The Kingdom of Heaven is like the Eucharist

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Kingdom of God is like the Eucharist

We are undergoing National Eucharist Revival, a movement to restore understanding, devotion and renew our faith and worship to the great mystery of the Eucharist. This renewal movement is now at the parish level. It is wonderful that we discuss this in our parish because we must also revive our faith regarding this greatest mystery of the Catholic Church.

I have many privileges to join meetings regarding parish renewal, and I am happy that our parish has many people who love and concern for the Church. One of the biggest concerns is bringing people back to the Church.

A lot of suggestions came up during meetings. For example, we need to bring people back to Church by welcoming new members, reaching out to those who do not attend Church, having breakfast after mass, and doing parish picnics. One said we could go to the movies together.

All are wonderful suggestions. But one suggestion that struck me most was that "our renewal movement must be rooted in what is the most important in the life of the Church, the Eucharist. The Eucharist is "the source and summit" of the Christian life. It is the greatest treasure that brings us into the kingdom of God." What a beautiful statement; "The Eucharist is the greatest treasure of the Catholic Church."

Dear brothers and sisters, it is beyond a treasure; God himself is present in the Church through the Eucharist.

The Kingdom of Heaven was the central theme of Jesus' preaching ministry. Jesus presents the kingdom as a treasure beyond price, a magnificent banquet, or a wedding feast.

Today in the Gospel, Jesus speaks three parables about the kingdom of heaven. In the first parable, he said, "The kingdom of heaven may be liken

to a man who sowed good seed in his field." The second is "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed." And the third, "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast."

Today, we can state that the kingdom of heaven is like the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the good seed, the mustard seed, and the yeast that brings us into the kingdom of heaven.

The Eucharist makes us belong to God. The Eucharist gives meaning to our present time. The Eucharist draws us into the future. It feeds our hunger, satisfies our thirst, and gives us life.

The Eucharist must be the core of every evangelizing effort. Regarding Church's evangelization, Pope Benedict XVI warned us that "Catholics today must resist "the temptation of impatience," that is, the temptation to insist on "immediately finding great success" and "large numbers." The Pope says that immediate, massive growth is not God's way. "The Church's evangelizing mission to the secular world will not be "immediately attracting the large masses that have distanced themselves from the Church by using new and more refined methods." Rather, it will mean "to dare, once again and with the humility of the small grain, to leave up to God the "when" and "how" it will grow."

Brothers and sisters, God knows our world is hurting. God knows we all need healing and renewing our faithbecause many are separated from the very source of life. Christ is inviting us to return to the source of our faith in the celebration of the Eucharist.

The kingdom of heaven is like the Eucharist; if we have Eucharist, we have Christ, and if we have Christ, we have every good thing, not only in this life but the life to come. On the contrary, if we do not have Jesus, I hate to say it, but we have nothing, nothing, and nothing at all.

The decision to have everything or nothing is yours but be not afraid God is on our side. The Psalm today tells us that our "Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity." And God wants us to "shine like the sun in the kingdom of God."

We must let people know that the Eucharist is the way to enter the Kingdom of heaven. We must invite them to see and foretaste the kingdom of God through the Eucharist. We need to be witnesses of what we have. As Pope Paul VI put it most eloquently, "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses."

Our revival movement must be rooted in the Eucharist and start within us first. Aquinas said, "We cannot give what we do not have." We must let the Eucharist transform ourselves before bringing it to others.

Before inviting people back to Church, we need to live as those who foretaste the heavenly kingdom in the Eucharist because people will never listen to us and come back to Church if they do not see Christ in us. People will never listen to us if we do not become what we ate at this Altar because "by their fruits, you will know them.".

On the contrary, people will listen to us if we show them the fruits of living the Eucharist: love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. People will listen to us if we live the Eucharist by loving one another because "This is how all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another." (Jn 13:35)

Let's now renew our faith and our Church by celebrating, participating, and foretasting the kingdom of heaven through Eucharist at this very Altar. And when you come home today, show people what you have found and tell them that you have found the way to enter the kingdom of God, the Eucharist. That is the truth.