Audio: https://sites.google.com/site/sktdeaconed/home/mp3/150602_001.mp3?attredirects=0&d=1
I
went out for a jog a few weeks ago, and not too far into the jog, it dawned on
me how had not adequately hydrated for my run – I hadn’t drunk enough water, I
was thirsty. And I hadn’t brought any water
with me. I muddled through and when I
got home immediately went to the sink and poured a big cup of fresh, cold water
and downed the whole thing. Ahhhh. Then I poured another, and another.
It
was only a few days later I was discussing with my wife just how fortunate we
are to have fresh, clean, cold water at our fingertips, with just a flick of
the faucet. How we take that for granted
and only appreciate it when something happens that stops it.
It’s
like that with a lot of things in life, huh?
We are so very blessed in so many ways, yet we tend to take our
blessings for granted and seldom do we stop to express our thankfulness, our
gratitude. With me, I take for granted
my wife and daughters, my home, car, job, you name it, Guilty as charged.
And
meditating on this Feast and on these readings, it occurs to me that many of us
sometimes, perhaps often, often take for granted perhaps the most precious gift
Christ has given us – that which sets us Catholics apart from nearly every
other Christian faith expression – and that is the Eucharist – the most Holy
Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do
we really give enough thought, enough attention, enough prayerful thanksgiving
to Our Lord for this wondrous gift to us of His very Body and Blood. Or do we often simply go through the motions,
our mind maybe a thousand miles away, anxious to get on to the other things of
the day?
Now
I’m not in a position to point a finger at anyone here, for I often find myself
in the same boat.
Now
if it’s true that we sometimes, perhaps often, take for granted the Eucharist,
why is that? How come?
Well
with some of us, perhaps we just don’t really believe, deep down inside, that this
piece of bread and sip of wine can be Jesus.
The Body and Blood of Our Lord Himself.
The God of the whole universe.
I
understand that. To believe that takes a
great amount of faith, faith in things not seen. Faith in a mystery that we cannot fully grasp
with our brains, cannot fully understand.
Faith that is a gift.
I
have the same problem with coal and diamonds.
Both are of nearly an identical substance – “consubstantial” you might
say - 100% pure carbon, but they don’t look anything like each other. I trust that the chemists know what they’re
talking about when they tell me that they’re really the same thing.
With
the Eucharist, I trust that Jesus Himself was honest and true, that He was not
lying, when He foretold in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel that He would
give to us His Body and Blood - real food and real drink – as sacred food for our
journey.
With
the Eucharist, I trust in the miracle of the loaves and the fishes, today’s
Gospel passage. A precursor to the gift
of the Eucharist at the last supper Through
the person of the priest, Jesus has continued to take our meager gifts at the
altar (as Melchizadech did with Abram’s gifts).
And the Lord them multiplies the loaves and distribute them to His
faithful, an act that through His bishops and priests He has carried on for
over 2000 years now.
If
you find this teaching difficult, take heart, you’re not alone – even many of
Our Lord’s disciples found it so – such that many left Him, no longer His
disciples. Pray for the gift of
Faith. Pray that He may open your heart
to this most precious, most magnificent gift.
But
even if we do believe, perhaps we don’t have a very good understanding of what
happens here at Mass. A very good
understanding of what it’s all supposed to mean. I mean, what difference does the Eucharist make
in my life? Maybe the Eucharist doesn’t
seem to make much difference in my life.
And
I can understand that as well. We tend
to be impatient, or at least I do. I
expect instant results. Especially in
myself. After receiving the Body and
Blood of Our Lord in the Eucharist over and over and over again, I may find
myself wondering why I don’t seem to be a much different person, not a very changed
person. Making many of the same mistakes in my
relationships with my family. Committing
many of the same sins. So what
difference does the Eucharist make?
I
think to answer that question requires taking a long view. That participating in Mass and receiving the
Eucharist has made me, over the course of my life, a very different
person. Perhaps imperceptibly from day
to day, but over the course of years, I am a changed person. Not a perfect person, not by a long shot, but
a better person, more like Christ. A
bit more patient, more loving, more kind, and perhaps most importantly, more
self-aware of where I lack patience, love, kindness.
But
the difference the Eucharist makes is not only in our private, individual Faith
lives. The difference is also here in
the gathered assembly, the Church. For
Our Lord’s Body and Blood, called the “source of our faith, the summit of our
Faith” by the Fathers of Vatican II, brings us together in unity and communion
and makes us what we are – the living Body of Christ. Nourished and strengthened to go forth from
here to be His presence in our hurting and broken world. To go forth to serve one another, to “give
them something to eat” as Our Lord commands His disciples.
In
a moment we will come forward to receive His Sacred Body and Blood, reverently
and hopefully with a smile (for what greater joy is there than to be united to
Our Lord?), and Father or I or one of the Eucharistic Ministers will say “The
Body of Christ.” Our firm “Amen” means
not only do “I believe” that this is Jesus, but also “Yes! I am part of the
Body of Christ, His mystical Body, the Church.
That I am ready and willing to go forth, to pour out myself as His
disciple, to be His presence in all I say and do.
Let
us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you
that you loved us so much that you sent Your Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and that
your Son continues to come to us in the most Blessed Sacrament, His Most Sacred
Body and Blood. May this heavenly food
make us grow in holiness, bring us unity and peace, and strengthen us to always
do your will. This we ask through
Christ, Our Lord. Amen.
