By FR. RICHARD D. BRETON JR.
(Editor’s Note: Fr. Richard D. Breton Jr. is a priest of the Diocese of Norwich, Conn. He is currently the parochial vicar of St. Andrew Parish in Colchester and St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Lebanon. He received his BA in religious studies and his MA in dogmatic theology from Holy Apostles College and Seminary in Cromwell, Conn.)
The third Sacrament of Initiation is the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the greatest of all sacraments. For in receiving the Eucharist we receive Christ Himself. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us: “The Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life….The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch” (CCC, n. 1324).
Holy Mother Church tells us that the Sacrament of the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of Christian life. We as Catholic Christians must know whom we receive in the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
So often we ask the wrong questions in life. Often people will ask: What is the Sacrament of the Eucharist? When talking about the Eucharist, we need to ask the question: Whom are we receiving? The answer is quite simple: We are receiving God Himself; the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Over two thousand years ago, on the night He was handed over, Jesus Christ instituted for us the Sacrament of His Body and Blood. This sacrament was to be offered in remembrance of Him. At the Last Supper Jesus instituted the priesthood giving His disciples the responsibility to offer this sacrificial gift forever. Every time the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered, the Eucharist is made present before us. Ordinary bread and wine are transformed into Christ.
We just see a symbol, or, a piece of bread; we stand in the presence of God Himself. As the priest holds the bread and prays the words of consecration, he no longer holds bread, but Jesus Himself. That is why at the Ordination of a priest his hands are consecrated, anointed with Sacred Chrism, to perform this most sacred act. By this consecration the priest offers the sacraments to the People of God. In the Eucharist we receive the fullness of God’s grace. We receive the food needed on the journey of faith. St. Thomas Aquinas offers us a reflection on the food we receive in the Eucharist. He says:
“Material food first changes into the one who eats it, and then, as a consequence, restores to him lost strength and increases his vitality. Spiritual food, on the other hand, changes the person who eats it into itself. Thus the effect proper to this Sacrament is the conversion of a man into Christ, so that he may no longer live, but Christ lives in him; consequently, it has the double effect of restoring the spiritual strength he had lost by his sins and defects, and of increasing the strength of his virtues” (St. Thomas, Commentary on Book IV of the Sentences, d.12, q.2, a.11).
First Teachers
On Saturday, July 18, 2020, I had the privilege of celebrating the First Holy Communion of our parish children. In my homily I recalled the importance of their Baptism. I reminded them that Baptism establishes the foundation on which our faith will rest. From the day of their Baptism to the day of their First Holy Communion, Jesus is building a house within their hearts in which He will reside. The day of First Holy Communion is when Jesus moves into the house that He has built within us.
What a beautiful moment! God Himself begins to dwell within us, as He redeems us by offering His Flesh and Blood.
I reminded the children of the responsibility they have of making the house of their hearts ready for Jesus as they approach the altar. Sadly, our children cannot do this alone. They need the support and cooperation of others. More important, they need their parents to be the first teachers in the way of faith. Too often, parents forget this responsibility. In the celebration of the Baptism of their children, they promise to be the first teachers in the practice of the faith.
Children look up to adults as role models of how they are to live their faith. If we do not live our faith well, how can we expect our children to live their faith well? We need to remember the day of our own First Holy Communion. How did we feel? We need to return to the innocence of our youth.
When we approach the altar and receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus we strengthen the special house of our hearts where Jesus resides. Whether children or adults, we have the responsibility to maintain the dwelling of Jesus within our hearts. This is done by frequent reception of Holy Communion. The more we receive Jesus the more we become like Him.
Uniquely linked to the Eucharistic Celebration is the devotional practice of adoration. Like the reception of Holy Communion, adoration also unites us to Christ. This is done in a very special way.
In the celebration of Eucharistic Adoration, the priest, or deacon, exposes or places the consecrated Host into a monstrance. The monstrance is usually made of gold or silver precious metals. The common design of the monstrance is that of a sunburst. It may, however, have other designs like a cross or a dove. Within the center of the monstrance is a round transparent area of glass. Within this glass rests the lunette, or the receptacle in which the Sacred Host is kept.
In Eucharistic Adoration the faithful come to pray before Jesus exposed in the monstrance. By truly being in His Presence, we are united to Christ in a very special way.
Throughout the centuries this devotion has included mystical experiences. One such mystical experience occurred in the year 1240 when St. Clare of Assisi saved her convent and Assisi from the hands of pagan Muslims. About to be attacked, St. Clare, with the monstrance being carried before her, prayed for the protection from these enemies.
Immediately a voice, like that of a Child, was heard saying: “My dear daughter you shall be saved and your city too.” It was because of St. Clare’s devotion to the Eucharist that she and her nuns were saved from their enemy.
In the celebrations of the Mass and Eucharistic Adoration, we are united to the very person of Christ. Both encounters change us and make us more like Christ. In our participation of Holy Mass, we receive the food of everlasting life. In the celebration of Adoration, we sit at the feet of Jesus, the Master, seeking His assistance, love, and protection.
When was the last time we reflected on the great gift of the Eucharist? When was the last time we participated in Mass, not going through the motions, but really participated by listening to the prayers of the Mass? Now is the time for a renewal in respect and reverence for the Eucharist. Not only is the Eucharist the food of everlasting life, but the Eucharist is a divine portal through which become more like Christ.
Every time we receive the bread from Heaven, God touches us and we touch God! How blest are we to be chosen to participate in so great a mystery of our faith!
In closing I offer this Act of Adoration and Reparation to Jesus in The Most Blessed Sacrament:
I Adore Thee profoundly, O my Jesus,
in Thy sacramental form;
I acknowledge Thee to be true God and true Man,
and by this act of adoration
I intend to atone for the coldness
of so many Christians who pass before Thy churches
and sometimes before the very Tabernacle
in which Thou art pleased to remain at all hours
with loving impatience to give Thyself to Thy faithful people,
and do not so much as bend the knee before Thee,
and who, by their indifference
proclaim that they grow weary of this heavenly manna,
like the people of Israel in the wilderness.
I offer Thee in reparation for this grievous negligence,
the Most Precious Blood which Thou didst shed from Thy five wounds,
and especially from Thy sacred Side,
and entering therein,
I repeat a thousand times with true recollection of spirit:
O Sacrament most holy!
O Sacrament divine!
All praise and all thanksgiving
be every moment Thine. Amen.
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