All of the Sacraments of the Church are important. All of the Sacraments are gifts from God, gifts which help us grow in His grace. But, among all the Sacraments, there is one that is most important: the Eucharist. Baptism and Confirmation lead to the Eucharist. Marriage and the other Sacraments flow from the Eucharist. Let us never take for granted the grace God gives us at His Holy Table.
For perspective: at Mass, the priest, immediately after the Consecration of the bread and wine, says “The mystery of faith.” Notice that he does not say “A mystery of faith” or “One of the seven mysteries of faith.” The Eucharist is “the” central mystery of our faith, standing in the middle of the whole of the Catholic life.
Nonetheless, there are many Catholics who do not come to Mass or who come on rare occasions. Is it possible that many still do not know how centrally important the Eucharist is? If someone were to ask us if the Eucharist is important, would be ready with an answer? Would we say, “it’s because it helps me” or “I feel better when I go to Communion” or “something is missing when I don’t go to Mass?” Those are all legitimate reasons, but can we dig a little deeper?
For example, receiving the Body of Christ is:
- accepting the Lord’s invitation and committing ourselves to building His community, strengthening our bonds, and loving those whom He has placed in our midst;
- being integrated into the Lord’s “group of disciples,” His Church, accepting “being” His Body, and sealing the Covenant He has established through His Blood;
- being ready to do all that He has asked us to do, faithfully responding to the promptings of His Spirit, and faithfully responding to His Word;
- accepting that we fail on occasion and those around us fail on occasion, but being willing to get back up again and help others get back up, too;
- accepting that God is so supremely humble that He places Himself in our hands, depending on us, going with us wherever we go, and expecting us to share His joy, love, and Real Presence with all those whom we meet;
- knowing that the Eucharist is not so much a “prize” for the “good,” but help and healing medicine for all of us who are weak, sinful, and afraid … who know that He has told us that we can do nothing without Him.
There are many other responses available to us, and no matter what they are, let us trust that the Lord is constantly calling us to be His Body. He who said, “Do this in memory of me” is counting on us to be faithful to all that He has given us, especially the most precious gift of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, “the” mystery of faith.
We offer parish-wide congratulations to our children receiving their First Holy Communion this weekend and those who have shared in the Eucharist for the first time over the past several weeks at other Masses where they and their families participated in the Rites of Christian Initiation. May God bless all of them with a deep love for His Eucharistic presence and grace. Amen.
