Pastor's Points: The Eucharist

The Eucharist: The Thanksgiving of the People of God

 
As a Catholic people, it is our firm belief that the Eucharist is the very heart and soul of our faith. It is the most important thing in our Catholic life. As the Second Vatican Council taught us, the Eucharist, the Sacred Liturgy, is the “source and summit” of our Christian life. The word “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving.”  It is the thanks that we, God’s holy people, offer to Him. As such, the Eucharist is our common celebration and it belongs to all of God’s people. The Eucharist is no more the priest’s celebration than it is the congregation’s celebration.  The Eucharist belongs to every Catholic. It is to the work of all those who come to worship: priest and people.  The priest presides over the gathered assembly, but every person present has an important role to play.
 
Fr. Jack Ratchschmidt, OFM Cap. writes this: “ The Eucharist is ours.  It is the great gift of self, the offering of ourselves to God in praise and to one another in service.  It does not belong to any one person in the assembly, no matter how central their role at a given time.  And most importantly, while learning how better to participate fully in the great thanksgiving feast of God, we have no choice but to give it away as freely as God has given it to us.  The Eucharist is the divine shout to us across the ages that God can never stop loving us.”
 
Each Sunday, we gather together as the People of God to offer our thanks to the Father for all he has given to us. We do so together as priest and assembly, each with our appointed roles, but none of us is more important than the other. You are not spectators to the Mass. You should be active participants in what happens at the liturgy each week. Make every effort to do just that. Listen attentively to the Word of God. Join in song. Speak the responses clearly and with conviction. Receive communion reverently. Also, stay for the whole Mass. This is critically important. I do realize that there are circumstances from time to time that will require an early departure, but that can never be the norm.  You miss out on all the grace that the Mass in its fullness gives to us, including the final blessing! 
 
At St. Thomas More, we celebrate liturgy well. We come together from our various families to form one family of faith at the liturgy.  We are bound by our common baptism and our belief that Christ becomes present on the altar and we receive that real, living presence when we come forward to receive communion. The Eucharist is indeed the “source and summit” of our faith, the great act of thanksgiving of all of us—God’s holy and chosen people.