When, at the consecration, I hold the delicate host in my hands and repeat the words "He broke the bread... ," I can sense something of the sentiments that filled the heart of Jesus at that moment: how he completely gave his human will to the Father, overcoming every resistance and repeating to himself these well-known words from Scripture: "Sacrifices and offerings thou hast not desired, but a body hast thou prepared for me; Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God" (cf. Heb 10:5-9). What Jesus gives his disciples to eat is the bread of his obedience and his love for the Father.

Then I understand that to "do" what Jesus did that night, I must, first of all, "break" myself and that is, lay before God all hardness, all rebellion towards him or towards others, crush my pride, submit and say "yes," fully, to all that God asks of me. I too must repeat the words: Lo, I have come to do thy will, O God! You don't want many things from me; you want me and I say "yes." To be Eucharist like Jesus signifies being totally abandoned to the Father's will.

The Eucharist: Our Sanctification
Fr. Raniero Cantalamesa

Reprinted from Witness Ministries, a lay apostolate dedicated to renewing appreciation for the Mass as the greatest gift which God has given to His beloved spouse, the Church. Their mission is to show how, in the Eucharistic Liturgy, Jesus renews and transforms us–and the world–in His life and love.