The Eucharist: Nourishment for our souls and lives

We are coming to the last part of the Year of the Eucharist — it will finish this coming October with the celebration of the Synod of Bishops in Rome. As Pope John Paul II wanted, it has been a year centered in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
    On April 20, the day after his election, Pope Benedict XVI said that “the Eucharist makes the Risen Christ constantly present, Christ who continues to give himself to us, calling us to participate in the banquet of his body and his blood … in this year, therefore, (…) the Eucharist will be at the center, in August, of World Youth Day in Cologne and, in October, of the ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which will take place on the theme ‘The Eucharist, Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church.’”
    It is impossible to understand the life of the church without the Eucharist. The catechism states that “(in the Eucharist) Christ associates his church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his father; by his sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his body which is the church.” (No. 1407) The Eucharist is the crucified and risen Christ, present under the species of bread and wine.

    It is a true banquet, in which Christ offers himself as our nourishment. In the beginning of St. John’s Gospel, Chapter 6, we read about the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. The apostles were not pleased when Jesus said to Philip: “Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?” Philip answered: “Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little.” Then Andrew noted, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?”
    It is a great dialogue between Jesus and the apostles. He wanted to include them in this miracle. Jesus asked the apostles to invite the crowd to sit down. Then, he blessed the loaves and the fish and, at the end, he asked the apostles to collect the leftovers.
    At this moment, Jesus takes the apostles to the supernatural order and talks to them about the Eucharist. But only after they understand the importance of food in their lives and that he, Jesus, perfect God and perfect man, is the one who can provide them and us the necessary nourishment to sustain us.

    In our country we understand the importance of food both as nourishment and as part of our social lives. We get concerned when we hear a report that our food might be contaminated by chemicals or other pollutants, and we are careful of what we eat and how we prepare it. We go to great lengths to make sure that the food we take into our bodies is healthy and that it provides us appropriate nourishment.
    It should not be difficult then for us to understand the importance of the Eucharist in our life and in the life of the church! It makes sense that Jesus would start the discourse on the Eucharist by feeding the large crowd following him. In his love and care for them, he wanted them to be fed.
    It is in the Eucharist that we find nourishment for our souls and the possibility for spiritual growth and a healthy spiritual life. In the words of Origen, the third century writer: “We hunger for Christ and he himself will give us the bread of heaven. ‘Give us our daily bread.’ Those who say these words are hungry; those who feel the need for bread are hungry.” And this hunger, Pope John Paul II said, is fully satisfied by the sacrament of the Eucharist, in which man is nourished by the body and blood of Christ.” (cf. Pope John Paul II, July 2, 2003)

    Pope John Paul II gave us an extraordinary example of love and devotion to the Eucharist. Several years ago he said: “The most important and beautiful thing for me remains the fact that I have been a priest for more than 50 years, because every day I can celebrate holy Mass! The Eucharist is the secret of my day. It gives strength and meaning to all my activities of service to the church and to the world.”
    Pope Benedict XVI made a special request to the whole church at the beginning of his pontificate: “In this year, therefore, the Solemnity of Corpus Christi must be celebrated in a particularly special way. I ask everyone to intensify in coming months love and devotion to the Eucharistic Jesus and to express in a courageous and clear way the real presence of the Lord.”
    The church in our country will be what our Eucharistic devotion is. With this in mind, let us ask our Blessed Mother to help us increase our “hunger” for Jesus during this Year of the Eucharist and in a special way, on the upcoming feast of Corpus Christi. I hope we can all receive the nourishment we need for our souls, so that with our faith renewed, we can become better “witnesses of hope” to the world.

Editor’s Note: This year, a special monstrance has arrived in the archdiocese for the purpose of adoration for vocations. This year’s celebration will begin with a holy hour of prayer for vocations. Jerry Kirstein, national promoter of Adoration for Vocations, will present this monstrance, blessed by the late Pope John Paul II on Easter 2005 for the purpose of prayers for vocations.