The biggest miracle of the Eucharist

Good News ReflectionMonday of the 18th Week in Ordinary TimeAugust 3, 2009
Today's Readings:Num 11:4b-15Ps 81:(2a)12-17Matt 14:13-21http://www.usccb.org/nab/080309.shtmlUSCCB Podcast of the Readings:http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/09_08_03.mp3
The biggest miracle of the Eucharist
In today's first reading, we see the desert-tired Israelites complaining: "Would that we had meat for a change! We never get anything but this manna." Gone was their awe and wonder about the miraculous food that came straight from heaven to nourish them daily. Miracles never seem miraculous when they're commonplace, do they?
We have at every Mass a miraculous food that comes straight from heaven to nourish us. By divine intervention, Jesus Christ is fully present, body and soul – his humanity and his divinity – looking like simple bread and wine. In the Eucharist, he feeds us with his total self so that our own body and soul are nourished while we journey through the desert of life's difficulties. But it's so commonplace, it's easy to lose the awe and wonder of what really happens. Why else would we complain that God is not doing enough to heal us or deliver us from hardships or give us whatever we're lacking?
When Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish in today's Gospel passage, he gave the people a foretaste of the nourishment he would provide through the Eucharist. The meal took care of a human need, and they had lots of leftovers as proof that God doesn't provide ONLY what we need, but so much more, too.
Many saints throughout the centuries have lived for many years while eating nothing but the Eucharist. They are evidence that Christ's presence in the consecrated bread truly does feed our bodies, not just our souls. How much are you fed by the Eucharist?
The Eucharist nourishes us in every way that we need to be fed IF we participate in it fully. Minimal, half-hearted involvement in the Mass prevents us from participating fully in all the benefits of the Eucharist. Every prayer, the songs, the readings, and the communal experience of worship all work together to make the Eucharistic experience complete.
Full participations means that when we consume Jesus, he consumes us. We become more like him. Our holiness, which is already in us thanks to the Holy Spirit we received at baptism, is released. When the minister of the Eucharist proclaims to us, "This is the body (or the blood) of Christ," our "amen" means we're agreeing with the life-changing presence of Jesus. We're agreeing to be changed!
The biggest miracle is not the bread and wine being changed into Christ. That only requires a priest ordained in the lineage of the Apostles, some unleavened bread, and certain prayers and rituals. It's more miraculous for us to be changed into Christ-like Christians, which requires our free will and full participation.
Experiencing awe and wonder over the miracle of the Eucharist is not just about appreciating what happens in Mass. It's also about appreciating and submitting ourselves to God's power to transform us into holier people.
To learn more about the Eucharist, why the bread and wine are transformed into the True Presence of Jesus, and how this can change us, take my easy web course:http://catholicdr.com/e-Classroom/Eucharistia/
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