Holy Communion: A Personal Affair

 (Corpus Christi Homily)

The disciples said, “Dismiss the crowd, Lord, so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and take care of themselves.” Jesus said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.” They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have.” “No,” Jesus could have replied, “you have also me, and this is what the crowd needs, this is what will allow you to feed thousands with the little bit you have. I am the bread of life! Have them sit down” (Cf. Luke 9:12-14).

God wanted to feed human beings with Himself through the Apostles. Thus, He made the Eucharist a very personal affair, a very personal meal. A meal provided by a person (the Church’s minister), for persons (the people of God), where we eat a Person (Jesus Himself, the Incarnate Word). Nothing wrong with calling the Eucharist “a ritual meal,” but only as long as people understand that, here, ritual implies real: the food is a real Person and, therefore, eating this meal is not simply a ritual, or an act of nutrition, but most of all an act of reciprocal love.

1.  Again, the Eucharist is very personal. When Jesus was preparing the chief minister of the Church, He said, “Peter, do you love me? Feed my sheep” (cf. John 21:17). He did not ask, “Peter, are you able to administrate a corporation? Are you good at finances and accounting? Do you have a degree? Are you a good singer?” Jesus did not ask, “Peter, are you good at administration, at dealing with things?” Jesus did not even ask, “Peter, do you know me well?” I am not saying that those things are not important, and sometimes necessary, in a shepherd. But when Jesus was looking for a shepherd, for someone who could feed His sheep, He asked about the most important and necessary thing: “Peter, do you love me?” A true shepherd is, first of all, someone for whom Jesus is food and treasure, a man in love with Jesus, a man with a personal connection to Him.

And then Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” Jesus instructed Peter to take care of people, not to take care of things. Pastoral administration can be overwhelming, but it makes no sense when it is done at the expense of the love of people. Being a shepherd is something personal. Out of love, the shepherd feeds the sheep.

2.  The main job of the shepherd is to feed Jesus’ sheep. Feeding means sustaining their lives, giving them strength and making them rejoice. Feeding means giving something that the sheep can taste and enjoy. True, sometimes good food is not pleasant, but the shepherd knows that food, even when unpleasant to the sheep, saves them from illness and hunger.

The sheep are fed by the Word of God and the Eucharist. This is the shepherd’s job: to preach the Gospel to God’s people and to celebrate for them the Eucharist and the other sacraments. In this way, the loving shepherd feeds the sheep. Now, bodily food sustains our lives and restores our strength, food is tasted and gives joy. What about spiritual food?

3.  Spiritual food saves us from spiritual death. Many dangers threaten the life of grace we have received in Baptism. The culture of relativism, “it’s all the same, there is no truth,” shakes our faith in Jesus’ words. The culture of hedonism surrounds us and weakens our commitment to keep pure and chaste. Materialism makes us forget that our treasure is God and transforms Christians into people only concerned about this life, like the rest… Our life of grace, our life in Christ is in danger, and this is why we need food. We need the words of a shepherd opening our eyes to the danger of losing our souls, we need the Eucharist to sustain our efforts. In Holy Communion, we partake in the Body of the One who endured so much for our sake, we drink the blood of a Lion who overcame the powers of hell. The Eucharist is food insofar as, if we are weakened by today’s life dangers but not dead by a mortal sin, the weekly Eucharist sustains that life.

The Eucharist sustains our lives because it is a communion with the Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 10:16). The Eucharist keeps us united to the vine: “I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers” (John 15:5-6). Receiving the Eucharist in a worthy manner strengthens the bond of union with Jesus, it allows the blood of Jesus and His grace to keep flowing into our souls, it allows us to express with our whole selves our love for Jesus as we receive His sacramental kiss.

4.  The Eucharist also strengthens our souls. As bodily food keeps the body strong for work and more resistant to illness, this spiritual food keeps us strong to carry out good works and to avoid sin.

The Eucharist gives us something to taste… “Taste and see how good the Lord is!” (Psalm 34:8). The Eucharist is an experience of God’s love. Not because of what we actually see and taste, but because of what we believe. Our faith in His real presence makes us experience Holy Communion as an act of God’s love: God surrendered Himself to death and left His sacred Body as food for me, just to be with me. There is no greater love than giving yourself to the beloved, and God gives Himself to me. He gives me an anticipation of Heaven. When we are aware of this in Holy Communion, and we try with our whole heart to be faithful to His love, Holy Communion gives us joy.

Receiving communion is much more than something ritual: it is personal. It is something between you and Jesus. No one in the church can see what happens between you and Him, because He is hidden and your own love is hidden as well. But, as for you, make it personal. Go to Holy Communion with the commitment of being faithful to Jesus in everything, even the small things. So that you may sing with David, “Taste and see how good the Lord is!”