S1 E18: Is This Real? Encountering Christ in the Eucharist

Transcript

Carol Vassar:

From SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut, I'm Carol Vassar, and this is Living in Faith, Hope, and Love. Each week, our Pastor, Father Mark Suslenko, delves into Scripture, shares insights from the saints, prophets, and theologians, and discusses practical ways to cultivate faith, strengthen hope, and embody love in the world around us. Through his reflections and spiritual encouragement, this podcast aims to inspire you to live your Catholic faith with joy and purpose. Welcome. 

As we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ—also known as Corpus Christi—we are invited to reflect more deeply on a mystery that is truly at the heart of our Catholic faith: the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

In this episode, Father Mark invites us to wrestle with a related question: What is real? As he walks us back to that quiet moment with Jesus and the disciples in the Upper Room on Holy Thursday, we’re reminded that the Eucharist—so simple in form, yet infinite in depth—holds the power to transform not just bread and wine, but our very lives. Here’s Father Mark: 

“Is This Real? Encountering Christ in the Eucharist,” by Father Mark S. Suslenko, Pastor, SS. Isidore and Maria Parish, Glastonbury, Connecticut

Father Mark Suslenko:

Every one of us has to wrestle with the question of what is real? What is real? Because packed into the question of what is real is a bigger question of meaning. What gives us meaning? And in searching for that question of meaning, we're really looking for an answer to make sense out of it all. This whole journey and mystery of my life, of what it means to be a human being, of who I am as a person, and what my place in the world really is. And quite often when I talk to folks, especially younger folks, that's the question they come to me with is, is this real? What is meaningful? What connects the dots?

We don't really give it much thought, but if you go back to that first Holy Thursday when Jesus gathered his disciples in the upper room, he simply took some bread and took some wine. He said a blessing and said, "This is my body which is given to you, and this is my blood, which is poured out for you." Do we ever stop to realize that the heavens didn't shake? There wasn't a miraculous bolt of light that appeared. It is all told very simply, and matter of fact: "This bread now is my body and this wine is now my blood."

And I'm sure that the disciples, being human as we are, found themselves asking that question: "Is this real? Is this real? Can he really do that? Take bread and turn it into his body, and take wine and turn it into his blood? Is this real?"

Instinctively, they knew that it was, because I believe they saw a similar quality of presence as they ate that bread and drank that wine with being in the actual presence of their friend Jesus himself. And they took it on faith that what was happening here is real.

You know, there are some things in life that we can't put under a microscope and we can't overly analyze, and no theory is going to produce evidence for us. We have to take it on faith and the good word that supports that faith. And such it is with our belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and our belief that when those same words are spoken, every time we celebrate Mass, that same transformation, that same transfiguration, comes into being. That bread is changed into the body of Christ, and wine is changed into His blood. Not a symbol, not a reenactment, but the real deal.

And what happens to us when we faithfully celebrate that Eucharist? If we give ourselves over to that matter of faith and say, "Yes, I believe that those elements in bread and wine are transformed, totally into the actual body in blood of Jesus Christ." What happens to us then, when in faith we receive it as we know it is to be?

Well, the same thing that happened in the upper room on that first Holy Thursday, and happened every time again afterwards when those disciples and then others celebrated the Eucharist, three things happened. Sins are purged. Sins are purged. You know, we can lead very selfish lives. We can lead very disordered lives. We can lead very confusing lives. We make mistakes. We make errors. We hurt people. And the biggest battle that we have is with the demon of selfishness, and we become so self-absorbed. Yet in faith, when you think about it, when we receive the Eucharist, all of that is purged. If we really open ourselves to the presence of God at that moment, then all of that selfishness is taken away. We are reorientated. We realize how foolish we've been, how silly we've been, how ignorant we've been, how far we've drifted away from what is true, and we're brought back to center. And those sins of selfishness, of pride, and of lust and of all of that other stuff, they're all purged in that moment, and we're healed.

You see, the sacrament of the Eucharist is probably the most powerful sacrament of healing. You know, all those times in our lives when we mess up and we don't do as we know we ought to do, when we're propelled by this other force, those sins are purged for that moment.

The other thing that happens, which is so incredibly important, if we're gonna be serious about being a follower of Christ and a true Christian is virtue is increased. Virtue is increased. You know, it's very easy to go through the motions in life and be very not virtuous. We can be pretty nasty people at times. We can become very angry people at times. We can ignore one another very easily. We can also become very apathetic and just really find ourselves saying, "What is the point of it all? I might as well just wallow in my laziness and let things be." But if we're really serious about receiving our Lord in the Eucharist and really serious about being a full-fledged, bona fide Christian, then it opens the door for virtue to increase. So I resist those temptations to look inward. I resist those temptations to be negative, and then I allow the fruit of justice, of moderation, of mercy, of compassion, of all of those things to flourish within myself so I can be a true follower of Jesus.

And the third thing that happens is that our souls are enriched. Our souls are enriched. We can enrich our bodies with healthy food. That's easy. What enriches our souls? Well, we can touch that a bit with our life of prayer for sure, but nothing does it as perfectly as the Eucharist. God can't get any closer to us than to enter into our very selves and strengthen and enrich our souls. And what happens when we allow our souls to be enriched? We then experience profound and true joy.

You know, very often we want others to make us happy. If everything around us is going good, we feel joyful. If my life is on track, I feel joyful. If I'm not suffering too much, I feel joyful. But what about the true joy that comes from within? That's not dependent upon anything going on around us. I know as many people who have a strong Eucharistic-centered life, and they've gone through tremendous difficulties and challenges, and in and through all of them, they still remain joyful. They still had that spark of hope. They still had that light in their eyes, and they still knew that they were not alone, that there was a deeper reality going on here that went beyond the cancer that they were dealing with, went beyond the death that they endured of a loved one, this deep joy.

And with that, then becomes the element of trust. We can let go when our sins have been purged, when our virtue has increased, when our souls have been enriched; we can then experience joy, let all of the cares of the world go, and simply trust. It's a moment of refreshment and true nourishment because we're becoming like God.

That's why Jesus said to the disciples, the people were hungry. So look to Jesus to do something about it. And what did he say to them? Go feed 'em yourselves. Go feed them yourselves. Now, it sounds at first like a kind of a, a rude remark to make, don't bother me with their problems. Go feed them yourselves, but it wasn't that at all. He was reminding them that by the Eucharist, they become Him. So I've given you myself. Now take that self and share it with others. Be joyful for others. Feed others.

You know, we look at the world, it's so confusing and so broken. So many people's needs aren't met, even for the basics, and we often find ourselves saying, "God, why aren't you doing something about all of this mess?" When God has, he's given us the Eucharist, we receive the Eucharist, and now God is saying to us, go fix it yourselves. Go fix it yourselves. You have the power to fix it because you have me within you.

And so today, as we receive the Eucharist, once again, let us do so with the utmost amount of humility and of faith. Let us throw ourselves into the mystery, whether we find it easy to believe or not. But accept the words for what they are and the truth for what it is, and allow yourselves to receive your God deep within you. Any sins or reservations are purged, your virtue can be increased, and your soul enriched. What better day can we ask for?

Carol Vassar:

Father Mark Suslenko is the pastor of SS. Isidore and Maria Parish in Glastonbury, Connecticut. If you like what you've heard today, please subscribe to Living in Faith, Hope, and Love on your favorite podcast app, and take a moment to leave a review.

SS. Isidore and Maria is an active parish community, so whether you’re a long-time parishioner or are just getting to know us through this podcast, we welcome you to join us at Masses or any of our other community events and services. Visit our parish website - isidoreandmaria.org - for a full schedule of Masses, services and other happenings. That's isidoreandmaria.org. We're also active on Facebook and Instagram.

On behalf of Father Mark, I'm Carol Vassar, and we thank you for listening to this episode of Living in Faith, Hope, and Love.