This Sunday’s Gospel reading leads us to the concluding sections of Jesus’ discourse in the Synagogue at Capernaum where he presents himself as the “living bread”. Last few Sundays we have been meditating on the different aspects of a Christ-centered life. It is our regular participation and reception of the Eucharist in a state of grace that helps us to strengthen our closeness with Jesus. Do we know how blessed we are to share this meal? Do we understand what a blessing for us to share the life of God through this Eucharist?
When we receive the body and blood of Christ, we encounter Christ who comes to reside in our hearts. We can only wonder how our great God can make himself so small for us! This painful breaking of Jesus’ body is also a sign of God’s love for us. We need to reciprocate to Jesus with our love in our day-to-day life. The history of our Church is decorated with a few saints who lived many years just receiving the Holy Eucharist. This might not be our vocation but still, we are called to sustain our spiritual life through the reception of the Holy Eucharist in a worthy manner.
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen was a famous American preacher who inspired millions of people around the world. He has beautifully described the meaning and significance of the Eucharist through his books and preaching. Even in his busy life, he spent an hour every day in prayer and adoration in his chapel before the Blessed Sacrament. A few months before his death, he revealed in an interview about the person that inspired him to do so. It was an eleven-year-old little Chinese girl who expressed her love for Jesus by giving her life. The story was told by a priest who worked in China in the late forties and was imprisoned in his rectory of the church. The soldiers entered this girl’s church, broke the tabernacle, and scattered the Blessed Sacrament on the floor. At that time this girl was praying at the back of the church, and she hid behind a pillar as they began to desecrate the church. She was terrified of what she had seen but escaped from there without the soldier’s attention. But every night she secretly came there, entered the church through a hidden hole, and spent an hour in prayer. After her prayer, she approached the sanctuary, knelt, and received the hosts on her tongue from the floor.
One day, as she consumed the host, hearing the noise of someone moving, the awakened soldier ran after her and struck her with his rifle, killing her instantly. Bishop Sheen was so moved by this story, and he promised Jesus that he would spend an hour in the church, no matter how busy he would become. In his preaching, he said many times that the power of his priesthood came from his personal relationship with Jesus through prayer. St. Augustine says of the Holy Eucharist: “Although God is all-powerful, He is unable to give more; though supremely wise, He knows not how to give more; though vastly rich, He has not more to give.”
Sometimes, little ones, like this Chinese girl, better understand and witness to the world better than the learned. Bishop Sheen was not only wise, but also humble to learn from this girl’s heroic witness. We should be able to overcome all our fears through our love of Jesus. What is hidden in the Eucharist is the love of God for us. Let us promise Jesus that we will also try our best to resemble him to all those whom we encounter in our day-to-day life.
Rev. Dr. Mathew Charthakuzhiyil