AND THEY CAME TO KNOW HIM…

 
     Who was at the Last Supper?  The Twelve, of course, but surely more—the family of the house where the meal was eaten; the Mother of Jesus (if she was at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday, she didn’t take an uber from Nazareth that morning to get there); and perhaps other disciples, as well (if the “Beloved Disciple” is someone not of the Twelve [Lazarus?], he was there, too).  And, perhaps, the two disciples on the way to Emmaus.
 
 I think this because otherwise in what way could they have recognized Jesus “in the breaking of the bread”?  There had to be, I believe, an association in their hearts and minds between what Jesus was doing with them at table and what He did at the Last Supper—they made the connection; and then, Jesus disappeared from their sight.  In Luke’s mind, the phrase “breaking of the bread” came to mean Eucharist, the offering of the bread and wine commanded by Jesus to be done “in memory of Him.”
 
St Teresa of Avila’s famous prayer begins, “Christ has no body now on earth, but yours.”  We are members of His Mystical Body, and as such we must bring Christ into the world by our love, our mercy, our outreach.  But it is also true that Christ has no Body now but this:  the mystical and real Presence in the breaking of the bread.  “Petros eni,” (“Peter is in here”) a carved message was read on a slab of marble just alongside the grave of Peter—it signified (to many, at least) that Peter’s remains were moved from the grave to this spot (loculus, in Latin) for safety.  We can say the same for the Eucharist:  Jesus is “in here.”  What is the Jesus that is in the Blessed Sacrament?  It is His Body and Blood given for us, His love, His mercy, His forgiveness, His healing, His empowerment.  Just consider what His risen presence did to make frail and cowardly disciples into the boldest of proclaimers in Jesus risen.  He offers all this to us in His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.
 
 This weekend our First Eucharist class will celebrate their entrance into the sacramental life of the Church through Jesus:  crucified, died, buried, and risen for them.  “Do not be unbelieving, but believe... My LORD and my God!" (John 20:27-28).  
 
 We receive at the same time the Body broken and Blood poured out for us which are also the Glorified Body of our Savior.  Can we possibly imagine a gift more powerful and precious, more loving?  Can we possibly come to receive this gift without awareness of what it implies for us?
 
 This weekend is our young people’s day (as was the Easter Vigil for our neophytes).  But it is our day, too.  On Easter we renewed our baptismal commitment; our receiving of the Eucharist is a further saying of YES to the Lord.  Now what?  We have been swept over with His love, mercy, forgiveness, and healing; we are being empowered (no matter how “frail” we think we are).  Will we try to live up to the commitment to live and bring those gifts to others we encounter?
 
 Let’s pray for our young people this weekend that their joy will renew us in living faith.  
                                                                                                      -Fr. David