As a priest, the very high point of every day is the celebration of the Mass, and the high point of each Mass is when I am privileged to pray the words of Jesus at the Consecration. There are two words in particular, used in both the words of consecration of the Body and for the Blood, that often catch my attention. They are the words “for you.”
In the consecration of the Body of Christ, we hear the words of Jesus giving us Himself as food, His Body “which will be given up for you.” Then, with the words of consecration for the Blood of Christ, Jesus speaks of the Blood “which will be poured out for you.” For you. For me. The Eucharist is a gift Jesus has instituted not just for those gathered with Him at the Last Supper, it is a gift that He meant to be shared with you and me every time we come to Mass. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are present with the Lord and His Apostles the night before He was to suffer for our sins, and we are given the opportunity to receive the gift of His very being – Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
I was reminded of this powerful moment in the Mass as I watched Episode 2 of Presence on FORMED. As the video spoke about the Last Supper and Institution of the Eucharist as being the New Passover, there is a point made about how the Jewish people understood the yearly celebration of the Passover. They would recall that it was not just their ancestors who were brought out of slavery in Egypt, but that it was them who were also freed in that Passover event. Their celebration of the Passover was not just a remembrance of something past, but a sharing in the effects of that moment even in the present day. So when we hear those words “for you”, we should hear them in the same way, not as a remembrance of something in the past, but something that is truly present, every bit as applicable to us as it was to His Apostles.
This is the type of awareness that we are invited to have at each Mass as we hear Jesus speaking His words of offering to us, for us. Just the thought of that as I write this fills me with gratitude and joy, and all the more excited for the next time I get to celebrate Mass and say those words once again!
This awareness of the gift the Lord offers for you and for me in each Mass should extend to how we view Lent. We recall Jesus’s Passion and Death during this season, and it can be easy to see it as something that happened 2000 years ago. But as we reflect on His suffering, on the love His shows for His people, He is inviting us to understand: “I have done this for you.” Jesus underwent His Passion and died on the Cross for you, for your sins. When we truly grasp this very personal nature of what Jesus has done for us, how can we not be moved? How can we simply go to Mass and passively listen without being reminded of the immense love the Lord has for you and for me?
The next time you are at Mass, pay close attention to the words of consecration, and receive those words Jesus meant for you to hear in a personal and powerful way, that the gift He is offering of Himself, shared with us in the Eucharist, has been done for you.
As a reminder, we have a weekly reflection question to keep in mind as you watch the next episode of Presence. It can be found on the bottom right corner of this page.
Father Alford