One of the many blessings I have received in my ministry as a priest is to witness the journey of families that center their lives in the Eucharist. Seeing and witnessing families that attend Sunday Mass regularly is always a joyful experience whenever I celebrate Mass. It is a delightful experience as well when I see families sitting on the same pew every Sunday. Indeed, it has been a blessing to witness a parishioner and family growth in faith by centering their lives in the Eucharist.

The practice of attending the Sunday Mass regularly or, rather, receiving the Body of Christ in the Eucharist is nurturing our faith. The more we are faithful to it, the more our hearts long to receive it. This week I had a meeting with a group of young people, and we shared about our spiritual journey. One of them shared, “Attending the Sunday Mass is always a joyful moment. Parang may kulang kapag hindi nakapagsimba sa lingo. Hindi complete yung week ko kapag di ako magsimba.” Indeed, for those who cultivate their faith in the Eucharist will find their fulfillment in the Word of God and the Body of Christ. The Word of God and the Eucharist nourishes and satisfies our souls. St. Augustine perhaps expresses this longing for God beautifully as he says, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”

As we celebrate today the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi), we are reminded of the True Food that we are searching and longing for. Jesus, the Living Bread, gives us life. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever.” The Eucharist is the way the risen Christ makes himself sacramentally available to us. Through this physical sign, we encounter the risen Lord really present under the appearances of bread and wine.

“Parang may kulang kapag hindi nakapagsimba sa linggo.” It expresses the hunger in our hearts that can only be satisfied by the Living bread, spiritual foods, the Body and Blood of Christ. It is not enough manna (rice, pandesal, etc.). Our hearts and souls still need to be nourished by spiritual foods which are offered by God Himself. Indeed, God, therefore, let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna… in order to show you that not by bread alone does man live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord. (Deut 8:3)

“Parang may kulang kapag hindi nakibahagi sa mission ni Hesus.” The broken body of Jesus that we receive in the Eucharist is always meant to be shared. Broken to be shared. The Communion that happens in the Eucharist leads us to Mission. Like Mary, the first Tabernacle in history, we are called to bring Jesus to others. Mary reminds us that we, too, carry Christ within us after receiving Communion as living tabernacles. She helps us to see the meaning and purpose of the Tabernacle anew each time we are at Mass, holding within it the Eucharist, the body of Christ.