The mystery of the Eucharist will never be completely understood, but there are a few aspects of the mystery that are my favorites. The Eucharist is a gift, it is the best gift I have ever received, and I am sure it is the best gift anyone has ever received. Usually, when we give and receive gifts there is an exchange. I give you something and you give me something of relatively the same value. However, the sacrament of the Eucharist is God giving Himself to us, His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. It is the closest we can come to God outside of heaven. It is a gift we will never be able to reciprocate, the only way we can even come close to reciprocating this gift is by giving ourselves to God, by loving Him with our entire heart, soul, and strength.

The Eucharist is defined as the source and summit of our faith, it is everything. The entirety of the Mass is structured around this perfect gift of the Eucharist. It puts on display His fiery love for us and it is an amazing display of humility. Not only did He become a man so that we may come to know and love Him, but He also died for us. Then He gave us Himself to us in the Eucharist, where He is vulnerable, with no way of protecting Himself. He put himself into our care so that we may love him in our reverence towards the Eucharist; in how we handle Him and in how we act in His presence. He does all this because of how much he loves us and desires us to be with Him.

Now that Churches are opening, it gives us the opportunity to be with our loving God once again in the sacrifice of the Mass and in Adoration. And in this time of separation from these gifts, no matter how much we may have missed receiving these divine gifts, He has missed it infinitely more.

God Bless,

Eric Bain