Participation in holy Eucharist shapes our lives

This year at Easter, a large number of adults entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. They had been baptized, perhaps years ago. After prayer and study, they were able to make a profession of faith, to be confirmed and to receive the Eucharist for the first time. We look forward, as they do, to their being regular participants in the Eucharist in the years ahead.

This is also the time of year when children in our parishes will be celebrating their first holy Communion. We all are happy to see their joy and their reverence, as they come into this intimate communion with the Lord for the first time. As we get older, there are plenty of opportunities to learn more about the meaning and importance of the Eucharist. But we may never be more well-disposed nor more worthy than we were the first time we received. I have powerful memories of my first Communion on a warm day in May 1956. I am sure you have similar impressions of your own encounter with the eucharistic Lord for the first time, whether you were then a child or an adult.

While we may be particularly aware of special celebrations of the Eucharist during the Easter season, we know that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the life of the church in every season. Pope Benedict XVI highlighted this truth recently with the publication of an apostolic exhortation on the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis, (The Sacrament of Charity). In this document, the pope reflects on the discussions that were part of the 2005 World Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist. The pope begins his teaching with these consoling words: “The sacrament of charity, the holy Eucharist, is the gift that Jesus Christ makes of himself, thus revealing to us God’s infinite love for every man and woman.”

This is the love which we celebrated in the feasts of Holy Week and Easter. We are drawn into the mystery of this love all year long in the Eucharist.

The Holy Father’s meditation is offered in three main parts: the Eucharist, A Mystery to be Believed; the Eucharist, A Mystery to be Celebrated; and the Eucharist, A Mystery to be Lived. Just after the consecration, the priest invites the congregation to proclaim the “mystery of faith.” The church together expresses our faith in the saving paschal mystery of Christ, who is made present for us at Mass. The pope emphasizes the need for us to teach and study this central mystery of the Catholic faith, so that we can grow stronger in belief.

Sadly, in our nation, as well as in our diocese, the percentage of Catholics who come to Mass on Sunday has been declining for some time. Surveys show a lack of clarity among Catholics about our belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It seems reasonable to think that a renewed catechesis on the central mystery of the Eucharist could nourish the faith of those who seek a true relationship with Jesus Christ.

In his discussion of the celebration of the Eucharist, the pope emphasizes the necessity of observing authentic liturgical norms, so that an authentic faith can be nourished and expressed. The love of God, revealed in Jesus Christ, is both powerful and beautiful. Authentic worship should be characterized by the same power and beauty that we both receive and offer back to God in union with the perfect offering of Jesus.

Finally, we are reminded that our participation in the eucharistic mystery shapes our lives. We are sent out at the conclusion of Mass to be instruments of the love and humility of Christ in the world, that is, in the specific circumstances of home, school, the workplace and our leisure activities. Beyond the actions we perform in the name of Jesus, we have begun to live a new life in him, the life of grace. We have a radically new relationship to the Trinity and to the baptized members of the Body of Christ. We have a foretaste here of the eternal life that is God’s plan for us, even as we shape our choices after the mind and heart of Christ, so that we desire and accept this new life. It is this “lived” mystery that will draw us into the new birth to the life of heaven.