The Institution of the EUCHARIST[1]

It was on that fate-filled Thursday evening, at supper in the Upper Room,[2] when our Divine Lord Jesus shared the Passover meal with his apostles and in that moment instituted the Sacrifice of the Most holy Eucharist. As Catholics we benefit from the sacraments Christ left us, and at every celebration of Mass we are called to spiritually unite with that one original Sacrifice of Jesus. Those unforgettable historical events (Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ) occurred long ago and yet they are made present to us through the intervention and power of the Holy Spirit — in sacramental ways. When we celebrate holy Mass, we are gaining access to eternity, it is a foretaste of Heaven, a spiritual fraternity with the angels and the saints worshipping the one Triune God. The Sacrificial Banquet re-presents the offering of Christ to our Father in Heaven and he takes us up with him and presents us to the Father Almighty. It is always Jesus who renews the Good Friday self-giving, selfless, loving sacrifice of his life for us, but now in the time of the Church, it is accomplished through the sacred ministry of the ordained priests. At its root, it is the same Christ, the same sacrifice, the same offering, the same victim, the same love, the same eternal high Priest effecting the same sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, reconciliation, peace, forgiveness, and redemption. The difference is in the how — the manner in which it is offered. We are never more united to God than when we attend holy Mass. We are never closer to Heaven, than when we participate in the Eucharist. We are never more united with Jesus and among ourselves than when we worship the Lord in our Eucharistic community. We are never more loving than when we celebrate the Sacrament of love.

Let us consider a moment we have all witnessed at airports — two persons who love each other deeply yet are forced to part ways. They want to stay together forever, yet one must leave for the good of the other, to seek employment, to further their education, to care for those in need, to follow their divine calling. They often leave a little something to be remembered by: a symbolic gesture as a parting gift, a picture, a thoughtful reminder. However, Jesus, returning back to the Heavenly Father, did not give us a mere symbol, but rather himself in the Eucharist. When we participate in the holy Eucharist, we are made new, we are encouraged and filled with God himself; we are strengthened in our faith, we are enlightened in our souls; our hearts are healed and our will fortified. We receive the Bread of Life so that we can continue our journey towards Eternal Life while living even now on earth the Abundant Life. This is the dream – this is God’s dream for us.

St. Thomas Aquinas, who beautifully referred to the Eucharist as the “Sacrament of Love,” succinctly encapsulates the Eucharistic mystery in his prayer, the O Sacrum Convivium: “O Sacred Banquet in which Christ is received; the Memory of his Passion is renewed, the mind is filled with grace and a pledge of future glory is given to us.” There are three moments here: first, we look back and we remember what Jesus said and did for us especially the day before he was to be betrayed, while at supper and entered willingly and out of love for us, into his Passion; second, the present moment, our mind (the mens) also meaning our spirit, soul or heart, is filled up with God’s love and presence — grace; and third, we are catapulted forward in an eschatological dimension as a glimpse of everlasting life is offered to us. This all takes place when we go to Mass! It is a sacred family meal, it is the new and eternal covenant, it is a true communion with the Lord and it nurtures communion among ourselves as sisters and brothers. It is not a symbol; it is not a mere reminder; it is Jesus himself - the Real Presence. As the Catechism teaches: “In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.”[3]

Anecdotal Illustration

There is a moving and compelling story about that outstanding and loyal son of the Church, the Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen. During the 1911 Chinese Republican revolution, in response to the Boxer Rebellion, anti-Catholic supporters apprehended a Catholic parish. They confined the pastor to house arrest, and from his rectory window, he witnessed the desecration of the church. He also knew that there had been thirty-two consecrated hosts in the tabernacle. At the same time a devout eleven-year-old girl was praying at the back of the church. She returned to the church that night and made her holy hour devotion and then consumed one of the sacred hosts, bending down to receive Jesus on her tongue. She did that every night, consuming one consecrated host. On the last night, the thirty-second night, regrettably a guard woke up and saw her there. After she received Christ lovingly, the ruthless guard chased her down and beat her to death with his rifle. After becoming aware of this martyrdom, Archbishop Sheen, while still a seminarian, was so inspired by her self-sacrifice that he made a promise/vow to pray a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament each day for the rest of his life. And he did. This was an extraordinary witnessing of the Real Presence in his life which was the Archbishop’s guiding light and unfailing inspiration for his decades’ long ministry where he reached out to countless persons sharing with them the gift of the Catholic faith.

Questions to Ponder

How am I and how is my family and community appreciating the awesomeness of the sacrament of the Eucharist? How do I see the Sunday Eucharist celebration impacting my daily life, work, study and relationships? How eager am I to experience the weekly encounter with Christ at Mass in the worshipping parish community? How can I enter more deeply into communion with Christ and with others, becoming more eucharistic in what I say and do? Do I realize in my heart of hearts that Sunday is God’s Day and that the Lord is waiting for me to celebrate our faith and friendship with him in and through the Eucharist in community? Is the celebration of the Mass really the “source and summit”^[4] — and the “centre” — of my life of faith, my life of prayer, my personal life, my relationships, my walk with the Lord, and my vocation? Will I participate in this year’s Corpus Christi Mass and procession?

[1] For a more fulsome explanation of the Eucharist, see the CCC, 1322-1419

[2] Luke 22: 7-38

[3] CCC, 1374

[4] “The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life”, Second Vatican Council, Lumen gentium, no. 11