Becoming One Flesh

This morning, I was thinking a bit about what I would respond if someone who had left the Catholic Church asked me why I choose to stay. While there are a whole bunch of reasons I could give, I would probably focus on two things: the Eucharist and being able to experience God's mercy in Reconciliation. How I could never give up that intimate contact with my beloved.

Sitting with that answer, particularly in light of calling the Lord my beloved. In the context of receiving the Eucharist, that is when the Body and Blood of Jesus becomes one with His Church. Two become one flesh. When we eat something, it is literally incorporated into our bodies.1 In this way, the Divine Bridegroom becomes one with His bride. And, moving along the lines of two becoming one flesh, this union is to bear fruit and bring life into this world that is dying of sin. This is the wedding feast of the lamb - what we call the Mass.

In the Eucharist, Jesus gives His Body and Blood to us. He desires to be in union with us. For two to become one, Christ does not just become one with us. We also become one with Christ, but it can sometimes be painfully obvious that someone we love or us ourselves are not transformed in that way. We would like to believe that we all share equally in the reception of Holy Communion, but we don't. The reason is wrapped up in that title itself. Many of us don't actually want full communion with Christ. We don't want to fully be part of His Church, His bride. While He would freely give all of Himself to us, we hold back and say "that part of me is not Yours, and I don't want it to be."2 That is so sad. Jesus left His Father in Heaven to cleave to His Church, yet many of us tell Him no or don't even acknowledge His presence.

But, on the other hand, to call to memory the reality of this union as you process up to receive Holy Communion is transformative. Here's one way how. For two to become one, two need to be present. Jesus comes to us to give us His Body and Blood. As you come forward, actively choose to also give Him your body and your blood. As you return to the pew after receiving, meditate that now these two beings are becoming one. And not just for you individually, but for the congregation as a whole as Christ is being received by many more of those who are walking the aisle. The bride processing forward to meet her Groom.

The two will become one flesh. This is a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the Church. ~ Eph 5:32

1 More on this thought in this old blog post.
2 If you'd like a more official source corroborating that the graces from receiving the Sacrament are not equal, read part 12, section 3 of A Basic Catholic Catechism.

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