In his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, John Paul writes: “The Eucharist is a mystery of faith” that rises above our human understanding so much so that the only way we can respond is to surrender: to abandon ourselves to do the Will of God in our lives.

The fact that we believe that Jesus exists in the form of Bread and Wine is awesome and acknowledges for the world that God and Man do meet and do encounter one another every day right here on our Altar.

This mystery, which as Catholics, we live everyday strengthens our understanding that without God we can do nothing and that dependence on Him opens the door to holiness. John Paul goes on to say that this surrender to God’s Will is like Mary’s ‘Yes’, her ‘Amen,’ as she received the Body of the Lord. We too imitate that willingness to give everything of ourselves to God by saying ‘Amen’ as we receive the Body of Christ and become tabernacles of Him Who serves.

To recognize Him in the Breaking of the Bread is to recognize the great Calvary moment when Jesus himself offered His Body for the salvation of all. Our acceptance of this Suffering Servant professes our own union with the sacrifice of redemption: that we obey God Will’s in order to serve the real needs of our brothers and sisters.

When we recognize him in the Breaking of the Bread, our lives reflect in the most real and human way, the life we are called to live as Christians. Our struggle to live a virtuous life is in fact the suffering of our conformity to Jesus and the joy of doing God’s Will. No greater love can be expressed for us than the daily breaking of the Bread of Life. We can share no greater love with others than to participate as one People in the sacrifice He continues to offer for all humanity.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said, “A Christian is a tabernacle of the living God. He created me, he chose me, he came to dwell in me because he wanted me.” As we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, let us bask in the joy of God wanting to be with us.