One day in the late 30's, Jesus revealed himself to an agnostic, a Jewish-French woman, by the name of Semione Weil. Jesus took her to a church and Semione said that the church was new and ugly. Jesus lead her up to the altar and said, Akneel down.@ She said, AI have not been baptized.@ Jesus said, Afall on your knees before this place in love as before a place where lies the truth.@ She obeyed. So indeed, the Eucharist is the truth.

Someway it sums up the truth about God, about mankind and even about the cosmos. When we look in the Eucharist in its most obvious form, then we have to say that the Son of God is there present as pure gift. He invites each and everyone of us to become gifts to God and gifts to each other. Yet it takes place in the most humble and hidden form. The eternal Word of God becomes flesh, is present under the form of bread and wine. It=s not a surprise that from the very beginning of the revelation of the Eucharist in John=s gospel it was a challenge of faith for disciples. Those who would believe and those who wouldn=t believe, which is still true today. Now not only outside the church but struggling even within the church. This is a hard saying, who can accept it? Is what the text of John says. If we really take seriously that God is love, therefore, God is always pouring himself out, then the Eucharist is the shiny beacon, the mystery of faith that enlightens every other dimension of faith.

There are a number of things being discussed among Catholics today and all kinds of problems. First, is the wanting to have women priests. Not understanding the ministerial priesthood. Jesus from the very beginning called his disciples, the twelve apostles, and made them priests who were commissioned, not only for themselves, but for the whole church to bring about the mystery of the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The whole faith community celebrated that mystery right from the beginning and understood the ministerial priesthood as essential. It didn=t mean that the priesthood became a private club, that is, only those who believe, and baptized, could really benefit from the Eucharist. It meant they were the only ones who could fully participate. From the very beginning the Eucharist was the place where the whole faith community was praying for the salvation of the world. It was commissioned to continue the redemptive act so the whole world may be saved. The church doesn=t have the power to sustain its own life and to make the Eucharist present so the ministerial priesthood is a manifestation of the deficiency of the church to be fully the source of its own life. It has nothing to do with power. It has a lot to do with the manifestation that God=s gift is totally his doing.

The second discussion that=s going on is a little harder to articulate because it has a number of angles. How does a person in time come in touch with the resurrected Jesus? What do we really mean by the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist?

If we want to profit from the daily participation of the Eucharist, we must come not only with expectant faith and love for God while at the Eucharist, but we must continue when we leave the Eucharist to be a people that conformed to Jesus= death to really become a gift of ourselves to God and to each other.

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