Eucharist: The Amazing Gift of Love

Rev. Marcel Divine Emeka Okwara, CSsR

Homily for the Most Holy Body & Blood of Christ

St. Gerard Majella Church, Baton Rouge, LA

Sunday, June 7, 2015

I am not one of those who spends a great deal of time watching movies. I hardly watch movies either in the house or at the theater. I may be interested in going to a movie theater if there is a historic movie that everyone is talking about. In the past, I have gone to see movies like: “Twelve Years a Slave,” “The Butler” “Lincoln” “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom etc.” But I have in the past watched a few action and horror movies that were very bloody. Most times I contend that such movies are well made, but too bloody. I would prefer if there was less bloodshed in them. When I watch such bloody movies, I often times forget that they are merely movies, not real, but make-believe actions. But then, there are not too many people who will delight in watching movies littered with gory bloodshed and remain unmoved. So many people cannot stand the sight of blood, and that includes me. 

It might surprise us to hear that the three readings today all have to do, not just with the shedding of blood, but sprinkling it on people, as Moses did out in the desert, thereby presenting Jesus as the great high priest who goes into the sanctuary bearing his own blood, which will “cleanse our consciences from dead works (Hebrews 9:14) so we can worship the living God. 

As we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, the Church presents us Mark’s account of the Last Supper (Mark 14:12-16, 22-26) where Jesus tells his disciples, not only to eat his body but also to drink his blood. We have gotten used to hearing these words since they are spoken at every Mass. But if we stop and reflect on those words again, we will find those directives shocking and appalling. In the biblical world, just as in our time, blood is sacred; blood is life. Jesus offered his Body and Blood in order to give us life, his life, in order to make us sacred. In the Old Testament, animals were used for sacrifice. Their blood was offered in sacrifice. But by offering his Body and Blood, Jesus offered once and for all a sacrifice for all ages. His sacrifice opened a new relationship between us and God. Through the gift of his Body and Blood, salvation was won for us and is present to us when we gather in his name to praise the Father. 

The Eucharist (Jesus’ Body and Blood) is a sacrament of love. It simply calls us to convert to loving the Lord our God with our whole heart, our whole soul, and our whole mind. Love is a gift of self. St. ignatius of Loyola teaches us that love consists in a mutual sharing of what one has or is. In the Eucharist, that is, in the moment of Communion, what is being expressed and what is happening is just a mutual gift. That is why we call it “Communion.” It simply invites us to love the one that is offering himself to us. In the other six sacraments, Jesus comes to us to perform an action. In the other sacraments, Jesus does the giving, and we do the receiving. For instance, in Baptism, he comes to save us, to incorporate us into his own life, death, and resurrection. He comes to incorporate us into his Body. In reconciliation, Jesus comes to forgive and to heal us, and to help us grow. In confirmation, he comes to bring us to Christian maturity, to empower us and to send us on his own mission. In matrimony and holy orders, he comes to consecrate us to form the two communities that are necessary for Christian life: the community of the family and the community of the worshipping church. In anointing, Jesus comes to assure us of final victory over sin and death. But in the Eucharist, he comes for a mutual giving of himself to us and us to him. In Communion, we receive Jesus. We receive healing, strength, and every grace of the Lord. Now, Jesus does not come to us to remain silent and dormant. Communion is a very active moment. It is a time of deep union with him, a time for the communication of all he is to us and all we are to him. That is why the Eucharist is called the sacrament of love. We know that we are not worthy to receive the Lord, but since the Lord himself is happy to give himself to us this way, we should not be afraid to receive him. With confidence, let’s pray, “only say the word and I shall be healed.” With humility, let’s also pray for deep-down healing so that we may give ourselves wholeheartedly to the Lord.