Over the years, I have had the joy of working with young children. Inevitably, children are asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a zookeeper. When I finally had the chance to become a “Zoolunteer” at my small local zoo in eighth grade, I found myself picking up mice and cleaning up after them. It was not exactly what I had imagined as a child.
When I started my first job out of college working as a parish coordinator of religious education for middle school students, I was excited about inspiring youth and writing impactful lesson plans. Then I learned that one of my catechists only went to Mass once a month, another did not know what a decade of the Rosary was, and another wrote his own lesson plans and played cards with the kids. Not exactly what I had imagined as a young adult.
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So often our identity is tied to what we think we will do in the future or what we have done in the past. Our culture loves to tell us that we can choose our identity and make ourselves become whatever we want, yet if our identity is tied to something we do, we set ourselves up for disappointment, disillusionment or discouragement. In reality, we do not create our identity; we receive our identity from God. This is why we also need to re-discover the Eucharist.
The Eucharist as “source and summit”
The Church teaches that the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our Christian life (cf. Lumen Gentium, No. 11). A source is the origin of a gift — whether that be a fountain of water bubbling up from the ground or the waters of grace flowing within us (cf. Jn 7:38). A summit is the highest point and the place from which we can see and gain perspective on all that lies below.
The Eucharist is the source and summit of our identity in the following three ways:
- The Eucharist teaches that we are the beloved of the Father.
- The Eucharist reminds us that we are called to a heavenly banquet.
- The Eucharist sends us on mission.
Beloved of the Father
I have a source from which the gift of my being originates: God. I am the beloved of the Father, willed from all eternity. When I approach the Eucharist, I approach my Father who feeds me with the very best of foods: heavenly bread. In the Gospel of St. John, Jesus said, “my Father gives you the true bread from heaven” (Jn 6:32). When I receive the Eucharist, I am reminded of God’s love for me: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God” (1 Jn 3:1). When I come to the Eucharist, I am coming home to the Father’s celebratory meal for me. Even if I have been the wayward child, I will be mercifully embraced (cf. Lk 15:23). Coming to receive the Eucharist means being cared for, blessed and nourished by the Father. It means I belong and I am provided for. This is who I am.
Called to a heavenly banquet
The Eucharist is a foretaste of heaven (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 8). Eternal life is the summit from which all other aspects of my life on earth come into view. When I come to receive the body and blood of Christ sacrificed for me, I am aware of the fact that Jesus is now risen from the tomb, having conquered sin and death. At holy Communion, I approach the living bread, not a symbol. Jesus said: “I am the living bread that comes down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (Jn 6:51). The promise Jesus made is very clear: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day” (Jn 6:54).
My identity is not limited to this world, this time, this space. I am made for heaven. It is important to keep this in mind when I experience the instability of this frail, mortal life. My identity goes deeper than the relationships of mother, daughter, sister, bride, friend, co-worker or anything on this earth. If you are in Christ, your identity is a profound mystery, as St. Paul writes, because “you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory” (Col 3:3-4). Building on our identity as God’s beloved children, St. John goes so far as to write: “Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 Jn 3:2). The Eucharist makes saints. This is what I am called to be when I live from my identity as a beloved child of God.
Sent on mission
Having received the Eucharistic heart of Jesus, I am sent on mission to bring his love to every person I encounter. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reminds us that the dismissal of the liturgy is a sending forth on mission. The bishops explain: “The word ‘Mass’ comes from the Latin word, ‘Missa.’ At one time, the people were dismissed with the words ‘Ite, missa est’ (literally meaning ‘Go, she — meaning you, the Church — has been sent’). The word ‘Missa’ is related to the word ‘missio,’ the root of the English word ‘mission.’ The liturgy does not simply come to an end. Those assembled are sent forth to bring the fruits of the Eucharist to the world.” The Eucharist teaches us that our identity is mission. Pope Francis, in Evangelii Gaudium, helps us understand, “I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world” (No. 273).
I had the great joy to attend the National Eucharistic Congress and hear Bishop Andrew Cozzens invite us to become Eucharistic missionaries. In their book, “For the Life of the World,” Bishop Cozzens and Tim Glemkowski give us an understanding of what a Eucharistic missionary looks like: “A Eucharistic missionary is someone who has encountered the living Jesus Christ in the Eucharist and been transformed by him. [She] has decided to make Jesus Christ the Lord of [her] life. A Eucharistic missionary lives the essence of the Eucharistic mystery through encountering Jesus’ presence, living Jesus’ communion, and making a gift of [her] life through Jesus’ sacrifice.”
During this time of Eucharistic revival, let us look to Jesus in the Eucharist and receive our identity from him.
