FEED THEM YOURSELVES

Have you been blessed by the Lord?

One of the indicators that the Lord blesses us is the food we have on our tables. If you eat your meals three times a day, you can consider yourself blessed. If you eat your meals six times a day, you are truly blessed. Others may yearn more, while about ten percent of our population is already thankful having even just one meal in a day (AlTangHap). Indeed, the Lord blesses most of us but unfortunately millions are left in hunger. Does this mean that the Lord does not bless them, or have we been negligent in our responsibility in sharing our blessings?

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi Sunday. Pope Urban IV instituted it in 1264. It is a great occasion for us to celebrate and reflect upon the Eucharist we receive in the mass. It is an occasion for us to rejoice for the gift of the Eucharist that nourishes us; that reminds us of Christ's abiding presence among us; His great blessing to us. 

The greatest joy we can ever experience is to be in the presence of our beloved or that our beloved is present with us. This is what Jesus does in the Eucharist where we experience His real presence. In the mass, particularly in the consecration and communion, we receive the real presence of God in the appearance of bread and wine. The bread and wine cease to be bread and wine alone but rather transubstantiated into the body and blood of Christ. In faith in Jesus's words, we hold those that appear to be bread and wine as His body and blood. Thus, when the priest offers them to us as he says, "The Body of Christ" we reply "Amen" meaning, "I believe." We believe because Jesus says "This is my Body, this is my Blood." Only a believer can receive the body and blood of Christ in the appearance of bread and wine.

The Body and Blood of Christ; the Eucharist, is the source and summit of our life us Catholics (CCC 1324). It is the source of our life as it nourishes and strengthens us in our spiritual journey. It inspires us. It is the summit of our journey as it is the end goal of our life; to be like Christ the Eucharistic Lord who shared Himself to those who are in need. In the Eucharist, we hold in our hands the creative and liberating presence of God. Creative, since it directs us to the image of Jesus; the image we all desire to be transformed to. Liberating as it frees us from worries and weaknesses we may encounter in our journey, and prepares us to imitate Jesus, the Eucharistic Lord who served others. the Eucharist changes us internally (making us renewed creatures) and externally (as we become the witness of our faith and of Christ). In the creative and liberating presence of God in the Eucharist, we are reminded of the extent of the generosity of God to us; He gave His own flesh and blood for our sustenance, just like a pelican who feeds her children with her own flesh and blood, just so they may live (in the hope later they too will do the same to their offspring). Truly in the Eucharist, we realize how blessed are we with the creative and liberating presence of God. 

We regularly receive the Eucharist in the masses we celebrate. Millions of Filipino Catholics receive the communion on Sundays. By this time, our society should have been a Eucharistic society where hunger is unknown and charity have become the norm. But on the contrary, if we look around us, a lot of people are still hungry, whether physical or spiritual. Why is that so? It is probably because we haven't received the Eucharist properly and attentively in our lives. We haven't yet appropriated the message of the Eucharistic Lord in our own lives. Just like the apostles, we may have Jesus in our presence but never learned to be like Jesus (cf Lk 9:11B-17), who desires to feed the hungry by ourselves and not to send them away.

How are we to receive and appropriate the Eucharist in our lives?

When the priest offers the body of Christ during the communion, others will not respond "Amen." They will say "Thank you" instead. Others do not even fast, with food crumbs in their mouths as evidence. Other communicants open their mouth without extending their tongue, expecting the minister to make a good flick of the Body of Christ into their mouth. Some communicants are like Venus-fly traps that at the very moment they had a sight of the host they immediately close their mouth, clutching the fingers of the minister in their mouth. Others receive Jesus with seemingly sad faces. Worse is that others are not in the state of grace. How we receive the sacred host reflects our reception of Jesus in our life. Have we sufficiently prepared our selves in receiving Jesus? And consequently, this too speaks of the effects of the Eucharist in our lives. We fail to like our Eucharistic Lord as we fail to receive Him properly in our lives. 

In receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, embracing the Eucharistic spirituality can be our guide; that is of offering, being blessed, broken and shared.

We are to offer to God in the service of others and especially those in need whatever God has entrusted to us. We can offer our time, resources and talents to our community and even to strangers in need.  Do not say you have nothing to give. Christ gave everything for us His beloved, even his very own flesh and blood. His very own life, that we may be fully configured in His image: I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever.

Believe that whatever we offer, though how small it may be (five loaves and two fish) will be blessed by the Lord, and in turn will be a blessing to multitudes of people in need. Who would have thought that five loaves and two fish can feed five thousand men! Your few minutes spent with a friend in grief can mean a lot to him. A simple smile to a stranger can make his rough day a pleasing one.

The blessings we receive are meant to be broken and shared. They can only be shared if they are broken. We cannot share them if we keep them wholly for ourselves. (A seminarian once received dinaguan (blood stew) from his parents. In his greediness, he kept the stew in his cabinet in the seminary, not wanting to share it to his brothers. A day after, the stew was spoilt and wasted). Sharing may be difficult for others since it entails being broken of our selfishness and personal dreams in exchange of the will of God for us. But it is in being broken and shared that our identity as Eucharistic people is realized. It is in His suffering and death (being broken) that Jesus realized the mission entrusted to Him by the Father (to free us from sin and share eternal life with us). 

Through the Eucharistic spirituality of offering, being blessed, broken to be shared, we realize our identity just like that of Jesus.  

Feed them yourselves! Give them something to eat; Jesus admonished his apostles. As we are blessed by the presence of Jesus, we are to be blessings to others; to feed the hungry, attend to the needy. Our generosity can be God's way of making Himself present to those who could not feel His hands. We too can be the bread of life that can feed those who are hungry! By the bread of life which we receive, we are transformed to become food ourselves for others; inspired by the generosity of Jesus, and through which we shall give.

We are blessed by our Eucharistic Lord!

Be a blessing in turn by a life of witnessing through the Eucharistic spirituality: offering, being blessed, broken and shared!