“Through him, with him and in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit.”
– Spoken by every Priest during every Mass
We are invited to receive the Eucharist often. The Eucharist is the third and final Sacrament of Initiation. Just as our bodies need sustenance, we need to feed our spirituality too. What’s cool about the Eucharist is we are invited to receive it at every Mass! This is the one Sacrament that we are encouraged to take repeatedly.
However, the Eucharist is not just a Sacrament, it is also a meal for our soul. We receive tangible benefits from receiving the Eucharist, these blessings include…
- We become more united with Christ. Partaking of Holy Communion helps keep us centered with Christ, and in union with our fellow Christians.
- It helps separate us from sin. Christ died so that we may be forgiven, he sacrificed his life for our redemption. We all sin, think of it as reinforcing that little voice in the back of your head. You know the voice I’m talking about, the one that pipes up when you are about to do something you know you really shouldn’t.
- The Eucharist makes the Church. There is ONE body, and Christ is present wherever Holy Communion is taking place. This sense of oneness, creates a fraternal bond among all of us, we all become brothers and sisters through the grace of receiving the Eucharist.
- We are reminded of those less fortunate than ourselves. In keeping with the theme that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, we should look after one another.
Normally, a person’s first Eucharist is celebrated during the Easter Season.
For a great article on the Eucharist, I invite you to read “Sacrament of the Eucharist” by Father Don Miller.