Just before the celebrant brings the congregation the Blessed Sacrament at Communion time, he says, “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” The visual appearance of the host hardly looks like a supper, let alone a banquet. If we realize it is Jesus, our Lord, who comes to us under the appearance of bread and wine, we can see how like food to the body, this supernatural food nourishes us in the life of God. “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you do not have life within you.” Really, the invitation to come to his supper refers to the invitation we have for the heavenly life that is described in terms of a banquet. The gift of receiving the Eucharist at Mass is meant to be our nourishment, strength and sustenance on the way to the great banquet that God has prepared for those who love him. It is something similar to the words we use when we give communion to those who are dying. Communion then is called “viaticum.” Via – te – cum, breaking the word into its component parts means “on the way with you.” Christ comes to us on our way to seeing him, as St. Paul says, face to face. Ordinary communion is the way that we pilgrim people walk with Christ on our way. Rather than being distracted by the appearance of the small portion of the consecrated bread and wine, we should think of Christ coming to us as our companion on the journey to the great banquet which is the manner our heavenly existence is described (Book of Revelation 19:9). The revised corrected translation better renders as “blessed” what we previously termed “happy.” While we might not always have a joyful feeling when receiving communion, we are still blessed despite obstacles like physical condition, bad weather, our weariness, etc. Why? We are blessed because faith tells us that Christ is our companion no matter what the circumstances. The word “companion” has in its composition, cum – panis, that is, with bread, the way Christ chooses to walk with us in our ordinary life.
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