Greetings in the Lord. Your Grace, our beloved priests, brothers and sisters I am here to share a few reflections on The Eucharistic Life. Today, we are part of the universal Eucharistic Community.

Let us remind each other of this reality. We share one Eucharistic life. At the root of this life lies the Eucharistic faith which penetrates every aspect of the Church's existence.

Eucharistic faith

I point to the Encyclical Letter, Ecclesia de Eucharistia of John Paul II. ''Truly the Eucharist is a mysterium fidei , a mystery which surpasses our understanding and can only be received in faith.” Saint Cyril states, “Do not see in the bread and wine merely natural elements, because the Lord has expressly said that they are his body and his blood: faith assures you of this, though your senses suggest otherwise.”

We are challenged to look beyond the senses! '”This mystery of love” calls forth “the living faith'” in the truth that Paul VI affirms, “the bread and wine have ceased to exist after the consecration, so that the adorable body and blood of the Lord Jesus from that moment on are really before us under the sacramental species of bread and wine.”

Do we believe without doubt Jesus' words? “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life within you” (Jn 6:53 ).

If we truly believe in receiving communion, we receive the fullness of Christ's life, then we can walk with “confident hope” in the midst of changing times; we walk boldly in the midst of the violence, kidnappings, and collapsing systems.

The encyclical, “On the Eucharist” reminds us that the Church believes that in receiving Christ we also receive the Spirit. Saint Ehprem writes about Christ and the Eucharist: “He called the bread his living body and he filled it with himself and his Spirit... He who eats it with faith, eats Fire and Spirit ... Take and eat this, all of you, and eat it with the Holy Spirit”.

Further, the prayer of the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom says, “send your Holy Spirit upon us all and upon these gifts: that those who partake of them may be purified in soul, receive the forgiveness of their sins, and share in the Holy Spirit.”

Today, be assured in your faith that you have the indwelling spirit of divine power to be converted: power to love, power to create new ways.

We are aware that many of us in Church are stuck. Observe our seating: a person holds a particular seat in a particular position and will not move in spite of what happens around. Sometimes a woman fully endowed seeks a space and even a man may not move but says, “pass woman pass.”

But if we truly believe that Christ pours out himself for us, empowers us with His Spirit and brings us into the fullness of life with the Father, we should not remain stuck. This trinitarian life energises us. In T&T we like to move with a posse; “the Trinity is we posse” to give us strength and courage.

Recently, Benedict XVI explained the Church's mission '”must continuously put us into motion, make us restless, to bring to those who suffer, to those who are in doubt, and even to those who are reluctant, the joy of Christ.” (Address – Rome , Ordination of Priests)

Many believe that receiving the Eucharist should always bring quiet, peaceful times. However, this inward union with trinitarian life can stir us up, unsettle us and cause us to move into new experiences and mission for Christ.

Eucharistic sacrifice

Eucharistic life is marked by Eucharistic sacrifice. In Luke's Gospel Jesus states “ This is my body given for you: do this in remembrance of me.' He did the same with the cup after supper, and said 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood poured out for you .”

Mary Baptiste

In celebrating the Eucharist, the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated through the ages. Eucharistic life involves sacrificial love. Christ pours out himself and we are called to pour out our love and life.

Vatican II document states that the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the life and mission” of the Church. Thus we are called to think of “the source” as a fountain – every grace we need can be found in the Eucharist.

“Summit” refers to the highest point – all our apostolic works and every aspect of our Christian life find its fullness here in the Mass. Everything is taken up to the Father in and through Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit, in union with the whole Church.

Considering the Apostolic Letter, Mane Nobiscum Domine of John Paul II sharing in the Eucharistic life challenges us to look beyond our Church.

John Paul II states “The Eucharist is not merely an expression of communion in the Church's life; it is also a project of solidarity for all of humanity”.

It points to the unity of ''the whole human race.'' The Eucharistic life calls forth engagement in the issues of daily life. One is called to be a “promotor of communion, peace and solidarity in every situation.” In our families, workplaces, anywhere we are, our voices must be heard for dialogue and communion.

The Eucharistic life beckons us to serve the least among us. I recall my brother's journey of faith. Baptised a Catholic, he doubted Catholic teachings and put aside Eucharistic faith for many years. His search carried him to different gurus and theologies. In each Mass I prayed for my family and at the consecration I offered him to the Lord.

Years after this turmoil, he surrendered his life to Jesus Christ as his Lord and sought a Christian Church to build his new life. When he began discussions about the Catholic faith, I was unsure.

But it was the Eucharistic faith of Catholics in the reality of the body and blood of Christ which convinced and empowered him to return to the Catholic Church and participate in ministry. Indeed, the Eucharist holds graces for redeeming the lives of many.

Eucharistic love through service

Eucharistic life empowers us to care for God's poor in simple and complex ways. Some of the poor are members of the Eucharistic community. I recall Zion 's leaders meeting with a particular woman each day at the church door for a few months.

She never spoke to anyone, participated in the Eucharist and never seemed to have a home. One day we invited her to breakfast and continued to offer friendship.

To my surprise on my mother's visit she recognised her as a former in-law and friend of my maternal family. She had become a vagrant. She had lost all wealth and family. Zion and other members of the Eucharistic Community were able to secure her a home and a new life.

Within my own community, a member who worked in the ministry serving the poor shared painfully that she did not have meals for weeks and survived by having breakfast in her sister's home.

She claimed that she was “the poor” and just as needy as the poor families which the community was serving through its programmes.

Where are we going wrong as Church when we are not aware of the suffering of poor brothers and sisters within the Eucharistic Community? What must be done to alleviate the suffering of those who share in Christ's body and blood?

John Paul II challenged dioceses and parish communities whether they could respond “with fraternal solicitude to one of the many forms of poverty present in our world.”

He referred to “the tragedy of hunger”, “the loneliness of the elderly” and the “hardships faced by the unemployed” among other evils. The people of God are charged to work together to be Eucharist in our world.

I know the difficulties of seeking to assist those in need; Zion has lacked sufficient resources to provide for others at times. Many of you here today lack resources also but I believe if we can collaborate in ministry, many more can be helped in our nation.

The Church of today is challenged to express Church life, Eucharistic life in new and different ways. The Eucharist makes this possible.