My Daily Eucharist - Reflection for May 18, 2025

Recently, a priest-historian told us, the early Church would not have lasted the first hundred years if it were not for the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the strength of our Church. And yet, we were told by a theologian that the Eucharist is not necessary for our salvation. Far be it from us to doubt him, but one thing we know, it sure is necessary for our survival! We derive nourishment from the Eucharist; we derive life's blood. The Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is food for the journey. In the Old Testament, the Angel brought Elijah food for the journey. Jesus gives us food, without which we will never make the journey. Jesus is God! We are united with our God through the hands of the priest at Communion. It's not a community party; it's union with our God. St. Augustine tells us when we eat the Host, we do not consume Jesus; He consumes us! And as St. Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 16, "Because we eat of the same Loaf, and drink of the same Cup, we are the body of Christ." It is not the other way round, as many would have you believe. Paul is telling that the eating of the Body and Blood of our Savior is what makes us the Body of Christ.