THIS is a truth of faith about the Eucharist that we need
to be more aware of. Everytime Mass is celebrated or holy communion
received or the Blessed Sacrament adored, we should realize that we
are actually going through, the whole history of mankind, from our
creation to our fall to our redemption and ultimately to our
glorification with God our Father in heaven.
And that’s simply because in Christ who is truly present
in the Eucharist, the whole of human existence is recapitulated. Not
only is Christ as the Son of God the very pattern of our humanity, but
he is also our Savior after we have sinned and messed up the original
design that God has for us.
Being the Alpha and the Omega, Christ offers us the best
and ultimate perspective in which everything in life has to be seen.
Nothing in our life, either good or bad, is outside
Christ’s redemptive work. As the Catechism would put it, Christ is the
sum and summary of our faith that reveals to us who we really are in
our totality. “He is like to us in all things except sin,” (CCC 470),
although he made himself all the way to be like sin without committing
sin, if only to save us. (cfr 2 Cor 5,21)
“Christ enables us to live in him all that he himself
lived, and he lives it in us. ‘By his Incarnation, he, the Son of God,
has in a certain way united himself with each man.’ We are called only
to become one with him, for he enables us as the members of his Body
to share in what he lived for us in his flesh as our model,” says the
Catechism. (521)
We should not miss this truth of faith, since it gives us
a good, global picture of our life, its origin and destiny, its
meaning, purpose and direction. From it we can draw endless
considerations that at once are spiritual, supernatural, natural,
moral and practical.
The Holy Eucharist is a recapitulation in Christ of
everything that can happen in human history, including the worst of
things as well as the best of things. It gives us a sense of
confidence, whatever our situation or predicament may be, because in
the end Christ would bring everything to our salvation.
How important it is therefore to make this truth part of
our core beliefs, so that we don’t get confused or lost in the twists
and turns of our life, and so that we can have the conviction that any
situation we may be in, either good or bad, can always be related and
resolved with Christ and his redemptive work!
This truth about Christ in the Eucharist banishes any
servile fear we may have toward Christ, while fostering a filial kind
of fear, full of veneration and confidence, which would help us avoid
offending him.
In a way, with the Eucharist the general script of our
life and the whole existence of all mankind is already written, its
happy ending is already known, although the details and the drama
would still be supplied by us as we relate ourselves to God’s plan.
Just the same, there’s always the possibility that we again can mess
up God’s beautiful plan for our redemption.
This truth about the Eucharist is most relevant especially
in those good moments of our life when the temptation to pride and
vanity can seem to be irresistible, or in those bad situations when
the temptation to fall into despair and helplessness can be strong and
powerful.
This truth about the Eucharist can instill in us the
ever-growing virtue of humility that would help us to see things
objectively, enabling us to discern the finer distinctions between
good and evil, and to read the signs of the times as well as the very
mind and will of God in any given moment.
This was what many saints did. In fact, all the saints
were Eucharistic saints. They went to the Eucharist and developed a
deep devotion to it, convinced that it was there where they could find
Christ to whom they brought all their concerns, problems and
questions.
It was there where they could feel reassured of final
victory in spite of the many setbacks suffered in their earthly
sojourn. It was through this Eucharistic devotion that they got always
reminded to avoid simply relying on their own estimation of things, a
common anomaly among us.
We should truly be Eucharistic souls so we can see
everything in the proper perspective.
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