“While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke
it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” (Mark 14:22)
Earlier this year, I saw a remarkable movie that I have yet
to write about. It was a documentary
from Spain where the director endeavored to cast a positive light on the
priesthood by profiling the life of one particular priest who touched the lives
of countless people. The movie is filled
with testimonials including the director’s who in the middle of the movie
inserts himself to respond to all the countless remarkable things this priest
did during the course of a day. So when
a college professor who knew the priest says, “On his own, a man cannot act
like this.” The director in a way pauses
the movie to ask a question:
“Could it be that this
priest might have taken some type of special energy substance that allowed him
to do everything he did? I would say
yes. This priest was doped up. Every day he consumed a substance that is
illegal in many countries but taken by many people although they are ashamed to
admit it. He not only consumed that
substance, he was co-producer and distributor.
Every day this priest took a piece of bread and a little wine. He repeated what Jesus Christ said 2,000
years ago, and then…he ate God. So in
that case, he wasn’t playing on a level playing field.”
This movie is extremely powerful, but this brief interlude
to examine the effects of the Eucharist on the life of this priest had the
greatest impact on me. Today we
celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ so that we can better
appreciate that which we receive every Sunday.
The director of this movie uses a bit of shock value to illustrate that
this priest was not playing on a level playing field. But the thing is that the priest isn’t the
only one that consumes the Eucharist, all of you do as well. Therefore, as Catholics, when we receive the
Body and Blood of Christ, none of us are playing on a level playing field with
the rest of the world because we have consumed God himself and are at that precious
moment of communion living tabernacles and the very presence of Christ here on
earth. Think about that. We take this sacrament for granted so many
times yet we are receiving the greatest gift that our Lord gave us. We cannot take this celebration for granted
because what we are doing here, what we do around this altar, what we receive
from the hands of the priest: my
friends, there is NOTHING that you will do this week that is more important than
what we are doing as a Body of Christ right now here at this Mass. We receive Jesus Christ. We become living tabernacles of his divine
presence in order to transmit this presence into the world. We cannot be ashamed of what we do here. We cannot simply receive this heavenly gift
and not share it with others. If you
become like Jesus, you have transmit and share this Jesus with the rest of the
world. That is the challenge of the
Eucharist. It is the challenge we
receive at the end of this celebration when we are told to “go in peace to love
and serve the Lord.”
So yes, we are not playing on a level playing field because
we take with us Christ himself in body, soul, and divinity. This heavenly food should empower us to
spread the presence and the Good News of our Lord, for as he gave of himself to
us at the Last Supper, we are called to give of ourselves to each other. No other religion receives on Sunday what we
receive. No other religion takes with
them the presence of the living God.
Maybe “doped up” is too strong of a word because of its negative
connotation when it comes to athletics.
The Eucharist is not going to make us stronger and faster like an
athlete, but it is going to give us the supernatural and divine strength needed
to conquer the world for Christ.
