“I don’t get anything from the Eucharist.”
I have heard this statement many times from fallen-away Catholics or Catholics who feel that their frequent reception of the Eucharist has not led to any visible change in their lives. It leaves me wondering how we can receive the precious body, blood, and soul of Jesus in His divinity and still think, feel, or claim that we do not receive anything from the Eucharist.
Jesus’s multiplication of the loaves in Luke 9:11-17 shows us how this can be possible in our lives. After Jesus had fed about five thousand men with bread and fish, we are told that “they all ate and were satisfied.” Why were they satisfied? They were not satisfied simply because they had been satiated with abundant bread and fish. They were satisfied because they were in touch with their true needs and had allowed Jesus to provide for them.
They spent the whole day with Him, from morning until “the day drew to a close,” because they knew they had a great need to be instructed about the kingdom of God and to be healed of their infirmities first. They did not leave Jesus while in their hunger and sickness because they saw in Him the only one who could satisfy all their needs. And they were not disappointed: “Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed to be cured.” Having received the teachings of Jesus and experienced His healing touch, they were ready to find true satisfaction in the abundance of bread and fish.
We too find satisfaction in the Eucharist when we allow Jesus to teach us about life in His kingdom. The words of Jesus, His personality, examples, and attitudes must impact us deeply if we are going to find satisfaction in the Eucharist. The satisfying power of the Eucharist increases in us to the extent that we are ready and willing to live Christ-like lives for His sake.
Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, who recognized the risen Christ in the Eucharist, we need to listen attentively to the word of God and allow it to challenge us if we are going to connect with the divine treasure in each Eucharist. It was only after they had listened to the words of Jesus Christ that their hearts were prepared to recognize the sacramental presence of Jesus. They asked themselves, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us, and opened to us the scriptures?” (Lk. 24:32).
Many of us are oblivious to how our way of life, when contrary to the life of Jesus, prevents us from receiving all that Jesus offers in Holy Communion. But we cannot find satisfaction in the Eucharist when we are living worldly lives, lives shaped more by social media and secular values than by the very word of God. We don’t make time to read and meditate on God’s words, we don’t prepare ourselves for Mass by praying with the Liturgy of the Word, and even at Mass, many of us are still fixated on our worldly concerns instead of listening to the word that satisfies and points us to Jesus’ Eucharistic presence. We must first receive Our Lord by listening to His word—only then will we be prepared to receive Him in the Eucharist.
In addition to receiving His word, we also find satisfaction in the Eucharist when we allow Jesus to heal us of our wounds, sins, and hurts. We are wounded by our sinful choices and by the sinful actions of others towards us. We are in great need of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing all the time. We are plagued with wounded emotions and addictions that linger endlessly and leave our hearts restless and afraid.
Our Eucharistic Lord wants to heal us through the sacrament of Reconciliation so that we can be worthy and capable of receiving the full benefits of the Eucharist. But many of us fail to realize how sick and wounded we are and how desperately we need divine healing. The divine physician is waiting for us in and through the ministry of the priest in the confessional, ready to make us whole, remove our shame, and revive our freedom. There is no way that we can find satisfaction in the Eucharist when we refuse the healing power of the Spirit in this sacrament.
St. Paul reminds us that Jesus so desires to feed us with His very self, even before we ask Him. In the Last Supper, “on the night He was handed over,” Jesus was not thinking about Himself or His impending suffering and death. He gave Himself to us in the Eucharist because He was thinking about us and our greatest needs.
He knew that we needed to have His abiding presence with us all the time. “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” He knew that we needed to be healed and reconciled to the Father by His precious blood: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” He knew that we needed to be instructed and strengthened to live for Him and His kingdom; “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:23-26). We dare to utter such falsehood about not receiving anything from the Eucharist because we ignore this power and desire of Jesus to satisfy all our needs in the Eucharist.
Let us remind ourselves of the timeless truth that God alone satisfies our hearts completely. Unless we find true satisfaction in God, our hearts are never at peace or content. The good news is that God comes to us always in each Eucharist to satisfy us with our true need—living in communion with Him and all that we need for that communion. If we ever find ourselves thinking that we receive nothing from the Eucharist, let us examine our sense of our true needs and our trust in Jesus to provide for them.
We must never come to Holy Mass casually or out of routine. How can we ever expect to be satisfied in the Eucharist when we just “show up” for Mass? We must come expecting and intending to receive from Him all that He offers us and to respond to His love with love.
If we come prepared, allowing Jesus to instruct us with His words and heal us with His saving blood in the sacrament of Reconciliation, we will be truly satisfied when we receive the sacred body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus in Holy Communion.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Photo by Matea Gregg on Unsplash
