Does the Eucharist Change Us?

  • Thread starter Thread starter HumbleObedience
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

HumbleObedience

Guest
Does the Eucharist change us? I attend daily Mass quite often and I’m not sure if it really changes us. The few daily communicants don’t seem really any different than other people who don’t receive often. I’m not sure if I feel any different afterwards either.
 
I bring this up because after daily Mass last week I over heard two ladies who I thought were very devout and dedicated to our Lord. They were engaged in uncharitable gossip and I was very sad and shocked. I don’t understand how this could be right after receiving our Lord in the Eucharist!
 
Well, as shocking as it is that devoted old ladies could be guilty of sin (gasp) just as much as any other man, woman, or child. . .

Change is inward, not outward, and it is not limited to feelings (feelings are notoriously unreliable taken solely by themselves). I venture to say that if you concentrate on knowing, loving, and serving God AND loving your neighbor as yourself, you will indeed not just feel but truly understand the change as you become a servant of God and a member of His Body.

Are you worried about these ladies because you wish them to know, love, and serve God, and to love others, and want to help them and have them help you–

or are you more concerned that if these “pillars” are just ordinary sinners, maybe you’re chosen the wrong church, because surely the “right church” would only have perfect people in it?

Think about it.

We are all sinners. And we all fall short. Thing is, when I fall, I would SO much rather have somebody raise me up with kindness, understanding, and sympathy, as an equal. . .than to have somebody, in the guise of “raising” me, treat me as a leper, a pariah, or something disgusting on a shoe bottom, as though they were gold and I was. . .well, dirt.
 
I must be terribly naive because I was really surprised to hear such vicious gossip while walking out of daily Mass. It made me wonder what was going on. I don’t know those ladies except that they seem to be frequent communicants like me. Of course I know that we’re all sinners, that goes without saying.

I communicate frequently out of devotion and obedience to our Lord. I try my best to follow his commands. That’s all I can do. But I did start wondering about the effect of the Eucharist on our souls after that. I guess I think of it as medicine and expect it’s effect to be strongest after taking it, then start to wear off, which is why I receive so frequently.
 
It can change us as much as we allow it to. But learning to allow it to is a lifelong-process of prayer and sacrifice for most of us.

Josh
 
40.png
HumbleObedience:
Does the Eucharist change us? I attend daily Mass quite often and I’m not sure if it really changes us. The few daily communicants don’t seem really any different than other people who don’t receive often. I’m not sure if I feel any different afterwards either.
Click to expand...
Yes. It increases Charity in our hearts. However, the grace received in some ways is proportional to our disposition. So it is a good idea to be prepared to receive, by perhaps prayer before mass, etc.

You may well not *feel *any different. But one day you may find yourself not hating, not judging where once you would have, puting yourself aside where once you would have been needy, stuff like this. Just know that God is nourishing you with heavenly food. Trust him.

Pray to see the other mass-goers with Jesus’s eyes, as he sees them. He will eventually show you, I think.
 
I don’t look at the Eucharist trying to change me. Change or conversion happens within the heart. I see the Eucharist as sustaining me in the graces given to me thru the Sacraments and the Holy Spririt.
 
40.png
HumbleObedience:
I bring this up because after daily Mass last week I over heard two ladies who I thought were very devout and dedicated to our Lord. They were engaged in uncharitable gossip and I was very sad and shocked. I don’t understand how this could be right after receiving our Lord in the Eucharist!
Click to expand...
Remeber what Judas did after the very first Mass.
 
Yes, so what comes first, the chicken or the egg? If the Eurcharist doesn’t directly transform us then why bother receiving more often? I’m going to keep going because it helps keep me grounded and focused more on God. But, Protestants seem to get the same consolation from Bible studies. My Protestant friends also seem to walk with God seriously and devoutly. I’m not saying they don’t suffer from hypocrisy too, but I’m wondering what the Eucharist does to transform us that is totally unique.
 
40.png
HumbleObedience:
Yes, so what comes first, the chicken or the egg? If the Eurcharist doesn’t directly transform us then why bother receiving more often? I’m going to keep going because it helps keep me grounded and focused more on God. But, Protestants seem to get the same consolation from Bible studies. My Protestant friends also seem to walk with God seriously and devoutly. I’m not saying they don’t suffer from hypocrisy too, but I’m wondering what the Eucharist does to transform us that is totally unique.
Click to expand...
While it is true that the Eucharist is transformational, our transformation is contingent upon our willingness/openness to be transformed! Because God respects our use of the gift he gave us–free will–transformation is not forced upon us without our consent.

I take Jesus’ words on the Eucharist literally … He said, “Whoever eats this bread and drinks this blood will live forever … The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him … The man who feeds on me will have life because of me …” (John 6)

When we receive this Sacrament of Love, we are transformed from sinner to saint, we are destined for eternal life in God’s kingdom, we rest in Jesus while at the same time we become his tabernacle … but to realize these things, we must be open to the working of God, through Jesus in the Eucharist by the power of the Holy Spirit. We must always consider ourselves to be a work in process … continually aided by God’s grace to reach perfection–but none of us are there yet!
 
The only thing is that I see non-Catholics and even non-Christians go through apparent spiritual transformations. Living in a multi-cultural society with a variety of belief systems seems to disprove that the Eucharist in and of itself, is transformational. Being exposed to people from a lot of beliefs seems to show me that the Holy Spirit doesn’t only work through the Church. It must be that there’s more than one way to God or else a lot of people are going to suffer spiritually mainly because of an accident of their birth being born non-Catholic.
 
Fro one thing, I think if you did a scientific study of people’s hearts (if you could really look into their hearts objectively, like God does) with a control group of Catholics and one of non-Catholics, I’m not sure if you’d see much difference. Probably, among devout Catholics you’d have less sexual sin, but in other areas I think that you’d find pretty similar findings. For instance, even though I receive more frequently than most Catholics, I still struggle with sinful thoughts quite a bit. I have less than charitable thoughts about others and I don’t mind sharing them with people who might be interested in listening. Really, I don’t think being devout is helping me break these patterns. I’ll bet lots of people are less judgemental than me, or else they are fooling me.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top