Eucharistic Corner

   The center of our Catholic life is the Sunday Mass. The Eucharist is a wonderful gift of God. When did it start? In the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 1323) we read: “At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood. This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again, and so to entrust to his beloved Spouse, the Church, a memorial of his death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a Paschal banquet ‘in which Christ is consumed, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.”

   Christ instituted the Eucharist at the Last Supper, on Holy Thursday. Thanks to this, the loving sacrifice of Jesus is perpetuated through the ages. The Eucharist was “made” by Jesus because he wanted to be present to us all the days of our life. His love was so powerful that it overcame the limits of time and space. The same One who was in Jerusalem around the year 33 is now in Stamford, CT, on 2024. His heart is beating for us today in the tabernacle! He is waiting for us every Sunday at Mass. There is this great story about an old man that Saint John Vianney found in the Church just staring at the tabernacle. The priest asked him what he was doing and the man explained, “I look at him and he looks at me.” That´s all. There is nothing more important.

   Jesus instituted the Eucharist in order to leave to the Church a pledge of His love and to never to depart from us. In this way, He made the Church share in His Passover. The Holy Mass, therefore, has been entrusted to the Church as a gift and a responsibility.