For two thousand years we have experienced how the Church has developed, sprung up around the breaking of the bread, the Eucharist.
The first generations of Christians were celebrating the Lord's Supper even before the Scriptures were written down. In other words, the Mass is older than the Books of the New Testament, and when it came time for the Church to determine which Scriptures were inspired and should be included in the Canon of the Bible, one of the criteria was readings that were read at the celebration of the Eucharist.
During these last few weeks, my message to the thousands of young people, whom it was my joy and privilege to confirm, was “Look at the Eucharist"God is making Himself a gift to us!”
The only way our life will find meaning and fulfillment is if we make ourselves a gift to God and to others. That is our mission. We are a Eucharistic people. We find our true identity when we are gathered around the altar. On the altar our God becomes a gift"a life-giving gift. The Gospel from today's Mass describes the first Mass. St. Mark says that Jesus and the disciples sang songs of praise. We gather in this Eucharist to sing songs of praise. For Catholics it is an effort. Remember Mark's words, Jesus sang at the first Eucharist. We, too, must sing songs of praise to a God who is so good and so loving that He makes a gift of Himself to us.
Eucharist means Thanksgiving. We should never think of the Mass without sentiments of gratitude. For us, being a Eucharistic people must also mean that we are profoundly thankful to our God. This spirit of thanksgiving points to the social aspect of the Eucharist.
One of the ways we show our gratitude to God is by sharing our gift with others. As St. Paul writes: “God has made you rich so that you might be generous.” Jesus shows us at the First Eucharist that the Mass is to be a font of charity. He begins the celebration by washing the feet of the disciples and giving them the command of mutual love. And in another place in the Gospel, Jesus warns us not to bring our sacrifice to the altar if we are not first reconciled to our brothers and sisters.
As a sacrificial meal, the Eucharist communicates the love that has inspired the sacrifice, a love that spared nothing in order to secure the happiness of others. In the Eucharist, Jesus willed to give His disciples the strength to love one another as he had loved them. He gave His disciples with the gift of His body and Blood, a power of love that knows no limits. [Part 4 of 7]
