“We are here to affirm our belief in the real presence of Jesus in the host and wine consecrated by a validly ordained Catholic priest. We are here to declare our belief in the confirmed and authenticated Eucharistic miracles that have happened in different parts of the world through the centuries. We are here to acknowledge our brokenness, to ask for forgiveness for our failings, to get reconciled with one another and to commit our lives, families, Archdioceses, Dioceses, cities, and our country Nigeria to God’s mercy, care, and providence.” These were the introductory remarks of Most Rev. Matthew Ishaya Audu, Archbishop of Jos as he delivered the Opening Homily at the long awaited 5th National Eucharistic Congress on Saturday, November 12, 2022 in Benin-City. Most Rev. Audu affirmed that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. According to him, the details of the precise presence have remained controversial even among the different denominations.
“We Catholics, profess the real and permanent presence. The Presbyterians and Methodist understand his presence in more figurative sense. Some Lutherans follow a middle course and see the presence as real but temporary. Let these different opinions by different Churches not confuse us about Jesus’ real and permanent presence among us. “It does not matter what we Catholics, Methodist or Lutherans believe about the Eucharist. What really matters is what Jesus himself believed about it when he established the Eucharist. In the Gospel of Mark, we read “…this is my body…this is my blood”. This is what Jesus believes about it himself. Christ did not mean the Eucharist to be just a symbol, but real presence, he stated.” Themed “Becoming the Eucharist we celebrate; A Call to Live as One and to serve the Weak,” the 5th National Eucharistic Congress was dedicated to further teachings about the Eucharist and its celebration. Archbishop Audu backed his explanation with Jesus’ encounter with Sister Anne in the apparition on the 14th July, 1988 in Rome. “The Eucharist is the continuation of the incarnation, and therefore the physical presence of Christ among us. Let me read to you what Jesus had told Sister Anne in the apparition on the 14th July, 1988 in Rome. “I am very present in every consecrated Host. By replication of my presence in each particle all over the world, I dwell and abide sacramentally. This is the very and the universal presence of my divine love for all of you.”
He said Jesus established the Eucharist because we need a moving force to enable us to become and remain children of God. The prelate further stated, “Just as we need food to feed our physical body, the Eucharist is instituted in order to feed our souls, to nourish our spiritual bodies with heavenly food, to thrill our souls with the taste of infinite love. And above all, to stay with us after he has returned to the Father.” Stressing that the Holy Communion is an intimate encounter with Christ, in which we sacramentally receive Christ into our bodies, the Archbishop advised the lay faithful to always fulfill the set guidelines regarding how they should prepare themselves to receive communion. His words, “St. Paul in his instruction on how to receive the Eucharist says: “Everyone is to recollect himself before eating this bread and drinking this cup; because a person who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of Christ is eating and drinking his own condemnation (1 Cor. 11:25-30)”. Yes, my brothers and sisters it is as serious as that! How often many Catholics are seeing, receiving communion without adequate preparation, in the state of sinfulness and without going to Sacramental confession?” He further reflected on the Eucharistic as Jesus’ last will.
According to him, the Lord willed his presence in the Sacrament so that he could be near humanity, provide himself as nourishment for humanity and continually abide in the Church community. He expatiated, “Eucharist is Jesus’ last will. Will is a legal document or spoken words on how to deal with one’s remains and properties after one’s death. In the olden days up to the time of Jesus’ earthly life, Wills were not written. People rather say their will usually as their last words before death. Jesus deliberately kept the institution of the Holy Eucharist until his last night on earth, on Holy Thursday. “St. Paul recalls the most important part of the spoken will of Jesus before he died: “on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said this is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. In the same way he took the cup also… and said, ‘This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it in remembrance of me’” (1 Cor. 11:23-26). “It is Jesus’ will through the Eucharist to feed us with his body as our Spiritual food on our Journey to heaven. It is Jesus’ will through Eucharist to save us by the shedding of his blood. “It is Jesus’ will that the Eucharist will be his real physical presence and just not symbolical. It is Jesus’ will that the Eucharist will thrill us with God’s infinite love. It is Jesus’ will that the Eucharist will be his way of remaining with us after he has returned to the Father. It is Jesus’ will that through the Eucharist, we will become like him in love and self-giving to others. It is Jesus’ will that through the Eucharist our lives will become bread broken and libation poured out for the betterment.
