Rev. Br. Hyacinth Marie Cordell, O.P., delivered the following homily earlier this week at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C.

Homily for the Wednesday of the Third Week of Easter
April 21, 2010

During the Easter Season, we hear Jesus say, "I am the bread of life" (Jn 6:35). Now that He has conquered death, we are invited to cherish more deeply the banquet of life. For some reason, through the readings of this week, the Church is drawing us to contemplate the Gift of the Eucharist in light of the Resurrection. I suggest that we can understand why if we reflect a little on the relationship between the Resurrection and the Eucharist. And I believe we can do this in three steps, like three rungs of a ladder, one building on the next.

For the first rung, we turn to Emmaus. If we were to go back in time about 1,979 years ago (if my calculations are correct), and were walking to Emmaus at the right time in the evening, we would see three figures walking and conversing on the road. And if we were able to overhear their conversation, we would hear One upbraiding the other two and speaking of His Paschal Mystery: "Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory?" (Lk 24:26). Then, He expounds the Scriptures, and the hearts of the other two burn within them. They press Him to stay. That night, while at table, He takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them. At this, the Gospel of Luke tells us, "their eyes were opened and they recognized Him" (Lk 24:31). After He vanishes, they tell the other disciples about "how He was known to them in the breaking of the bread" (Lk 24:35). In this account, we hear echoes of what will later become the structure of the Mass: first, the expounding of the Scriptures, and then, the breaking of bread. But we can also ponder another point. And that is this: Jesus is physically present to them that evening. But He becomes more deeply present to them through the breaking of the bread. This sounds like Eucharistic encounter. And if this is so, we should think about how this is different than the Last Supper... because there is a certain principle that St. Thomas teaches us about the Eucharist. And that is, that Christ is present in the Eucharist in the same state in which He presently exists (cf. III, q. 76, a. 1, ad. 1; q. 81, a. 3). That is, at the Last Supper, the disciples received Christ, but Christ as not yet crucified and risen. This also means that here at Emmaus, the disciples receive Christ in His risen state, but as not yet ascended and fully glorified. More on this in a second.

For the second rung, we need to fast-forward to the present time. When we celebrate Mass now, in the age of the Church, Jesus makes Himself known to us also in the breaking of the bread, just like at Emmaus. But now, Christ is not only risen: He now sits at the right hand of the Father. He has ascended into heaven, and His humanity is fully glorified. He now ministers as our great High Priest in Heaven, worships the Father on our behalf, and lives always to make intercession for us. This means that we not only join in the worship of our Great High Priest in the Holy Mass, but also that when we receive the Eucharist, we receive Christ in His present, risen and ascended state. And yet, even this is not the end of the story, because in this life, the Eucharist is food for the journey. It is the Manna which nourishes us on our way to the Promised Land (cf. Ex 16). We can recall that the manna ceased for the Israelites once Joshua led them across the Jordan River into the Promised Land (Josh 5:12). When we receive Christ now, we receive Him fully in His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. At the same time, He is still veiled for us behind the appearances of bread and wine. All this points to the Eucharist as a pledge of something even more, a pledge of glory!

This brings us to our third rung, and the top of the ladder. For this final step, let us fast-forward even further into the future, even after the resurrection of our bodies has occurred, and the final judgment has passed. In this culmination of all things, there will yet still be a feast, which we hear about in the book of Revelation, "the marriage supper of the Lamb" (Rev 19:9)! And blessed are those who are invited! But in this feast, there will no longer be the veils of bread and wine. Rather, in the words of Revelation, "we shall see His face" (Rev 22:4). In the words of 1 John, "we shall see Him as He is" (1 Jn 3:2). This feast will be the final effect of Christ's Resurrection.

And so, in short, in the Resurrection appearance at Emmaus, we encounter Christ in the breaking of bread. In the age of the Church, we receive Christ as fully exalted. In the final feast of heaven, we see without veils. In these three considerations, we can discover various levels of ways in which the Resurrection and the Eucharist are related. Indeed, our Risen Lord is our Eucharistic Lord!

All this should make us long to receive Christ with greater devotion. All this should make us want to live fully for, with, and in Him. He is the bread of life!

Come to us, O Christ, make yourself known to us in the breaking of the bread.
Live in us more deeply. And lead us all to the feast that never ends. Amen.