Food for the Journey: Names of the Eucharist in our lives

by Diocese of Des Moines | September 26, 2022

St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that the Eucharist can be called ‘Sacrifice’ with regards to the past in our commemorating the Lord’s Passion. 

Regarding the present, it is called ‘Communion’ because in receiving it we are communing with our Lord, taking him into ourselves, and by it we are united to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.  Looking to the future, the Eucharist can be called ‘Viaticum’ as it is spiritual food for our journey towards heaven. 

But why is this important? 

I think it is valuable for us to remember that within the sacrament of the Eucharist is contained the entirety of how we are to have a relationship with the Lord in recognizing its various aspects.  

St. Thomas in that same question tells us that just as when we are born and we need food to grow, so too does baptism gives us new life in Christ, and the Eucharist is our spiritual food for spiritual growth, which is confirmation. 

Thus, recognizing that the Lord whom we receive daily or weekly gave himself first as a sacrifice should remind us that part of our spiritual growth requires an imitation of that sacrifice.  In concrete terms, this might mean the giving up of our time that we could be doing something else to volunteer at local shelter or our parishes.  

This could mean that we wear our faith “on our sleeves,” even at the cost of ridicule. In all, it really means that the Eucharist will demand we do not live a faith that is comfortable.

Understanding that Eucharist is communing with our God and to be united with one another should remind us that in receiving the Eucharist our relationship with God is strengthened to become the central relationship in our lives.  

This means that our relationship with Jesus should be the guiding and organizing principles of our other relationships.  

In other words, our relationship with Jesus should give meaning, vitality, and support to our relationships with those whom we love.  On the other hand, our relationship with Jesus ought to guide us to be more forgiving and generous to those whom we might struggle to love. 

Lastly, to receive Jesus in the sacrament as Viaticum should remind us daily to be grateful for the gift of salvation.  Here, I think Thomas Merton’s words, from Thoughts in Solitude, provide us with something to reflect on: “To be grateful is to recognize the Love of God in everything He has given us – and He has given us everything. Every breath we draw is a gift of His love, every moment of existence is a grace, for it brings with it immense graces from Him. Gratitude therefore takes nothing for granted, is never unresponsive, is constantly awakening to new wonder and to praise of the goodness of God. For the grateful person knows that God is good, not by hearsay but by experience. And that is what makes all the difference.” 

John Huynh is the diocesan director of the Faith Journey program. He can be reached at 515-237-5006.