By Fr. John Brobbey
At the heart of the Christian worship is the Eucharistic banquet which combines the breaking of the word and the breaking of bread. In the last five Sundays, we have reflected on John 6 which looked at the feeding of the multitude, meandered its way into the discourse on manna and the eating of the flesh of the Son of Man and drinking his blood, into the final pericope which invites the disciple to make a decisive choice. At the Mass, God feeds us with his word through the reading of scripture. This is the liturgy of the word which ends with the prayers of the faithful. The liturgy of the Eucharist begins with the preparation of the gifts and the offertory procession.
At St. Francis, it is demonstrated by the extinguishing of the lights at the Ambo and the lighting of the candles at the altar, as in Matthew Chapter 2 when the star dimmed when the Magi entered Jerusalem but shined upon the little cottage of Bethlehem. In Bethlehem the word became flesh and the star shined. Not a coincidence that Bethlehem means the house of bread in Hebrew, and the house of meat in Arabic. Hence the bread of life is born in the house of bread and is inviting us to a banquet to eat his flesh and drink his blood. The reason Christmas is celebrated everyday in Bethlehem and at every mass!
The Catholic Church of the United States climaxed three years of Eucharistic Revival in Indianapolis reaffirming strongly our belief in the Real Presence. The church declares that in receiving the Holy Eucharist we receive the BODY, BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY OF CHRIST. Three key words are employed notably; REAL, TRUE AND SUBSTANTIAL! Thus, the Holy Eucharist is REALLY, TRULY and SUBSTANTIALLY the BODY, BLOOD, SOUL and DIVINITY OF CHRIST. Jesus asked, WILL YOU ALSO GO? And Peter responded, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO, YOU HAVE THE MESSAGE OF ETERNAL LIFE. Choices are like a staircase, they either take you up or they bring you down. Choose JESUS over everything!