an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, merciful love for David.
Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
Behold, you shall call nations that you know not,
and nations that knew you not shall run to you,
because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.
Isaiah 55:1–5
Jesus miraculously fed a crowd of 5,000 men, not including women and children. This happened just before his Bread of Life Discourse. He had provided an abundant banquet for those who had spent the day listening to his teachings. They came hungering for something to fill the longing in their hearts and the emptiness in their lives. Jesus could not send them away without satisfying their needs.
His actions prefigured the Sacrifice of the Mass. He gathered the people, called them to a time of worship, preached the Word, proclaimed the Good News, and shared a sacred, miraculous meal before sending the people forth in love. What an abundant gift!
The glory of the Eucharist is that it is far more than we could ever have hoped for or imagined. It is the most abundant blessing from God, the sign of his great sacrifice on Calvary, the Supper of the Lamb, who gave his life for the world. It nourishes our weary souls and fills us to overflowing so that we can spill over with love for the world that Christ is calling home to himself. The people came to Jesus seeking perishable food; Jesus offered them abundant, eternal life.
We are called to the fullness of Eucharistic life in all our actions. As we participate in the Eucharist, we are strengthened to offer the same abundant blessing we have received from Christ to all those who are looking for what will satisfy their souls.
Questions for Reflection
Do you recognize the Eucharist as a gift that flows from God’s abundance? If not, what keeps you from seeing it in that way?
What are some other abundant blessings God has given to you?
Who in your life needs the life-giving power of the Eucharist? How can you help bring them to it?
Praying with Scripture
“And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. As it is written, ‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures for ever’” (2 Cor 9:8–9).
Wednesday
The Eucharist Is About Satisfaction
Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them. For it was fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, blameless, unstained, separated from sinners, exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did this once for all when he offered up himself. Indeed, the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect for ever.
Hebrews 7:25–28
Not only is the Eucharist about the abundant love of Jesus Christ; it is also about perfect satisfaction. God in his justice demanded a perfect sacrifice to make up for our sins, and no human being could offer such a sacrifice. Only someone who was divine and human could make the needed reparation for our fallen nature. So God in his mercy sent his Son Jesus, true God and true man, to be our Great High Priest and our perfect sacrifice. Jesus, by living a sinless human life and offering up that life on the cross, satisfied the debt for our sins.
The priests of the Old Testament had to repeat their sacrifices year after year, and these sacrifices did not come close to making satisfaction for sin. Jesus needed to offer up his perfect sacrifice only one time. The Eucharist does not repeat the sacrifice of Christ. Instead, it is the once-for-all sacrifice of Calvary.
Moreover, the Eucharist fully satisfies our deepest hunger. Our separation from God as a result of Adam’s sin leaves us with an emptiness that only Christ can fill. Through his Body and Blood, Jesus provides us with real food and real drink. As we receive the Bread of Life and the Chalice of Eternal Salvation, we know we will never hunger or thirst again. Every longing, every need, and every desire finds its fulfillment in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
Questions for Reflection
Do you recognize that Jesus has made satisfaction, not just for the sins of the world, but for your personal sins as well? How do you thank him for this gift?
Do you participate fully and with gratitude in the Sacrifice of the Mass? If not, what can you do to improve your attention?
How has the Eucharist satisfied some of your deepest longings?
Praying with Scripture
“I will abundantly bless [Zion’s] provisions; / I will satisfy her poor with bread” (Ps 132:15).
Thursday
The Eucharist Is About Making an Eternal Decision
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and clinging to him; for that means life to you and length of days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”
Deuteronomy 30:19–20
God’s people were preparing to enter the promised land. Moses called each one to make an eternal decision: to choose life or death, heaven or hell, peace and prosperity or division and ruin. To choose life was to choose God and to receive his offer of a future salvation. His challenge to the people is our challenge every Sunday at Mass. The Eucharist is our ultimate life choice. To make such a choice lightly is to profane the Body and Blood of the Lord. Like the Israelites, we can either receive or reject the life that Christ offers us in the Eucharist.
Sadly, many Catholics go through the motions of the Mass, never fully realizing what the Eucharist is. Christians of many denominations talk about “making a decision” for Christ, but Catholics are given that opportunity every time we participate in the Mass. Our “Amen!” when we receive Communion is our “Yes!” to two things: (1) to the reality of Christ’s True Presence in the Eucharist, and (2) to the salvation he won for us in his death on the cross, which is made present again in every Mass.
How we respond to the Eucharist truly matters. Saint Paul even talked about receiving the Eucharist in an unworthy manner: “For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor 11:29). Our Catholic Faith
