In the normal process of digestion, food we take in is broken down and the nutrients are then dispersed through the system, and used for various things, such as muscle building (protein), energy (sugars), and other such required activities of the body. The food “becomes us”; we are built up and are able to continue to live a bodily life when we eat. The thought occurred to me as I was receiving Holy Communion this morning that such is the case with the Holy Eucharist. The Host is fully and completely Christ, touchable, visible, eatable. Our bodies take in the Sacred Species, and, in a most daring act of humility, the Lord allows Himself to be digested by us. He penetrates into our very guts, literally, and diffuses Himself throughout our body. Interestingly enough, if one were to drink a gallon of the Precious Blood, one would become intoxicated, which gives a whole new meaning to “Blood of Christ, inebriate me!” So, Jesus literally builds us up by His nourishing Flesh and Blood. Of course, Saint Augustine reminds us that in ordinary food, it becomes us; eat too much, and there is a bigger you. With the Divine Food of the Eucharist, we are changed into Him, literally at the molecular level of our being, and beyond. This is why the belief in the resurrection of the body is so important, and what the Lord meant when He taught in John 6 that whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood has eternal life, and he will raise him up on the last day. It also translates into the moral imperative to bring that sacred presence into the world, for infused with the presence of Lord through Holy Communion, we are bound by the same law of love that urged Saint Paul to preach and make Christ known. We are to touch the world, and those in the world, with the palpable love of Christ that we ourselves have received in this Awesome Gift of the Word made Flesh.
Posted on: Tue, 30 Jul 2013 20:45:00 +0000
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