Message from Fr. Peter Andronache

The center of the Church’s life is the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, God is tangibly present to be offered to the faithful, to become physically, concretely, a part of us.  It is the greatest gift that God has given us: Himself. So, on one hand, in the Eucharist we are faced with the very person of the Son of God. The very fire of divinity is set before us and that is a fearsome thing. On the other hand, the Eucharist is something we encounter at least once a week, It is part of our christian routine and can become exactly that: routine. So, caught between fear and routine, how do we approach the Eucharist?

As the priest’s invitation to the Eucharist says, we begin with the fear.  What does it mean to approach with fear? First, it means that, knowing that God is a “fire consuming the unworthy” we strive to live lives worthy of the name of Christian. The prayers of preparation of the sacrament also help us approach the Eucharist with the right mindset. Knowing that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” we make confession a regular part of our lives, so that we may present to Him, as we approach, a body and soul cleansed of sin. Part of our cleansing is also our presence at church on time. At the Mystical Supper, our Lord said to the disciples: “you are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you” (Jn. 15:3). The words of the Lord which are spoken to us in the readings, thus, are also part of our cleansing, our “washing” for the meal to which we have been invited.

We also approach with faith – faith in His promise that He will be with us to the end of the age (Matt. 28:20); faith that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Christ; those things which He said are necessary for us to have life in us (cf. Jn. 6:53); faith in God’s love, which invites us to be united with Him.

Finally, we approach with love. As we have said before, Christ Himself spoke about love saying “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Of course, in our lives, part of our preparation, all the commandments are included. But there is a special emphasis here on the commandment that directly applies, given to the disciples at the Mystical Supper - a commandment that the celebrant (bishop or priest) gives to all of us at every Liturgy: “Take, eat, this is my Body, which is broken for you for the remission of sins,” followed by “Drink of this all of you, this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.” 

We also cannot ignore dimension of love that reaches out to those around us, the second greatest commandment being loving others. Thus, our preparation also includes being reconciled (as much as it is in our power) with our brothers and sisters (cf. Matt. 5:24) 

Connecting the dots, what we have said so far looks like this:

God loves humanity and therefore He desires that we be saved. Salvation means being made alive by being united with Him Who is life. Therefore God commands us to eat His Body and Blood. We, in turn respond with fear of God, faith, and love, as outlined above, and receive that life as it is offered to us in the Eucharist. 

In very broad brush strokes, this is the cycle of Christian living: be mindful of the invitation to the Eucharist, live in preparation to respond to that invitation, partake of the Eucharist, take that strength and sanctification into the world, as nourishment and preparation for whatever we may encounter in our lives and, certainly, for the next opportunity we have to be united with Christ in the Eucharist.

At this level of description, things are quite simple. The difficulties come in the applications to daily life and there there are no broad stroke solutions and this is why the Church has in her tradition the practice of a spiritual father or mother, to help guide each one of us on our path to salvation.

May the Lord grant us the strength, wisdom, and humility to persevere on this path and to grow in love and obedience to Him.

With love in Christ
+Fr. Peter