As we continue to hear on Sunday from the Gospel of John’s Bread of Life Discourse, I would like to offer some reflections on the Eucharist and its essential role in our salvation. These reflections are based on one of the inspiring presentations given during the recent National Eucharistic Congress. This presentation was offered by Sr. Josephine Garrett. She began by summing up the state of the world before and after Christ and the state of each of our souls before and after we are initiated into the Christian mysteries. In one sentence, Sr. Josephine powerfully summarized the truth of our salvation: “I’m broken, and I’m sinful, and I’m joyful and I’m hopeful.”
We live in a broken world. This brokenness is expressed in the account of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis where we read about the first man and woman breaking their relationship with God to follow the deceitful ways of the devil. This is the original sin we all learn about as we study our faith. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains:
The transmission of original sin is a mystery that we cannot fully understand. But we do know by Revelation that Adam had received original holiness and justice not for himself alone, but for all human nature. By yielding to the tempter, Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this sin affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state. It is a sin which will be transmitted by propagation to all mankind, that is, by the transmission of a human nature deprived of original holiness and justice. And that is why original sin is called “sin” only in an analogical sense: it is a sin “contracted” and not “committed” – a state and not an act. (§ 404)
We are born in the state of sin, an inherited brokenness in our relationship with God and, indeed, one another. But, our story and the story of the human family doesn’t end there. As we read in the Book of Genesis, right after Adam and Eve fell into temptation, they hid from God when they heard him walking about in the garden. God called to them, saying: “Where are you?” Since that time, God has sought to renew his relationship with us. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains so well that “after his fall, man is not abandoned by God. On the contrary, God calls him and in a mysterious way heralds the coming victory over evil and his restoration from his fall” (§ 410). This is a cause for great joy!
The Catechism of the Catholic Church goes on to relate why we can live with joy and in hope, beginning with a quote from St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (4:4-5):
“But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” This is the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”: God has visited his people. He has fulfilled the promise he made to Abraham and his descendants. He acted far beyond all expectation – he has sent his own “beloved Son.” (§ 422)
Jesus himself declared, “I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day” (John 6:38). And, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches so clearly:
Jesus gave the supreme expression of his free offering of himself at the meal shared with the twelve Apostles “on the night he was betrayed.” On the eve of his Passion, while still free, Jesus transformed this Last Supper with the apostles into the memorial of his voluntary offering to the Father for the salvation of men: “this is my body which is given for you.” “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (§ 610)
This is the great mystery that we celebrate every time we celebrate the Eucharist. As we heard Jesus declare so clearly in last Sunday’s gospel account.
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” (John 6:56-57)
All of this gives us great joy and hope! Despite our brokenness and our sinfulness, we live in the joy and the hope of our Lord’s salvific work: giving us himself in the Eucharist and leaving us the promise of full reconciliation with God our heavenly Father through his death and resurrection. As we continue to participate in the National Eucharistic Revival, let us reflect deeply on this central mystery of our faith. Heeding the call of our bishops, let us participate in the Year of Mission by sharing this wondrous truth whenever and wherever we find the opportunity to do so!