HOMILY SERIES: “The Eucharist as Holy Banquet”

The following homily was prepared by Msgr. John Dermond for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Msgr. John Dermond is a retired priest of the Diocese of Trenton.

This homily is sixth in a series of homilies with Eucharistic themes to be used in churches across the Diocese.

Today’s Gospel begins with the cure of Peter’s mother-in-law. As soon as she was healed, she got up to serve her guests, most likely including a meal. At the beginning of his public life, Jesus changed water to wine to help a newly married couple celebrate their wedding. When Jesus raised up the daughter of Jairus, he told the parents to give her something to eat. Not long after He raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus dined with him and his sisters, Martha and Mary.

He went to dine with Zacchaeus, who had climbed a tree to see Him. And in all four Gospels we find the account of Jesus feeding thousands with just a few loaves of bread and some fish. Finally, as His life drew to a close, Jesus used the Passover supper, celebrating the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery, to give Himself to us under forms of bread and wine. “This is my Body; this is my Blood.” he said. Food featured prominently in the public life of Jesus.

As our series of homilies on the Eucharist continues, today we focus on the Eucharist as food, as Jesus feeding us with Himself in what we call a Holy Banquet. In what way is the Eucharist a Banquet? How do we prepare to participate in it? And how can this banquet affect our lives for the better?

How is the Eucharist a Holy Banquet? It certainly is not like any banquet we know today. Yet the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC1382) describe es the Eucharist as “inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord’s body and blood.” We can define a banquet as “an elaborate and often ceremonious meal for numerous people often in honor of a person” or “a meal held in recognition of some occasion or achievement” (Source: merriam-webster.com),

Our liturgical celebration of the Eucharist fulfills some aspects of that definition. Our Eucharist is a celebration. The focus of honor, or better, of worship, is Jesus, really and truly present in Word and Sacrament, contained, offered and received. And the occasion which this banquet remembers and celebrates is His saving death and resurrection, the “sacrificial memorial” inseparably linked with the banquet in the Holy Eucharist.

How do we prepare to participate in the Eucharistic Banquet? The Catechism reminds us to approach this Sacrament worthily. We need to examine our conscience, and if we are aware of any mortal sin, we must first receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (CCC 1385). We fast from food and drink, except water, for one hour before communion. In the Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass we confess that we are sinners and ask God’s mercy. And, as the Catechism says, our clothing and behavior at Mass “ought to convey the respect, solemnity, and joy of this moment when Christ becomes our guest” (CCC 1387). After all, we are offering ourselves, our lives, our good deeds and sacrifices along with the bread and wine at Mass.

At the Eucharistic Banquet we receive food, Jesus Christ Himself, that we really need to grow spiritually, to remain united to one another in Christ, and to help us overcome our temptations and sins. For that reason, the Catechism says, “The Church obliges the faithful to take part in the Divine Liturgy on Sundays and feast days and, prepared by the Sacrament of Reconciliation, to receive the Eucharist at least once a year, if possible during the Easter season.

But the Church strongly encourages the faithful to receive the holy Eucharist on Sundays and feast days, or more often still, even daily” (CCC 1389). Surely, we would not think it enough to have just one ordinary meal a week, much less one a year! Preparing to receive communion worthily and often can make this holy banquet much more meaningful and effective in our lives.

Effective in our lives! Yes! The Eucharist can and will affect our lives for the better if we allow it. The Catechism tells us that this Holy Banquet, communion in the body and blood of Jesus Christ, “sustains and increases our intimate union with Jesus” (CCC 1391). It “preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism” (CCC 1392). It strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins and enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in him” (CCC1394).

Beyond that, the Eucharist “commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren” (CCC 1397). And it prepares us for the heavenly banquet in the life to come. We who often confront polarization and conflict need the unifying effect of this Holy Banquet. We who struggle to live our baptismal commitment need to experience the strength that comes from frequent communion.

We who are discouraged by our sinful habits need to discover the power of Jesus in the Eucharist to overcome and break those habits. We who bemoan the extent of poverty and disregard for human life need to let our communion with Jesus renew our energy to engage those destructive forces.

Our Eucharistic Holy Banquet in the one same action unites us to the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, and to one another in the Body of Christ. We must prepare to participate worthily in this Holy Sacrament and to receive from it effective spiritual gifts. Resolve now not to be absent from the Holy Banquet. Do not deprive yourself of the gifts and graces it provides. And look forward to the heavenly banquet where what we see, hear and do in Sacramental signs we hope to enjoy face to face with Jesus for all eternity.