June 7, 2026: Live the Eucharist
Live the Eucharist
Today we celebrate the wonderful mystery of Jesus giving us His Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist the “source and summit” of the Christian life. This is the heart of our Catholic faith—the big stuff, the good stuff. But we do not simply receive the Eucharist or adore the Eucharist. As our parish mission statement reminds us, we are called to live the Eucharist.
Our Music Director, Mo Putnam, captured this beautifully in a song:
“We are called to live a mystery, that we become one through body and blood.
How love can mend our history by death of just one, Christ Jesus, God’s Son.
Live! Live the Eucharist. Be now the Body of Christ.”
So what does living the Eucharist look like? Usually, it is quiet. Rarely dramatic. It looks like cutting up someone’s food after surgery. Helping set the table without being asked. Putting down the phone and giving someone your full attention. Sitting beside a loved one during chemotherapy. Calling to make sure someone got home safely. Driving a younger sibling where they need to go. Living the Eucharist is almost always found in ordinary acts of love.
Living the Eucharist means being present. Like love itself, it is not about finding the perfect words. It is about showing up. My family learned that as our mother was dying last November. It felt right simply to sit beside her and hold her hand. Sometimes presence says more than words ever could.
There is a story about a little boy whose elderly neighbor had recently lost his wife. One day the boy saw the man sitting in his yard, crying. The child climbed onto his lap and sat quietly with him. Later his mother asked what he had said. The boy replied, “Nothing. I just helped him cry.”
Silence can say everything. Sometimes the greatest act of love is simply staying. People do not need perfection; they need to feel safe. They need to feel accepted, valued, protected, and seen. Living the Eucharist is not just the work of priests, deacons, or church staff. It is the vocation of every baptized Christian. As the saying goes, people may forget what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel.
This summer, as our nation marks its 250th anniversary, the Catholic bishops of the United States are consecrating our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Bishop Patrick Neary recently wrote: "Our hope does not solely rest in political structures or human achievements, but in the love of Christ, who desires to draw all people to Himself. The Sacred Heart is a heart of mercy, compassion, and self-giving love. At a time when our nation faces deep divisions and uncertainties, we entrust ourselves again to the One who alone can heal, reconcile, and renew."
That is what the Eucharist forms within us: hearts that resemble the Heart of Jesus. In the end, living the Eucharist is not measured by grand gestures. It is measured by countless ordinary moments of self-giving love, repeated day after day, year after year.
So hug a little longer. Turn off the TV. Sit on the porch. Take the trip. Make the call. Say, “I love you,” even when it feels repetitive. Because the extraordinary mystery of the Eucharist is most often lived in the ordinary moments of everyday life.
Sing: “Come celebrate this gift of grace. Let Word and Feast reshape and renew.
As we meet heaven in this place And learn to live the Eucharist too.
Live! Live the Eucharist. Be now the Body of Christ.”
