I am the living bread that has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world. The Jews began to argue among themselves, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? So Jesus said in reply I tell you solemnly, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you. Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life and I shall raise him up on the last day.
That, my dear brothers and sisters is how important it is for us to receive the body and blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. Our life in eternity depends on our knowledge of Christ and our following of His teachings, including eating His body and drinking His blood. That is why it is surprising when one looks at the statistics given in the bulletins of many of our parishes, one often finds that only about a quarter of those who come to Mass, receive Holy Communion. One wonders whether those who do not receive Him do not know the value of the Eucharist or is it that they do not care? If you are one of those who do not receive the Eucharist, the feast that we celebrate invites you to seek out a way of overcoming whatever the problems may be.
Perhaps, what you believe is an insurmountable problem may not be that insurmountable if only you go to discuss it with your Priest in his office. Do not throw back to God the gift of the Eucharist that He gives to you. St. Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians (11: 27-29) that we must not receive the body and blood of Christ unworthily, else, we receive damnation unto ourselves. May the Lord forbid that anyone of us would receive damnation unto ourselves. This is why we are called upon to recollect ourselves and ensure that we are not in a state of grave sin.
• Most. Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos.
