Have you ever thought of the Eucharist as a banquet? This might sound a bit strange to some, but that is what it is. The Eucharist is a time for happiness and celebration because Jesus gives Himself to us in the Eucharist as our spiritual food. It is a moment in our lives when competition is put aside, when aggression is left at the door, and when we can be at peace with ourselves and with others.

The irony today is that the Eucharist is not being celebrated in Churches all over the wold on Holy Thursday because of the need to observe social distancing to avoid catching the coronavirus disease. But, we can celebrate the Eucharist, spiritually, by inviting Christ into our hearts.

A simple meal can be a peak experience in a family as men, women and children relax in each other’s company without having to prove anything except their love for each other. They have nothing to fear when they are bound by love and friendship. The Eucharist is like that.

Jesus is a generous host who has invited us to take part in this banquet in which He is our food and our drink. If we are to take part in the Eucharist, we must first admit our hunger and thirst for righteousness, and then commit ourselves to satisfying the hunger and thirst for righteousness of others.

Every Holy Thursday, we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus’ life was all about service. He was the man for others, par excellence, who offered Himself, body and blood on the cross, for the forgiveness of our sins. The first thing Jesus did before the banquet of the Eucharist began was to wash the feet of His disciples. He performed this meaningful act to impress upon us the need to be of service to one another, and to emphasize that people will receive Him in the Eucharist and be known as His followers by their love for one another (Gospel of John, 13:15).

The Eucharist demonstrates that Jesus’s life and the lives of His followers are all about love. He came, not to be served, but to serve. The Eucharist is the new Passover sacrifice that replaces the old Passover sacrifice of the old Testament. In it, Jesus offers His very self for the forgiveness of sins while becoming for us our spiritual food. Sacrifice and Communion all wrapped up in one in the Eucharist! When we consume the consecrated bread and wine we are taking Christ into ourselves so as to become a living temple in which He tabernacles Himself.

Thus God makes Himself intimately present to us in the Eucharist. He is not only outwardly present in the miracles of creation or in His word or in the community of faith when two or three are gathered in His name or in the poor and destitute of the world. He is now miraculously present in the bread and wine whenever we consume them worthily.

May we all learn to experience the true gift of the Eucharist that unites us to the Lord and to one another and impels us to put into practice the true love of Christ.

—Fr Hugh Duffy