The Living Sacrifice: A Discourse on the Eucharist

Introduction

We all need to have a deeper understanding of the Eucharist. For many of us, we have been taught about the Eucharist but do not understand who or what we are receiving. We are receiving the living God who takes away the sins of the world (1).

The Eucharist is the living flesh of God. If we love God, then we will do anything to adore him in the proper means. God loves us and gave his son for us so that we may live. The Eucharist brings us the presence of God through Christ his Son.

Jesus is the Son of God who takes away our sins. The Eucharist is the flesh and blood of Jesus which is why the church in order to continue through generations to come need to grow more in respect and knowledge of the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is not just a symbol, but an offering. It is Jesus himself who offers himself on the cross, as well, offers himself on the altar at each mass. Before the feast of Passover, lambs are sacrificed as an offering to God. In the same way Jesus sacrifices himself not just through the cross but through bread and wine transformed into the body and blood of Christ.

The body and blood of Christ is what we celebrate through the Eucharist. Jesus lives through the Eucharist and so he lives through us; because of this we commemorate what he has handed down for thousands of years.

The offering that we celebrate is the redemption of our bodies. We as sinners want to be freed from sin and death and Jesus triumphs over sin and death through his resurrection. It is important for us to remember that this is not a symbol but a person. Jesus lives in the Eucharist and that is what must be conveyed. Jesus is Alive! Jesus is alive not just through the Eucharist but through us as well. Both body and Soul Jesus is Alive!

Chapter 1

Alive Through Faith

The Mystery of Faith

At the End of the Consecration, the bread and wine is now the body and blood of Christ through the act of transubstantiation. It is then and only then that we proclaim the mystery of faith. The mystery of faith is not a profession of faith, but it is a witness of the faith. This is why the old English translation had the priest say "Let us proclaim the mystery of faith". When the new translation was instituted in 2011 this phrase was shortened because we are bearing witness to our faith, "The Mystery of Faith" (2).

What does it mean to bear witness to the faith? It means, bearing witness means to recapture Jesus' life, death and resurrection; Bearing witness means to hear and proclaim the gospel; Bearing witness means to be witness of the Gospel; And, bearing witness means to take part in the Last Supper. When we proclaim the mystery of faith we take part in Jesus' life, death and resurrection until he comes again. We do this not just because it is a part of our faith but because Jesus is alive and well through the Eucharist.

At every mass Jesus is present not just through the form of bread and wine, but also through the people gathered around the altar whether it is the priest, the deacon(s), the servers, the people or the angels and saints. Jesus is with the people gathered in prayer. We proclaim the mystery of faith because Jesus died for us as the new passover lamb and God raised him from the dead so that we can share in this victory. The tomb was empty so that we can glorify God with all of our might and soul. The mass is meant for us to bear witness to why Christ came into the world, "so that we might have life". In order for us to bear witness this, we take our part in the mass.

Our part in the mass is to bear witness through Jesus' life, death and resurrection. We take part by listening to the gospel and recapturing the events of Christ. This is done through both the gospels and at the sacrifice of the mass. Take a look at the Gospel for Good Friday. This is the only time where the Gospel is not proclaimed by the priest or deacon but by the people. On Good Friday, the people bear witness by recapturing Jesus' life, death and resurrection, through the act of the Gospel because we, as sinners, have killed our Lord. We proclaim the mystery of faith to bear witness to the Gospel.