I want to thank those who have written a response to my April column on “Who’s Missing From Our Eucharistic Table?”
Many offered commentary that was to the point and offered some very good suggestions. Some that emerged included better outreach to groups such as young and single adults; improved preaching and music, and more emphasis on time for worship on Sundays and holy days.
I believe that if we understood more fully the sublime gift the celebration of the Eucharist is, we would be eager to participate as often as we could, not only on the weekend but, if possible, even during the week.
The celebration of the Eucharist gathers us together as God’s people as sisters and brothers of Jesus, daughters and sons of our Heavenly Father. We are animated by the power of the Holy Spirit as we pray together the Eucharist.
There is a wonderful rhythm in the celebration of Eucharist. We gather together and present ourselves to God; in the Opening Prayer we express our desires, needs and then we listen as God speaks to us in the words of Sacred Scripture. God’s Word is alive and even more current than the morning newspaper. God speaks to us in the here and now.
As we listen attentively, we can discover that God speaks in the deepest recesses of our souls. The homily should be a time of reflection for all of us, wherein God’s Word can penetrate more deeply (thus it is important that the homilist prayerfully reflect on the day’s readings in preparation for the celebration of the Eucharist).
As we offer the bread and wine, which will be changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, we offer ourselves, desiring to be transformed more and more by Jesus.
The profound moment when the priest speaks ‘This is my Body … This is my Blood’ draws us to the awareness of Jesus Truly Present before us, Jesus who walked among us, who suffered and died for us, Jesus who has been raised up. The Eucharist makes present to us and for us in a real but mystical way the power of Jesus’ death and rising.
Then we are nourished and sustained in our reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus in Holy Communion. Having been fed by God’s Word and Jesus’ Body and Blood, we are then sent forth to share what we have received to our family, friends and whomever we meet.
Eucharist is a profound experience of the intimate relationship that God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit have with us and that we have with the Trinity. We pray to the Father with Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Through Eucharist, we are given an intimation of what our Heavenly Eternity will be.
As we continue our evangelization efforts to bring more of the baptized back to regular participation in the Mass, I pray that all us may desire and seek to deepen our understanding, appreciation and participation in the Eucharist.