How does Eucharist change us?
Every time we participate in Eucharist, we are transformed. It’s not surprising that, when we can’t receive communion in the context of liturgy, we feel unsettled: to share in the Body and Blood of Christ during Mass is to move beyond the isolation we create for ourselves and into a sharing in and participating in each other’s lives. In John’s gospel, Jesus tells the Jewish crowds that they will be called to eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood as a way of participating in Jesus’ life – this is how we remain in him and he in us. In this way he is the living bread that came down from heaven, a source of eternal life for those who allow Eucharist to transform them, nourishing a life that is other-centered. Eucharist is the means by which we have life because of Jesus; consequently, if God dwells in us and loves us, then we are to reveal that love to the world.
The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ dates back to the thirteenth century; it is a celebration of God’s gift of his Son, who was born, suffered and died, yet remains with us. God has always been feeding God’s people. Yet, unlike the manna with which God fed the people of Israel in the Book of Deuteronomy, Eucharist is an eternal, unceasing gift of life, flesh and blood that nourish us spiritually, targeting our hearts, our souls, our very lives. And so, as Paul writes to the Corinthians, to bless the cup of blessing constitutes our participation in the blood of Christ just as breaking bread is a participation in his body. It is true that, as Psalm 147 states, God fills us with the best of wheat, for which we are called to praise the Lord – but Eucharist is so much more! Ultimately, it is a call to transformative union: because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf, Paul writes. We are not meant to leave the Eucharistic table the same as we arrived; we are to be transformed, changed, united as one people, intentional and aware of his life within us, ready to bend for the sake of other, to suffer if need be, that all might be one in the Body of Christ.
This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com
The words, "for those who allow Eucharist to transform them", resonate with me.....as I contemplate that....I, yes, I.... have a part in allowing myself to be transformed. Thank you, Nameless Scribe.
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