No wonder Jesus warns us that unless we eat His flesh and drink His blood we will not have divine life within us! When we receive the consecrated host, we accept a great challenge.

We accept the triumphs and the tragedies, joys and the pains necessary to build up the Kingdom of God in the part of the world in which we are called to serve, As we walk away from the altar, may our hearts and minds hear Jesus saying: “This is My body, given over for you” and “This is My blood, poured out for you.”

What a power we would be for our world around us if each one of us could say that and mean it! That is why, at the end of the Mass, we are sent out to “Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life,” reflecting Jesus’ love, mercy, forgiveness and spirit of service all around us.

We need to keep the hunger and thirst for God alive in our hearts. Every human being is blessed with an insatiable longing for God. We want God as our Father to hold us gently in His arms, keeping us safe throughout the dangers we face. Instead, often we use substitutes as an escape from that need – fast living, fast food, fast cars, needless luxuries, unrestricted sexual fulfillment.

We demand the right to do whatever we want to do whenever we want. However, unless we keep the hunger for God strong in our hearts, we will eventually realize the emptiness of our lives without God.