Good morning good people,
May the Lord give you peace, health and happiness in the Holy Spirit. It is 18th August 2024. We celebrate the 20th Sunday in Ordinary time.
Are we senseless or sensible towards the Eucharist?
St. John Paul II taught us, “The symbol of the greatest mystery of love which is renewed every day at Holy Mass: Christ gives his Body and his Blood for the life of humanity. And all those who partake of his Banquet with dignity become living instruments of his presence of love, mercy and peace.”
Wisdom enables us and equips us with sensibility towards mystery, profundity in displayed divinity with an extraordinary meaning in the ordinary substance. We are never satisfied with the food that satisfies our hunger physically. Hence, we long for the spiritual till we dine in the eternal Banquet.
In this perspective, St. Ignatius of Antioch describes, “For food I want the Bread of God, which is the Flesh of Jesus Christ and for drink I want His Blood, which is incorruptible love.”
Therefore, with full confidence and trust, we can be assertive in claiming the Eucharist is a gift to all God’s people.
We see instant change in us when we have eaten to the full. Either we look over wight, obese, and healthy or sick. But we do not notice a visible and remarkable change after consuming the Eucharist. So, should we continue to consume the Eucharist that does not change us the way wish to look spiritually.
The book of Proverb claims that wisdom invites all of us for a food and drink. Wisdom personified as woman resides in every sphere, category and realm. For Jewish, Torah stands for wisdom. Seeking God’s will be the authentic wisdom. Wisdom has built a house with seven pillars namely counsel, knowledge, understanding, strength, power, riches and honor. Reliable and authentic wisdom resides and reaches us from God alone.
Wisdom who says, ‘Come and eat of my bread, drink the wine I have prepared’ is echoed in the words of Jesus: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life”
The invitation of Wisdom is for all those who are senseless, ignorant and all-knowing people.
Life is a gift from God; it is the food from Heaven that sustains life and without which we cannot have eternal life.
St. Paul stresses the need for discernment and retrospection of standard of our living at this moment. Is our life directed to eternal life or dissipated in worldly distractions?
What is eternal life? “Now this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true god, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (Jn.17:3).
Gospel continues to speak about the discourse on Bread from Heaven.
We become sensible when we consider people and handle them with reverence, respect and love as we approach and adore the Most Eucharist in the Bread and the Wine.
Jesus promises that we will have eternal life unless we participate, celebrate and share in the Eucharist.
Flesh and blood signify the integral or whole person. Jesus in the Eucharist is in person. We all have the privilege to participate and to be empowered by the Holy Spirit.
The seven pillars are the seven gift of the Holy Spirit. The connection between the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit is so profound.
The Eucharist empowers us to be together and is an antidote to individualism and selfishness in us. Wisdom comes by participation and consuming the Eucharist and nourishing us to reach the Heavenly banquet in Heaven.
To enjoy eternal life, we need to remain in Him who is the Bread and Wine of our life.
As the Psalmist invites, “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord,” let us taste Him so that we do not waste our life.