Living a eucharistic identity in the world
What does it mean to live a eucharistic identity in the world in which we live? It’s fascinating when we think about it. In the age of apologetics, we often speak of what the Eucharist is—the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in the appearance of bread and wine. It’s another question to ask what the Eucharist does to us and how that doing transforms our daily lives.
To venture into this topic, I want to share a lighthearted story about the Solemnity of the Annunciation, which we celebrate March 25. If the feast falls on a Sunday or if Holy Week happens early, this feast can be moved by a day or two. When I was in seminary, it happened that the feast fell on a Sunday and was moved to Monday, March 26. During Mass on that Monday, the homilist mentioned the date change and jokingly remarked, “I guess that makes Jesus a ‘preemie’ this year.” If you do the math, March 25 is nine months before Dec. 25. Yes, seminary humor is an acquired taste!
Entering the Drama of Salvation
The point being that the liturgical calendar is arranged in such a way that we see the life of Christ as a part of our calendar year, allowing our calendar years to adopt a biblical or eucharistic pattern. Those patterns help us enter into what the theologian Hans Urs Von Balthasar referred to as the “theo-drama.” As a great lover of theatre and art, Von Balthasar presented the life of Christ within the context of a great drama with Christ as the central figure of human history or “the central Actor.” Yet, this true drama is not performed in a theater amid actors in costumes; rather it is lived out in our daily lives, constantly inviting us to keep Christ at the center of our joys, struggles and, in this year of jubilee, to be our source of hope.
To live a eucharistic life is to enter into relationship with Christ through word, sacrament and the community of faith so we, to quote St. Paul’s audacious claim, may have the “mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 2:16) This way of seeing and understanding life is unattainable with our own strength; it is possible only through God’s grace and our cooperation with that grace to transform our thoughts and actions.
This may sound all well and good, but it also begs a question: How does this look in our daily lives? Although there are countless examples to consider, one particularly striking experience
I recall is my visit to a group of Missionaries of Charity in Chicago.
Seeing Christ in the Eucharist and the Poor
During my time as a chaplain at Regis Middle and High School in Eau Claire, we occasionally organized discernment trips for young women called “Nun Runs.” A Nun Run typically involved myself, an adult chaperone, one of the sisters in formation, and a small group of young women considering religious life. We would pack into a van and visit several religious communities. All of the communities were very welcoming, but one of the highlights was always our visit to the Missionaries of Charity in Chicago. The atmosphere there always felt different compared to the other communities. They didn’t use fancy PowerPoint presentations or hand out written materials. Instead, the sisters provided us with simple and clear instructions: show up at the chapel at 6 a.m. for Mass and eucharistic adoration, then meet us at the soup kitchen to serve breakfast.
The visit to the Missionary of Charities was always the second or third day of our trip, so the 6 a.m. start time was itself a little bit of a struggle for travel-weary pilgrims. The Mass was simple with a simple altar and basic liturgical appointments. We were all given a homemade “knee bench” we could use for kneeling, but there were no chairs. The transition into adoration was seamless. We spent the next hour with tired eyes praying and trying to find the right location on the knee bench to find a little relief for our bent knees. Once that time was completed, the sisters informed us that they would meet us at the shelter.
When we arrived, there was already a line of homeless individuals waiting to get inside. The sisters went in while we began preparing the food. As we worked, one of the sisters led us in praying the rosary. Breakfast was served in a simple manner, and once everyone had eaten, we cleaned the kitchen. We then had our breakfast from the leftovers before returning to talk with the sisters.
When we returned, the sisters informed us that we had experienced the essence of what Mother Teresa of Calcutta taught her community: to see Christ present in the Eucharist and then to see Christ present in the poor, marginalized and most vulnerable members of society. This concept was the foundation of what St. Teresa referred to as the “Two Presences of Christ—in the Eucharist and in the marginalized.” The sisters explained, “We start each day by receiving and gazing upon Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, and we continue when we gaze upon those who enter our soup kitchen, carrying Christ’s presence in them.”
To receive and gaze upon Christ in the Eucharist—and then to receive and gaze upon Him in each person we meet—is to live a truly eucharistic identity!
The Danger of False Narratives
So, this begs another important question: If living in the gaze of Christ is our true identity, what is the false identity? The answer is both straightforward and complex. The false narrative is the belief that we can live our lives divorced from that gaze. On the surface, the daily lives of those who embrace a eucharistic identity and those who do not may appear quite similar. Yet, when viewed through eucharistic eyes and with the mind of Christ, there is truly no such thing as a “passing moment.” The “theo-drama” of our lives revolves around the question, “How is Christ present in every moment of my day?”
And isn’t it frightening how quickly we can all, myself included, so quickly abandon that question in favor of selfish motivations? Welcome to why receiving Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is so essential. Welcome to why taking the time to silence ourselves and gaze upon Him in the Eucharist can nourish and inspire us. And welcome to why that gaze must not cease when we leave the safety of being in His presence!
How can you live a eucharistic identity in your life? Do you strive to live with the mind of Christ not only when hymns are being sung but when those songs cease? Do you see, as St. Teresa encourages us to see, the two presences of Christ in our world? Pray with these questions. Be in Christ’s presence. Receive Christ’s presence. And live a eucharistic identity, seeking the face of Christ in everyone you encounter today.
By Father James Kurzynski, pastor of St. Olaf Parish in Eau Claire
Published in the Summer 2025 issue of Catholic Life Magazine