Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ)

I receive Holy Communion every day at morning Mass. Because Communion are very important to me, I think about it a lot. I want to understand as well as I can what it means. I need to make sense of what happens at Mass, of the words and gestures of the priest and the congregation, and most importantly of the sacred mystery of the Eucharist itself.

I believe wholeheartedly in the doctrine of Real Presence. That is why I am at Mass every morning in the first place. And I have studied the theology of the Eucharist extensively. But in spite of all my efforts, I do not have a complete grasp of the meaning of the Eucharist. I know what transubstantiation means: that the Eucharistic bread and wine are not just signs of the body and blood of Christ, but the real substance of his body and blood under the appearance of bread and wine. But knowing this is not the same as understanding the mystery of faith.

Perhaps the key to understanding the Eucharist is not in theology books but in the words of the Mass itself. During the Eucharistic Prayer the priest takes the bread in his hands and says the sacred words of consecration:

"This is my body which will be given up for you."

Then he takes the cup of wine and says these words:

"This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven."

We can begin to understand what the Eucharist is only when we understand why it is. It is not enough to say that bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ and that he is really present on the altar, even though this is saying a lot. There is much more to the Eucharist than its metaphysics.

What is most important is that in giving us his body and blood Jesus gives us the fullness of God's love. And the Eucharist is not just a sign of this love; it is a real act of love that radically changes anyone who receives it with an open heart.

When I receive Holy Communion with an open heart I have everything I could ever hope for. Love, the one thing I most desperately need and cannot get enough of anywhere else, is given to me in such plenitude in the Eucharist that I cannot contain it.

This love sets me free and makes it possible for me to love others. Once God's love is poured into my heart to overflowing I can turn to another and say, "I don't want anything from you or need anything. I don't expect anything from you. I just care about you. Now that I know how deeply God loves me and how tenderly he cares for me, the least I can do is care for you."

Maybe this is why the Eucharist is called Holy Communion. And this is why I get up early every morning and drive to my church to attend Holy Mass and receive Communion.