THE EUCHARIST, A GIFT OF THE SPIRIT

october 12, 2008

At Holy Mass a few Sundays ago, in parishes throughout the diocese, we were asked to count our blessings and to be grateful to God for the many gifts we have received, even at this very difficult time in the economy of our country.  As we celebrate our annual Red Mass to implore the Holy Spirit for guidance in the exercise of our varying roles in the justice systems of our land and our church, I want to speak about a gift that may not be on our list, even though it is the greatest of gifts.

The Servant of God, Pope John Paul II, spoke of this gift in these words, “The Church has received the Eucharist from Christ her Lord not as one gift, however precious, among so many others, but as the gift par excellence, for it is the gift of himself, of his person in his sacred humanity, as well as the gift of his saving work” (EE n.11).

He did it at the culmination of the Jewish Feast of Passover, on the fateful night before he died.  This particular celebration of the Passover in Jerusalem brought the old covenant between God and the chosen people of old, and opened the door for the new covenant between God and all humanity called to be the people of God.

Note the similarity between the two covenants.  The Jewish Passover marked the anniversary of the night when the Jewish slaves in Egypt were instructed to eat (we could say sacrifice) a yearling lamb in each household accompanied by bitter herbs and unleavened bread (there was no time to allow the yeast to rise).  That night the avenging angel came to Egypt and freed God’s chosen people from the slavery that had oppressed them, and they set out, with Moses leading them to the Promised Land.

At the institution of the Eucharist, on the night before he died, Jesus foresaw the sacrifice that would begin to unfold within a very short time.  He would be betrayed, accused, tortured and condemned to die.  He would offer his life on the Cross in reparation for the sins of men and women of all times and places and by that sacrifice and his rising, he would free us from the slavery of sin and open for us the gates of heaven, our promised land.  We proclaim this great mystery of our faith, when we declare, after viewing the consecrated host and the cup of the blood of the new and everlasting covenant, “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.”

This is indeed a great mystery!  When Jesus told his disciples, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.   For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink…” many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" (John 6:53-55; 60).
           
The question that each of us must ask himself/herself today is: Am I like those first disciples who said “This saying is hard…”, and walked away, or am I like Mary, who found it just as difficult to understand the mystery of the Incarnation (God becoming man), and replied, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38)?

Like John Paul II, we see the Eucharist as God’s gift par excellence.  It is a sign of his great love for us.  He made us in his image, when we sinned he promised us a savior, and in the fullness of time, he sent his son to offer his life, so that we might have life.  And Jesus, our Savior, left us the Eucharist as an everlasting memorial of his life, death and resurrection that brought about our redemption.

Once we see and understand how much God loves us, we inevitably ask ourselves: How much do I love God?  How can I show God that I truly love him?   The Apostle John gives us the answer in his first epistle: “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.  This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21).

The beautiful thing about loving God and loving our neighbor is that in the Eucharist, we all come into communion with each other.  Listen to what Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.  Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me” (John 6:56).  When we receive Holy Communion, we enter into that great communion of love with each other, as St. Paul says, “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Cor 10:17).

Only one thing can keep us from receiving Holy Communion and entering into this beautiful communion of love with each other and with God. That one thing is serious sin.  It saddens me to see persons who I know are living together before marriage approach the sacred table.  It saddens me to see persons receive Holy Communion when everyone knows that they are not living or acting by what Christ has taught.  I pray for their change of heart and remind them that God loves us so much that he has given us the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, so that by confessing our sins to the priest, we may seek God’s forgiveness and, thus, be reconciled with him and with the Church.

In the course of this homily, I have posed several questions and expressed how we might best answer them.  I think that many of you may have one more question: Why has the bishop chosen to speak about the Eucharist at our Red Mass, which we offer to implore the guidance of the Holy Spirit in carrying out our judicial responsibilities?

I have chosen to speak about the Eucharist, because it is the source and summit of our life as Catholics.  It is there that we find the strength and inspiration to carry out our work and fulfill our vocation as Christians.  I, therefore, encourage and urge you to receive Holy Communion worthily every Sunday when you come to Holy Mass.  I encourage and urge you to acknowledge Christ’s presence among us when you drive by a church by uttering a silent prayer or making the sign of the cross.  I encourage and urge you to make frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament, especially when you face particular challenges in your work, in court, or at home.  Allow the real presence of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to inspire, protect and defend you in your daily struggles.  Allow the presence of Jesus to permeate your life so that you may truly be in communion with him and with your neighbor, and thus enter into the Trinitarian communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 11-Jan-2010 8:22 sitemap