What is the Eucharist?
As Catholics, we believe the Eucharist truly is the Body and Blood of Jesus. We believe this because in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel, Christ tells us, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
“The Eucharist, or what we commonly call the Mass, means thanksgiving,” Sr. Rachel Bergschneider, OSB, says. “It is a community prayer that is the prayer of the Church. It is also an action, just as Christ’s death and resurrection was an action. We participate in that action by our deliberate choice to be broken for others. And we give thanks for that blessing.”
During the Eucharist, we listen to the Word of God and participate in the Last Supper where we, as the Disciples, receive Christ’s body and blood. We do this over and over, every Sunday. Why do we? Why should we?
Jesus instructed us to visit the prisoners, heal the sick, love our neighbors as ourselves. Through the Eucharist, Jesus gave us the nourishment to do so.
Sr. Rachel continues, “Participating in – not merely attending – the Eucharist allows us to receive Christ’s very life in order to be able to go out and do what He did: spill our lives as He spilled His for others.”
St. Augustine said “Believe what you see, see what you believe and become what you are: the Body of Christ.” When we participate in the Eucharist, we are saying this is the Body and Blood of Christ and that we will be the Body of Christ to others.
Recommended Reading - Henri Nouwen
The late theologian Henri Nouwen says, “To celebrate the Eucharist … has everything to do with gratitude. However, gratitude is not the most obvious response to life, certainly not when we experience life as a series of losses! Still, the great mystery we celebrate in the Eucharist and live in a Eucharistic life is precisely that through mourning our losses we come to know life as a gift. The beauty and preciousness of life is intimately linked with its fragility and mortality.”
For further reading, the Sisters recommend: With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life by Henri Nouwen