Eucharist is the essence of the Catholic faith; it is the source of Christianity. It is the Eucharistic presence of the Lord that gives us the true meaning of Christianity, which gives us the fullness of life. Eucharist is the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the celebration of the Lord’s victory over sin and death. Eucharist is the meal, the banquet that Jesus calls us to partake. If there was no Death and Resurrection of Jesus, our Christian lives would be empty and meaningless. Jesus came into the world for this purpose, to give His life for us so that we may live and live in all eternity with the Father. By His death on the cross he gave himself to us, he gave us his body and his blood, thereby opened the doors of heaven for us. It is the New Covenant that God made with his people through the sacrificial death of his only son, and has sealed this covenant with the blood that was shed from the cross.

In John’s gospel chapter 6 after the miracle of the multiplication of the fish and the loaves, Jesus speaks to the people about the Bread of Life, which is his body and his blood. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life” (Jn6/35) and a little further in Vs 51 he said, “whoever eats of this bread will live forever and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh”. The people were wondering what Jesus was talking about. They could not understand as they were thinking only in terms of physical food, their minds were closed to understand something that was much beyond mere physical food. Jesus was talking about His body which he would give us by his death on the cross.  Since they had seen the miracle of the multiplication of loaves, they were thinking only about physical food.  They were talking among themselves, how could he give his flesh to eat. And by his death on the cross that is exactly what Jesus has done, he has indeed given us his flesh to eat, which we eat at every mass. If we were with Jesus at that time we too would have wondered in the same way and asked “how can anyone give us his flesh to eat”? Even the apostles, who were so close to Jesus could not understand, what he meant by this. It is only after the resurrection that their eyes were opened. By eating his flesh we become one with Christ. We share an intimate relation with Christ through the Eucharist; we are in total communion with Jesus through the Eucharist.

Further, Jesus said, “very truly, I tell you unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (Jn 6/53). Jesus wants to give us eternal life, life with the father, the son and the Spirit forever. There is life in every human blood, and by drinking His blood we get the life of Jesus within us.

By this we can say that Jesus wants us to be his mirror image. We have to be reflections of Christ here on earth. Jesus said: “the one who eats this bread will live forever”. What does it mean to live forever? It does not mean that we will not see death, but through death we will have eternal life and live with him forever. Most people have the desire to live a long life or to live forever, and Jesus promises us that we will live spiritually for ever with our Eternal Father. We are fed by the body and blood of Christ at every mass, the Eucharist, which is the whole presence of Christ. When we eat his body, we share in his Glorious resurrected body and our bodies which are weak, powerless and frail are made whole. There is tremendous power in the holy Eucharist; we become one body with Christ. As the risen Lord abides within us we are no longer two but become one with Christ. When we eat his body we also drink his blood, as the Eucharist is the whole Body and Blood of Christ. When we eat his body we are in communion with God our Father. Just as the Father and the Son are one, we become one with the Father, the son and the Holy Spirit.

Healing flows from His throne of grace. At every Eucharist we receive healing, either physical or spiritual. At every Eucharist we are healed and made whole. Jesus does not want any of his children to be in pain or to be in need, and so he calls us. “Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” ( Mt 11/28). The Holy Eucharist is a love call of Jesus, calling each one of us to love him and to experience his Holy presence so that we may be truly united with him, that we too may experience that unity which is shared by the Holy Trinity, unity with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. We can touch Jesus in the Eucharist and be healed like the woman who touched the edge of his cloak and was healed of her bleeding, of which we read in Mk 5/21 onwards. At mass we are not only called to touch the edge of his cloak but he gives us his whole body. Jesus says, “take and eat this is my body” (Mt 26/26). And when we eat the body of Christ we also drink His blood, for there can be no body without blood. When we speak of human body, we don’t mean only the flesh, every body is of course with blood. So when we speak of the Eucharist, it is whole and complete, the total presence of the body and blood of Christ. “…for this my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26/28). This blood of the unblemished lamb is offered once and for all for the forgiveness of sins. It is the new covenant of love that God made with his people. The old covenant which God (Yahweh) made with the people of Israel is replaced by this New Covenant. “He entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with his own blood thus obtaining eternal redemption (Heb 9/12). So the blood which Jesus shed on the cross for us gives us forgiveness of sins and thus we become heirs to the kingdom of God and are no longer slaves. God wants us to believe in his son Jesus who came to give us life. “Whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life” (Jn 6/47-48). But many still doubt the presence of Lord Jesus in the Eucharist and this has been happening even in the early church and so God had to perform many miracles so that people would believe in the Eucharistic Presence.

Most of us must have read or heard about the famous miracle of the Eucharist of Lanciano. Here is the miracle of Lanciano in brief for those who do not know about it.

Lanciano is a small town in Italy. A Basilian monk was wise with the worldly wisdom, but he was finding it difficult to believe in the real presence of our Lord Jesus in the Eucharist. He constantly prayed to be set free from this doubt. One day when he was offering mass, during consecration, the host which was in his hand literally became ‘Flesh’ and the wine in the chalice became ‘Blood’. When people saw this miracle they started weeping and wailing and asking God for mercy. Test proved that it is an actual human heart muscle, where fibres of the heart could be seen and the blood had all the properties of human blood. This miracle which took place years ago has still been preserved. Lanciano has become a place of pilgrimage as hundreds of faithful even now go to see this miracle and the body and blood till today has not decayed. This is only one of the many miracles of the Eucharist.

At mass, before we receive the body and blood of Christ, God speaks to us through his word. When God’s word is proclaimed, we receive healing through his word. God speaks to each one of us according to our needs. The same word is proclaimed, but each will receive it in a different way according to his need or problem. The Spirit of God is present in His word and so the word touches our hearts and does not return empty. But God’s Word will work within us only if we are open to His spirit. He knows the needs of each one, and He wants to speak to each one individually through his Word, so that we may receive our healing. The Word of God is powerful and knows the hidden thoughts and feelings of each one of us. The Word first nourishes and strengthens us and helps us grow in faith, before we come in faith to the Eucharistic table to eat of his body and drink his blood. Through the Word we receive peace, love, and joy and also the grace to forgive and then our hearts are prepared to that great union with the Lord in the Holy Communion. The Word of God has to take its root within our hearts, and we should allow this seed to grow. Or else the seed which is the Word of God may wither even before it can takes root, just as Jesus tells us in the parable of the sower in Mt 13/1-9.

When we come for the Eucharistic meal let us place our worries and anxieties at the table of the Lord. In this fast moving, glamorous, computerized and electronic world, our worries and anxieties have increased than ever before. We are worried about our future, about the outburst of new epidemics and new diseases, and there is constant fear of terrorism. But Jesus says: “can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life”? So Jesus wants us to place our trust in Him and leave all our fears, worries, anxieties and doubts at the altar. Where he will heal our brokenness, our emptiness and fill us with peace and good health in its place.

When we speak about the healings that take place at the Eucharist, we may often wonder, do healings really take place at the Eucharist and if not then why? Why do we not receive healing? Let us look into ourselves and see if there is any unforgiveness within us. Our failure to forgive others is the main block to every healing, spiritual or physical. As Jesus said, “when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go, first be reconciled to your brother or sister and then come and offer your gift” (Mt 5/23-24).

Here we see that Jesus does not even say if we have anything against our brother or sister, but says if your brother or sister has anything against you, which shows how important it is to forgive and how unforgiveness can hinder our healing. It is important to come before the Lord with a forgiving heart.

In the first letter to the Corinthians St. Paul tells us “whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment against themselves” (1Cor 27-29).  St. Paul further says that for this reason many of us are weak and ill. So let us examine ourselves before each Eucharistic meal. At every Eucharist, let us offer our brokenness to the Lord and believe in the Eucharistic presence of the Lord and receive healing. Thus our mortal bodies which are weak and frail may be transformed into his strength and may we receive the fullness of life. That all our past hurts and wounds may be healed and we will receive the Father’s love in our hearts. Through the Eucharist Jesus continues to be with us here on earth till the end of times, just as he promised his apostles, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28/20).