Feast of Saint Peter Julian Eymard

The community of believers was of one heart and mind….

The optional readings for the feast of Father Eymard are found in the Lectionary. The first reading, from the Acts of the Apostles, is one of the two summary statements of life in the early community. Both focus on the unity and fraternity that was theirs, the chief fruit of a genuinely eucharistic community. Unity was what Jesus prayed for at the Last Supper. It is also what we pray for in each Mass when we invoke the Holy Spirit, pleading that we who share in the body and blood of Christ might truly become one body, one spirit, in Christ. We would do well today to reflect on both passages (Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:32-35).

Father Eymard saw the Eucharist as the source of all virtues. His own spiritual life was centered on and shaped by the Eucharist. He saw it as “…the center which should form and foster the Christian and evangelical virtues without having to seek elsewhere; a center which gives ready nourishment since it is an atmosphere of light, of sweetness, and of peace. Indeed, it is our Lord himself.”

Our reception of the body and blood of Christ at Mass forms us into the body of Christ here on earth. Our reception of the precious blood is a powerful reminder of how we can do this: by accepting whatever sacrifices are required to live the one commandment Jesus gave us at the Last Supper: loving others with the same love he had for us. That is what we commit ourselves to when we say “Amen” when receiving the sacred bread and the precious blood.

Is this how I celebrate Mass?

Let Us Pray:

O loving Jesus, please let me strive each day to bring about the unity for which you were willing to give your life.