The bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation, the center of our hearts and lives, this is the great mystery we celebrate this day. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our life within the Church and throughout the world. Nourished by the very body and blood of Christ our Savior, we are united to His body and become His mystical body in the world. We are a communion of faith, hope, and love. We are His flock, His people.
Through these past months of isolation, we have not been able to gather as a family to celebrate this great gift. It has been difficult to live without this great gift and there is a new energy surrounding our desire to return, but our return to the full community will be gradual out of necessity and safety. Still, our great desire to be together again is a sign of hope, a light in the darkness. The Eucharist is the food for our journey and it is our sustenance and our strength.
As the Body and Blood of Christ gives eternal life to us who believe, it is also a source of grace for the world through the gifts and talents of those who dare to follow Jesus. This heavenly food gives us the courage to forgive, the strength to heal divisions and to fight for justice and the power to overcome racism, prejudice and all that divides us and keeps us apart. This is the bread that comes down from heaven that we might continue building the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of unity and grace. We are His body in the world.
As Saint Teresa of Avila so beautifully stated, “Christ has no body now but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses all the world. Yours are the hands, yours are the feet, yours are the eyes, you are his body. Christ has no body now on earth but yours.” We are the body of Christ and we give life to the world.