St. Augustine taught of the Eucharist, “Behold the mystery of your salvation laid out for you; behold what you are, become what you receive.” When we eat regular food, it is transformed and becomes part of us. But in a mysterious way, when we consume Jesus’s Body in the Eucharist, it does not become our flesh; in fact, we are transformed into him. We become like Jesus, not the other way around. Pope Benedict XVI said, “The Body and Blood of Christ are given to us so that we ourselves will be transformed in our turn. We are to become the Body of Christ, his own Flesh and Blood.” Christ comes to dwell within us when we worthily receive the Eucharist. We become living tabernacles of his Presence. Like Mary carrying Christ in her womb to love and serve Elizabeth (cf. Luke 1:39), we can carry his Presence to love and serve the people around us.
We become like Jesus
