Thanks Be To God!

I looked up the word Eucharist in the dictionary and the dictionary defined it as, the central Christian rite in which bread and wine are consecrated and distributed as the body and blood of Jesus. It defined consecrated as, to set apart as holy, make or declare sacred for religious use. The word Eucharist comes from the Greek word eucharistia for thanksgiving. In the Eucharist the church both receives the gift of Jesus Christ and gives grateful thanks to God for such a blessing. The Eucharist is the actual body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ even though the appearance is that of bread and wine, which is known as transubstantiation. The Eucharist was instituted by Jesus Christ during his last supper. Days before his crucifixion he shared a final meal of bread and wine with his disciples during the Passover meal. Jesus instructed his followers that the bread was “My Body” and the wine was “His Blood.” He commanded his followers to eat these and “do this in memory of Me.” Jesus later said, “amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
I remember during the pandemic days of 2020 when the churches were all closed and we could not receive the Eucharist. I was grateful to be able to follow Mass on the computer or on TV, but it still felt very empty. I was in a panic thinking that we might never again be able to par take of the Eucharist. We were all so grateful that it did not happen and the churches were allowed to open again with social distancing and we could receive the Holy Eucharist again. Before the pandemic I felt like my faith was a tiny little pilot light, but after the pandemic it was a raging fire. I learned that we can’t take the Eucharist for granted that someday it may be taken away from us forever. It put a more sense of urgency in me. Covid also made me realize that my life on earth could be over rather quickly and suddenly. For my sister who was just a few years older than me died of Covid in 2020.
In closing I want to say, the Eucharist, the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, is our true food for our souls and we can’t get to Heaven without it. Thank you and God bless you always. Thanks be to God.