There are people who have mastered the art of telling lies. The origin of this species can be traced to their father whom we call Devil. His modus operandi is simple; presenting good as bad and bad as good!
He tasted success in his first experiment itself. In the garden of Eden, he seduced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit by telling a lie. Back then it was a tragedy. Now what we see is history repeating itself, but this time as a farce. Nevertheless, the essential component viz. lie remains at its center. Then the devil persuaded Eve to eat something forbidden, now he persuades us not to eat the recommended food.
Jesus told us that we should eat his flesh and drink his blood so as to get eternal life. In fact this is the only food that Jesus ever recommended to us. His advice was to work for this special food only, rather than toiling for something perishable. ‘Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you’ (Jn 6:27). Elsewhere he tells us that this food that leads us to the eternal kingdom is nothing but his own body and blood. ‘I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh’ (Jn 6:51).
Satan detests the Holy Eucharist to the core. He will persuade us to skip it. He will employ all the weapons in his quiver to prevent us from accessing this most essential and life saving vaccine, the components of which are the flesh and blood of the Son of God. When the devil offers us some concoctions in the guise of true medicine, he never reveals what its components are, because he knows that once we know what exactly constitutes his hellish medicine, we will not allow it to corrupt our body, mind and soul. Satan’s fact sheets are difficult to understand!
But Jesus is a gentleman. When he offers us something so special, he attaches its fact sheet also along with it so that those who receive it could do it with their informed consent. We should think about the Holy Eucharist in this context. It is purely the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ who voluntarily offered it for redeeming us. Before doing so, he made it amply clear that he was going to do it. He further said that there are no shortcuts to eternal life; those who want eternal life should consume the medicine that Jesus prescribed. It is crystal clear. Holy Eucharist is the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ. It is the only way to open our eyes to the ultimate truth. Those disciples who were on their way to Emmaus, could recognize Jesus only when ‘he took the bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them’ (Lk 24:30).
Satan will abhor it. He does not like us recognizing the true Jesus Christ because he knows that anybody who happens to have a glimpse of who Jesus Christ is and what he did for us will never trifle the Holy Eucharist.
Now it is our turn to decide, whether to follow the lie that Holy Eucharist is only a piece of bread, or to receive it with the full conviction that it is the living body of our Lord and Redeemer. The chalice contains not a few drops of wine but the true blood of the only person who was true God and true man. But there are people who try to obscure this undeniable truth of whom Peter said; ‘But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive opinions. They will even deny the Master who bought them- bringing swift destruction on themselves’ (2 Pet 2:1). Please understand that denying the real presence of the Lord in the Holy Eucharist is equivalent to denying Jesus Christ. Woe to those who still deny the Master who bought them with his blood. Woe to those who consider it as just a remembrance of the Last Supper. Woe to those who give up the most desirable food that nourishes their body, mind and soul.
Happy are those who recognize the true value of the Holy Eucharist for they will be rewarded here on earth and then beyond it. Let us pray: O Lord Jesus, give us the grace to experience your living presence in the Holy Eucharist. May it become our medicine for eternal life. Amen
