We are on a day of the Eucharist.
On this day our Lord instituted the Eucharist. Together with the Eucharist our
Lord also confirmed the Priesthood to memorialize this sacrifice. Priests are
ordained first and foremost to keep the Eucharist alive in the world. The presence
of the Lord in the world is concretely manifested in the Holy Eucharist. In the
breaking of the bread and in the Blessed Sacrament, Christ is made present in
time. The only way to communion with the Lord both physically and spiritually
is in the reception of the Holy Eucharist. St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of the
Eucharist as the food of angels. The angels in heaven are in perfect communion with
the Lord forever. However, they cannot receive this food in a way we receive. Angels
as spiritual beings are without bodies. Therefore, they cannot receive the food
concretely as we receive in the form of the bread. Hence, they envy us. To live
forever as angels we need to eat this bread. The Lord Himself has commanded us
to do so, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of
man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and
drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For
my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and
drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” (Jn 6:53-56).
In the Old Testament, the
people of Israel sprinkled the blood of the Passover lamb on the two doorposts
and the lintel of their houses to be protected from the wrath of God (Ex 12:7).
The blood of the Lamb served as a means to escape death from the hand of God. In
the New Testament, Jesus pours out His blood from the cross to be drunk by
those who want to have eternal life. His blood saves us from eternal
condemnation. Therefore, eating of His flesh and drinking of His blood becomes necessary
to gain salvation. We have to feed on Jesus to live forever (Jn 6:57). The commemoration
of this day stands as an opposition to our protestant brethren who reject the
necessity of the Eucharist.
Eucharist and Priesthood go
hand in hand. Without Eucharist, the priesthood losses its purpose and meaning.
And without priesthood, the Eucharist becomes impossible. Priesthood is
immanent in the Eucharist. The grace to transform the bread and wine into body
and blood of Christ rests in the hands of the priest. This exalts the priest
from being an ordinary person to something extraordinary. Yes, the priest as
minister of the Word and the Eucharist deals directly with God. The priest
serve closely with God and handle God in their hands. It is something great and
a mystery to comprehend. At the same time, the priest is an ordinary human
being. He becomes significant only in relation with the Eucharist. Hence, the priest
should direct all the exaltations toward God, rather than to himself. His
function at the altar as priest is only a service rendered to God and to His
people. It is the grace that makes the priest worthy of this service, nor
personal holiness or merit. It is precisely because of this Jesus before
instituting the priesthood washes the feet of the apostles to teach them a virtue
of humility. With the washing of their foot on the Last supper, Jesus has shown
an example (Jn 13:15). It is humility which makes the person holy and truthful.
Pride is the cause of all the destructions in the world. Pope Francis often
cites the clericalism in the Church as poisonous. The clericalism is completely
opposite to what the Lord had wished from the clergy (Jn 13:15). To overcome
the evil of clericalism, the priests have to live a life of the Eucharist. In the
Eucharist, Christ is being given away to be eaten by the sinners. Similarly, Priests
have to give themselves away to be eaten by the wolves. In this way, their life
becomes more Eucharistic.
On this day of the Eucharist
and the Priesthood, let us spend enough time with our Lord. He is going to be
betrayed, scourged and crucified for our sake. Let us not be like His beloved
disciples who failed to give strength to Him in moments of horror and death. May
we keep awake with the Lord in the Eucharist to conceive the mystery of this
paschal triduum.
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