The Holy Eucharist : 5 Ways We Become What We Receive



The Holy Eucharist: Becoming What We Receive.
As the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, she invites us to contemplate anew the greatest treasure entrusted to her care: the Holy Eucharist.

If the Catholic Church were to be a company and the seven sacraments were the products she offers to humanity, it is safe to say that the Holy Eucharist would be her flagship product of all time. Just as "product" is the most important element in the marketing mix, so is the Holy Eucharist among the sacraments; they all point to it and find their fulfillment in it.

When we eat ordinary food, it becomes part of us. The food is transformed into our flesh, our blood, and our strength. The Holy Eucharist works differently. When we receive the Eucharist, Christ does not become part of us in the way ordinary food does. Rather, we are transformed into Him. We become what we receive.

This profound mystery lies at the heart of the Catholic faith.

According to Canon 897, "the most venerable sacrament is the blessed Eucharist, in which Christ the Lord himself is contained, offered and received, and by which the Church continually lives and grows."

The Eucharist is the fulfillment of God's promise to always be with us (Emmanuel). At Bethlehem, God became one of us. On Calvary, He sacrificed Himself for us. In the Eucharist, He remains with us. Every tabernacle throughout the world silently proclaims the same message: God is here.

The Eucharist is not merely a symbol, a reminder, or a sacred meal. It is Jesus Christ Himself - Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity - truly present among His people. This is why the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1374) teaches the doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist: in the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained.

"O sacred banquet in which Christ is received as food, the memory of his Passion is renewed, the soul is filled with grace and a pledge of the life to come is given to us." — St. Thomas Aquinas.

Happy Corpus Christi!
by Cosmos Ateli
by Writer at Catholic News World: Cosmos Ateli, B.Sc. - Email Atelicosmos1@gmail.com
Cosmos Ateli,  is a lover of Customer Experience and a writer for Catholic News World. He has a B.Sc degree in Marketing from Delta State University, Nigeria. He is an aspiring Canon Lawyer.

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