We are a Eucharistic people. The Eucharist - cleanses and separates us from sin[1], is our spiritual food,[2] is an increase of the grace received at Baptism[3], is the source of conversion and penance[4], and commits us to the poor[5]. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith[6]. Through our participation in the Eucharistic feast we establish a community of believers[7], are transformed through Christ[8], are united in Christ[9], are united as Christians[10], are united to the heavenly liturgy[11], and experience a foretaste of the life to come[12]. We are a Eucharistic people from age to age, united as one body in Love of Christ.
From the very beginning of the Church we have been a Eucharistic people. In Acts 2:42 our life as a Eucharistic people and the outline of our faith is present: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers. . . Day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with generous hearts.”[13]
The Eucharist, through the power of Christ’s great mercy and love, unifies us with all those present at the institution at the Last Supper, with the Church Fathers, with the martyrs of the early Church, with the great saints of the Middle Ages, with the Carmelite Order, with the Seraphic Order, with all the holy angels and saints from generation to generation, and on all the altars throughout the world. This unity transcends the barriers of time and space and provides for us not only strength, but also a comfort. It provides a strength in numbers united fully to the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant, to withstand and combat the attacks of the devil so as to win souls. It provides a comfort in such an unbreakable unity that provides for the hearts of all the faithful the opportunity and great privilege of developing, fostering, and witnessing to others an authentic Christian life saturated in mercy, grace, Eucharistic zeal, and charity.
“The whole Church in America needs to be reminded also of “the link between the Eucharist and charity”, a link which was expressed in the early Church by the joining of the agape and the Eucharistic Supper. As a result of the grace received in the Sacrament, sharing in the Eucharist must lead to a more fervent exercise of charity.”[14] This exercise of charity from one member of Christ’s body to the other takes the form of evangelization, catechesis, and the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Through a more fervent exercise of charity to others - the fire burning within our soul out of love for Christ is enkindled anew. We can then move more deeply as individuals and a community into the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus to be filled by His Eucharistic love.
St. Bernard said “The Eucharist is that Love which surpasses all loves in Heaven and on Earth.”[15] Likewise St. Thomas Aquinas wrote “The Eucharistic is the Sacrament of Love: It signifies Love, It produces Love.” We are each called by name to the wedding feast, to the altar of Love, to partake daily in the sweetness of Love Himself. The more we fill ourselves with love, the more love we are able to give so that our actions match our words and all that we do and say expresses the inner working of God in our soul.
We are a Eucharistic people who come together to be fed and to feast at the same banquet table, who come together to be filled with love, who come together to serve the Body of Christ in the love with which He first loved us, and who come together to be led in love to the Heavenly wedding feast. We are a Eucharistic people from age to age, united as one body in the Love of Christ.
Written by Nicolette, Special Events Coordinator,
© Used with permission
[1] CCC 1393-95
[2] CCC 1212, 1275, 1436, 2837
[3] CCC 1392
[4] CCC 1436
[5] CCC 1397
[6] CCC 1324
[7] CCC 805, 1396
[8] CCC 1074
[9] CCC 1398
[10] CCC 1398
[11] CCC 1370
[12] CCC 1000, 1326, 1402-1405, 1419
[13] Acts 2:42, 46
[14] Pope John Paul II, Ecclesia in America. (Rome: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1999), 34
[15] Manelli, Fr. Stephano. Jesus our Eucharistic Love. (Fall River: The Academy of the Immaculate, 1996), 7.
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