JUNE 14, 2020
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. Our readings are focused on the gifts of the Word of God and the Eucharist. This feast has deep significance to those of us living the stewardship way of life.
Why? As stewards, we recognize that all that we are and all that we have been given are gifts from God. We are called to treasure these gifts and use them for God’s glory. Our Solemnity today and the readings for this week invite us to a deeper gratitude and better stewardship of the two sublime gifts of God’s Word and the Eucharist.
In our first reading from Deuteronomy, Our Heavenly Father (such a good teacher) reminds us that just as we experience physical hunger from lack of food, we become spiritually malnourished through lack of feeding on the Word of God. It is that important.
And, just as the Word of God is vital to our spiritual nourishment, so, too is the nourishment of the Eucharist. Jesus could not make this any clearer to us: “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”
Without the Eucharist, we die spiritually. But through the Eucharist, we experience a taste of heaven right now — “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.”
As Christian stewards, we must recognize that in the gifts of the Word of God and the Eucharist, we have everything we need to sustain us in this world and guide us to heaven. Let us resolve to steward these precious gifts well with all our hearts, always.
