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Eucharist in the Time of Corona
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November 7, 2021
The Christ who offered himself once and for all on the altar of the cross is contained and offered continuously in an unbloody manner in the sacrifice of the Eucharist. We, the Body of Christ, also participate in the offering of Jesus and offer our own sufferings and experiences in life so that they may be reshaped and reformed in the image and likeness of Christ. We bring these experiences embodied in the bread and wine offered at the altar.Since Christ accomplished our redemption by obedience to the Father’s will, we too are called to live our lives in obedience to Christ who exemplifies for us what it means to give our lives in self-surrender and self-sacrifice. The bread and wine presented in the Eucharist symbolize, then, the sufferings we experience in life which can be transformed and made redemptive through the attitude of obedience that we bring to acknowledging, accepting, yes, even embracing them!In the readings for last Sunday (32 nd Ordinary Time), we read about two women, widows, who surrendered their worries, concerns and poverty (symbolized in the two coins and the handful of fluor with the little oil in the jug) into the loving hands of God. According to Scriptures, after the widow in the Old Testament gave away the last of her resources, she had enough to eat for her and her son for a year. Her complete trust in God’s providence reminds me that God Emmanuel (God with us), shares all my worries and concerns, especially as we continue living the tensions and difficulties during these Covid times. Covid sometimes isolates us; the Eucharist always brings us together! Both women may be considered our “teachers” as we continue to strive to live God’s will each day in our lives.For more on the Eucharist: Apostolic Letter John Paul II “Dies Domini”