Questions for Reflection/Discussion by Catholic Men
1. Reflect on your own personal experiences of how the Mass, and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist, has impacted your life. Do those experiences mirror or contrast with Fr. Contalamessa's statement that “a Christian is truly what he eats”?
2. The article also speaks of our lives becoming so entwined with Jesus that his thoughts, desires, and attitudes become ours. What are the specific thoughts, desires, and attitudes you want to submit to Jesus. What are you willing to do to become the very one you receive?
3. In what ways can the steps described in the article help you to experience more of the Lord at Mass, and each time you receive the Eucharist? Which steps (at least one or two) are you willing to implement over the next few weeks? Use the steps you identified to develop a personalized plan.
4. Are you willing to be accountable over the next few weeks for implementing the steps you selected? How? If you are in a men’s group, share the impact these steps have had on your experience at Mass at the next meeting.
5. What additional steps can you implement in the future to continue to deepen your experience of Christ at Mass? What impact do you expect these additional steps to have? Once again, if you are in a men’s group share the impact at a future meeting that these steps have had on your experience at Mass.
[Editor's Note: This article is the fifth in a series of six articles celebrating the Year of the Eucharist. Click here to read the first article, second article, third article, and fourth article.]
It is an awesome thing to reflect on the power and intimacy available to us in the Eucharist. The mere thought that eating and drinking in faith enables us to abide in Christ should be enough to leave us speechless. Let’s listen to Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher to John Paul II and the papal household, as he explains the Christian mystery of the Eucharist.
“An atheist philosopher once said: ‘Man is what he eats,’ meaning that everything in us is reduced to the organic and material components of the human body. Once again, without knowing it, an atheist has expressed the Christian mystery in the best way. Because of the Eucharist, a Christian is truly what he eats.
“The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). In biblical language, the words “body” and “blood” indicate Jesus’ entire life — or better still, his life and death — not just different dimensions of who he is. This truth can lead us to a life-changing conclusion: There is no moment or experience in Jesus’ life that we cannot relive and share in communion. In fact, his whole life is present to us every time we receive his body and blood. And that is how we become what we eat.
Isn’t that astounding? At every Mass, Jesus gives himself to us completely. As we stay close to him, our lives become so entwined with Jesus’ that his thoughts, his desires, and his attitudes become ours. Ultimately, as we receive Christ, we become the very one we receive. However, this does not occur by passively going to Mass, whether daily or Sunday, but requires prayerful preparation and participation on our part. Below are some steps we can take, prior to Mass or during Mass, to prepare ourselves to receive the marvelous gift of Jesus’ body and blood. Don’t try all the different steps at once, pick one or two and experiment with them. Then try others as well.
1. Prior to Mass, take some time to sit down with your Bible and contemplate each of the readings for that day. Quiet your mind and let God speak to you through the Scriptures. As you do this, you will be surprised how the Mass readings will speak to you personally, even to the current circumstances of your life. You will also be prepared to hear a further word from the Lord as the Scriptures are read at Mass.
2. During Mass, as you listen to the Scripture readings, ask the Spirit to show you God’s kingdom in a new way. During Communion, tell him that you’re ready to listen to whatever he puts on your heart (Matthew 13:43). Then, watch and see how the Spirit works.
3. During Mass, ask for a deeper revelation of the Trinity, a revelation of the love that gave everything so that you could be with Him. Expect God to fill you with his divine life and give you a deeper taste of his love. And this is not just a passing on of information about God’s love. Ask the Holy Spirit to work in such a way as to bring you into a deeper experience of the love of the Father and the Son — and a deeper revelation that you are God’s beloved child.
4. During Mass, worship Jesus for taking you with Him to the Cross, as the priest reads the Eucharistic Prayer. Don’t fear the Cross. Embrace it! Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you greater depths of the freedom that is yours through the Cross. Tell your Heavenly Father how grateful you are that Jesus defeated sin and death on the Cross. Tell Him you want to be a living testimony to this defeat of sin. Tell Him of your great desire to be transformed into the image and likeness of His Son.5. During Mass, just prior to going up to receive the Eucharist, tell Jesus you accept His invitation to come to Him. Come as you are. Come freely. Come hungry. Come with expectation. Come and watch Jesus satisfy your deepest needs. Come and enjoy. It’s God’s free gift to you.
6. During Mass, just before you receive the Eucharist, listen for the Spirit. Give Him a chance to speak to you. You can count on Him to tell you the truth and to give you all you need. Let this be an intimate encounter with Jesus, your Lord.
7. After receiving the Eucharist, take time to rest in God’s presence. Quiet your mind and let God show you His mercy. Let Him reveal the tenderness with which He looks at you, so that you will be able to share that mercy and love with everyone around you. Distractions might abound, but God is faithful; He will give you his rest.
“Lord Jesus, how wonderful you are! You who became flesh for us that we might receive you, abide in you, and be transformed by your whole life. Lord Jesus, you are the Bread of Life. You are the food for my spirit. Help me to empty myself so that I can be filled with you. Lord Jesus, I want to experience a deeper intimacy with you.”
(Maurice Blumberg is Executive Director of the National Fellowship of Catholic Men. This article is part of NFCM's sponsorship of the Catholic Man channel. Contact the NFCM at P.O. Box 86381, Gaithersburg, MD 20886 or e-mail them at info@nfcmusa.org. Many thanks to The Word Among Us for allowing us to include in include some material from daily meditations from their devotional magazine.)
Special Note: In honor of “The Year of the Eucharist,” the National Fellowship of Catholic Men is pleased to offer two books on the Eucharist that can be used in small Catholic men’s groups: Worthy is the Lamb, the Biblical Roots of the Mass by Thomas J. Nash (with discussion questions at the end of each chapter) and God Is Near Us: The Eucharist, the Heart of Life by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI). These books can be ordered directly from the NFCM on its website.
Reflection Questions on Page 2
