Holy Communion
When we receive Holy Communion we are receiving the same Jesus who was born in a cave outside of Bethlehem.
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If you eat this bread you will live forever.” John 6:31
Not far from Munich, Germany is the picturesque town of Dachau. For decades it was a popular tourist spot. But in 1933, all of that changed.
The Nazis took over Germany and built a concentration camp just outside of Dachau. During the next twelve years nearly a quarter of a million prisoners were confined there, with over 30,000 of them being cruelly executed in the camp, which did not include the thousands of prisoners put to death without being registered.
Today, tourists are returning to Dachau in great numbers. They walk prayerfully around the grounds, moving slowly through the museum that has been built there.
Above all, they are praying silently in one of the camp’s several memorial chapels.
In 1986, Father Albert Haase, after visiting Dachau, wrote a book entitled “Swimming in the Sun”, in which he describes a portion of his visit. He wrote:
One Wednesday afternoon in June, 1986, I walked the grounds of Dachau concentration camp…. I remember pausing to pray at the spot where Barracks 26 once stood. It was the prison dormitory that housed so many Roman Catholics….
Every day Catholic prisoners at Dachau got one meal, which consisted of a chunk of bread the size of a dinner roll, and a cup of watered-down soup.
And each day, one Catholic prisoner would voluntarily sacrifice his or her meager bread ration for the celebration of the Mass.
The chunk of bread would be consecrated by a priest and then pieces secretly passed around as Communion to each of the prisoners.
Can you imagine what went on in the minds and hearts of those Catholic prisoners as they shared in what could be their “Last Supper?”
Or, can we imagine what went on in the mind and heart of a prisoner who had just sacrificed his or her ration of bread – the only meal they would have that day – to make Mass possible for the rest of the prisoners?
And finally, can you imagine what went on in the minds and hearts of all the prisoners as they listened to these words of Jesus during the reading of the Gospel:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If you eat this bread you will live forever.” John 6:31
As we listen to the story of the Catholic prisoners of Barrack 26, we may find ourselves asking:
“What goes on in my mind and heart as I walk down the aisle at communion time with my brothers and sisters to be nourished by the Body and Blood of my Lord?”
“What goes on in your mind and heart at the moment you receive the Body and Blood of the Lord?”
Most of us receive the Eucharist each time we go to Mass. Moreover we receive it without having to sacrifice our only meal of the day.
Unfortunately, because of the ready and convenient availability of the Eucharist, we can slip into the habit of receiving it routinely and unthinkingly.
This poses a question for all of us: How can we reverse this pattern if we have, perhaps, slipped into the habit of receiving the Eucharist in this manner?
I hope that you will permit me to make a suggestion that may be helpful to all of us.
As you walk down the aisle to receive the Eucharist, try to focus your mind and heart on what you are about to do.
It is not to meet, personally, with the president of the United States. It is not to meet, personally, with some famous celebrity.
It is not to meet, personally, with the Holy Father himself. It is to meet, personally, with Jesus Christ, the Son of God…
And when the minister holds up the Eucharist and says to you, “The Body of Christ,” try to realize what you are doing when you say “Amen.”
You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who was born in a cave in a hillside outside Bethlehem.”
You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who restored health to the sick, sight to the blind, and life to Lazarus.”
You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who said to the hungry crowd on the mountain side”:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If you eat this bread you will live forever.” John 6:31
You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who was nailed to a cross and after three hours died for me, my family, and my friends, was raised from the dead, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.”
It is this great mystery of our faith that we celebrate each time we gather for the Eucharist.
It is this great mystery of our faith that gives us the hope of eternal life.
It is this great mystery of our faith that we now return to the altar to celebrate.
So today, and every day, let us celebrate the Eucharist with deep faith and profound gratitude.