On the evening of the Day of the Resurrection, two of the Lord’s disciples left Jerusalem and walked toward Emmaus. As they walked and debated the Resurrection, the Lord came along and walked with them. As night approached, the Lord stayed with them, sharing a meal and breaking bread. When the Lord gave thanks and broke the bread, they finally recognized Him. From this point forward, the Eucharist became both the presence of the Lord and spiritual food for the community of believers. 

Each time two or more of the Lord’s disciples gather to celebrate the Eucharist, we do it with the intent of being in the Lord’s presence and eating the supernatural food that sustains our souls on our journey through life. Therefore, “the Eucharist is the most precious possession which the Church can have in her journey through history,” and “this explains that lively concern which she has always shown for the Eucharistic mystery” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 9).

During the time of the Protestant Reformation, the Council of Trent condemned the Protestant heresies and offered clarity on the matter of the Eucharist. The Second Vatican Council, which is the most recent Church Council, did not produce a document focused on the theology of the Eucharist. It produced one document on divine worship and integrated the theme of the Eucharist into the major document on the Church. However, nearly every pope from the last century produced documents on the Eucharist, among which John Paul II’s Encyclical Letter from 2003 Ecclesia de Eucharistia must be highlighted.

As the titles of all the documents of the Church are contained in the first words of the first paragraph, Ecclesia de Eucharistia begins: “The Church draws her life from the Eucharist. This truth does not simply express a daily experience of faith but recapitulates the heart of the mystery of the Church.” Quite simply, the Church cannot exist without the Eucharist. 

The precious gift of the Eucharist was given to the Church by the Lord at the last Supper. When the Lord blessed and broke the bread and then blessed and shared the cup of wine, He was celebrating the first Eucharist for His disciples. But to make it available to all His disciples at any place and time thereafter, the Lord gave them that great command: “Do this in memory of me.” 

With these words, the Lord consecrated His disciples as the priests of the New Covenant. As ministers of the Eucharist, they would ensure His enduring presence among the faithful and provide the spiritual food they need. The Church faithfully obeys the Lord’s command. The Church celebrates the Eucharist from the rising of the sun to its setting, essentially non-stop.  

As a community of believers, the Eucharist is always the presence of the Lord in our midst and our vital spiritual food. We come to Mass each Sunday with the desire to be in the Lord’s presence as when we eagerly wait to meet a person very dear to us. We come to Mass each Sunday with the desire to eat the spiritual food we need for the sustenance of our souls. 

Today we are reminded of the most precious possession the Church holds in this world: the Eucharist, the Real Presence of the Lord. Today we give thanks to the Lord for leaving us such a great gift. And today we humbly ask the Lord to grant us the grace to cherish this most precious possession.