace, increases the love of God and neighbor in us, cleanses us of venial sins and helps us to avoid mortal sins.

My dear friends, the Holy Eucharist is the center of our life as Catholic Christians and we have the opportunity to be reminded of that today. We must re-discover the necessity and value of this Sacrament in our world that has been ravaged by all sorts of ungodliness, secularism, and sin. We must give befitting reverence to the Holy Eucharist by the way we prepare for it, receive it, recognize the presence of the Lord in tabernacles of our various churches and adore him whom we have recognized. We thank the Lord for the gift of himself in the Holy Eucharist and for nourishing us daily with his body and blood, strengthening us in our journey of faith here on earth. We should always hunger for this food of eternal life. We must go to confession regularly, be reconciled with God, the Church and one another (being in the state of grace) and strive to receive the Eucharist worthily. Above all, we must make effort to live a Eucharistic life of thanksgiving, love, sacrifice, communion with God and neighbor and a life of faith. A truly Eucharistic life guarantees us salvation. Peace be with you!

Fr. Chukwuebuka Emmanuel Madu.

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