The Eucharist:
A Compass for Your Life

by Stephanie Wood

My dad and brothers love snorkeling and diving in the Florida Keys. They know some incredible dive sites, including an underwater statue of Christ, sunken shipwrecks, and coral reefs. Some of these places are five to ten miles offshore, in open, unmarked seas. They find these amazing underwater sites using a GPS, which pinpoints the exact location of their dive spots.

I’ve often thought how nice it would be to have an internally-wired GPS: to know exactly where I’m going and how to get there at all times. I’m notorious for being an airhead when it comes to driving directions. (Believe me - I can get lost driving to McDonalds, even with the golden arches in sight). While most of you aren’t as direction-deficient as I am, I’m sure most of you would love to have a personal, interior GPS telling you who you are, where you’re going, and what your purpose in life is.

God knew that being a young adult would be no easy task. That’s why He sent His Son to give us a roadmap with directions for our lives. The Eucharist, God’s supreme gift to man, is a GPS for young adults in the 21st Century.

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The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the Eucharist is the source and summit of Christian life” (section 1324). But what does that mean for young adults in the new millennium? It means that the Eucharist is the focal point, the foundation, and the compass for everything that we do, everything that we are, and everything we will become in this life.

Young people have a deep, ravenous hunger for something more in life. While we all share this same thirst for meaning, for love, and for a desire deep within our hearts to be fulfilled, we all choose different ways of filling the void: some of us turn to drugs, or alcohol, or another addiction; others turn to a relationship, to sexual activity, a certain crowd of friends, to financial gain, or popularity. We often turn to music or other media outlets to satisfy us.

No matter what we try to fill ourselves with, the truth is all of us are searching for something more – something deeper. That’s because this desire in our hearts is for our Creator and Savior, Jesus Christ, to come and dwell with us and in us. St. Augustine once wrote: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” Jesus is the answer to our hunger for meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in life, and He is most fully present to our lives in the Eucharist.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst…I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh…. Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of Man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:35,51,53).

If we want to have a fulfilled life, we must turn to the source and summit of all life: Jesus Christ, fully present body, blood, soul, and divinity in the sacrament of the Eucharist. When we’re going through hard times in our studies, having roommate problems, relationship difficulties, dealing with a lot of temptation, or just feeling the need to be near a good friend, we should turn to Jesus in the Eucharist to be our soul fuel.

Our understanding of the powerful reality of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist will transform our entire way of thinking and being. Our campus choices, moral decisions, daily thoughts and actions will be transformed when we understand that the King of the Universe wants to dwell in our souls and bodies each day. St. Irenaeus, an early Father of the Church, said: “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking.” The Catechism also teaches: “Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints” (CCC 1419).

Do you have a friend struggling with relationship issues? Do you have a cousin who has fallen away from the faith? A roommate who is dealing with severe depression? Take your cares and those of your friends to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Let Him speak to you, comfort you, and encourage you to live each day for Him. Jesus will reveal his specific purpose for your life to you in the Eucharist.

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What are some practical ways we can appreciate Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist more fully?

1. Go to Mass and receive Jesus in the Eucharist, as often as possible. If you could attend Mass a few times a week, in addition to your Sunday obligation, that would be wonderful. If you can attend Mass every day, you’ll be opening your life to boundless graces from God!

2. Spend time in prayer and adoration in the presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Spend a “Holy Hour” praying in God’s presence. And after you pray, just sit there and be quiet: let Him speak to you.

3. Read the Bible, the Catechism, and Church teachings on the Eucharist, to more fully understand and appreciate this great mystery, and so you can explain this sacrament to others.

4. Read the writings of the saints who have meditated on the Blessed Eucharist. Works such as Introduction to the Devout Life, by St. Francis de Sales, Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux, Confessions by St. Augustine, and the Collected Works of St. John of the Cross, would be great places to start.