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Holy Communion is the spiritual food recommended for us by God especially in times of adversity to keep us in close union with him. Its Holy because its food for our souls and Communion because it unites us as we all come together as one body to receive. Our forefathers in faith received Holy Communion as they prepared to leave Egypt the land of their captivity into the promised land (read Exodus 12ff). They needed to be sustained in the journey ahead. Down in the desert, their difficulties were huge and they were physically hungry, thirsty and beset by poisonous snakes. Again God gave them Holy Communion; this time “Manna” from heaven that they had never seen before to refresh and even heal them. (Deut. 8: 3ff).
Jesus Christ our Lord and saviour the day before he suffered, knowing fully well how much his disciples would need it, shared Holy Communion with his disciples and told them to always do this in his memory (Jn 6: 25ff, Matt. 26: 26ff). Later on in Corinth, the disciples of Jesus when they had a problem. When most of them were being converted from paganism, some still had relatives and friends who offered sacrifice to idols and this resulted to tensions. Paul used Holy Communion (also called the Eucharist) to convince them not only on how to respect others beliefs but also to unite themselves irrespective of their differences (1Cor 10: 16-17). “The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf” (v. 17).
Jesus meant every word of it when he said he gives us his body and blood to eat and drink as Holy Communion. He meant this to keep us in close together in union with him, irrespective of our differences. He also meant it to prevent us from branching off our own wayward ways; feeling we can detach ourselves from him at will. Our questioning of this doctrine does not change the fact. (read Jn. 6: 52). Our decision to participate or not, does not change the fact either. Truly God means to come down to our level. The food of angels has become the bread of life and the saving grace for sinners. What a marvel in our eyes!
What happens when we eat this bread? It is assimilated by our bodies and becomes part of us. Jesus says he is the bread of life and it His Body (Corpus Christi) we receive at Holy Communion. It is his person that we are eating and assimilating and it is his existence that must become ours. It’s all a matter of faith.
