Greater generosity toward God and other people
Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist because we have His words recorded in Scripture that speak to this truth. When we receive Jesus in holy Communion, we meet the risen Christ who is alive and who comes to live in our heart. We may not “feel” anything at the moment of reception, and yet the fact remains that we are united with the Son of God and the effects of this union will manifest in our lives if we welcome and cooperate with the grace of the Eucharist. It is essential that we grow in our awareness of this reality. If we question or have trouble believing, it is helpful to pray this brief phrase to Jesus: “I believe; please help my unbelief.” (Mk 9:24) The Lord will answer our prayer every time.
The miraculous effect of receiving the Eucharist in faith and in a state of grace is to strengthen our union with Christ, through a deepening of faith, hope and charity. The more united we are to Him, the more grace will transform our heart to be like His, which, in turn, prompts us to follow His example of self-giving love.
After receiving the Eucharist, we are empowered and strengthened to live with a generous, loving heart toward others through a change in our attitudes and actions. However, this does not happen automatically without our participation.
God completely respects our freedom, and therefore, each of us must choose to cooperate with the power of sanctifying grace—His divine life within us. Let us look at how to cooperate with God’s grace in order to live with greater generosity and love toward God and other people. This giving of ourselves in union with Christ leads to gaining something greater; we become more fully alive.
“The Law of the Gift”
A story from Scripture will illustrate this point. A multitude of people came to listen to Jesus because they witnessed His miracles. There were 5,000 men along with wives and children. The people were a great distance from any city, and so Jesus asked an apostle about feeding all of them. Phillip said the price would be exorbitant to simply give each person a small amount of bread, and he wondered where they would even buy it. However, Andrew mentioned that there was a boy who had five loaves and two fish. “Jesus then took the loaves, and when He had given thanks, He distributed them; and then also the fish, as much as they wanted.” (Jn 6:11)
In the passage, this boy could have decided to keep the loaves and fish, figuring that he needed this food for himself. However, the lad gave what he had to Jesus, who multiplied the loaves and fish so that upwards of 15,000 people ate to their fill. This passage reflects what is referred to as “the law of the gift.” This foundational truth of the Christian life involves giving up something out of love for others, without expectation of gain and the reality of loss in the hopes of helping someone else, but the Lord always blesses bountifully in return.
Eucharistic Living: What Does This Really Mean?
This story of the boy who shared the loaves and fish illustrates the point that we gain our lives by giving them away. This adds deeper meaning to the phrase that is often heard: “love isn’t love until it’s given away.”
The Eucharist is the greatest example of what we mean by the law of the gift. The Eucharist is Christ Himself, Who gives Himself to us in the sacrifice of the Mass, which makes present the same sacrifice of the cross where Jesus gave everything for us by accepting His horrific suffering and death so that we could be saved from sin and eternal death.
With the proper intention, this gift of receiving Jesus in holy Communion changes our attitudes and actions in our everyday lives. It is necessary to see our natural motives, such as being nice when it makes us feel good, distinguished from our supernatural motives of self-giving love in Christ. The desired intention to sanctify our attitudes and actions through the love of Christ is needed to be on the path to spiritual maturity and greater loving service to others. This type of generous living requires us to unite our hearts to Jesus and to do things with and for Him.
Jesus’ Example
At the Last Supper, Jesus gave us an actual example of how we are to “live out” our reception of the holy Eucharist. “Jesus… rose from supper and took off His outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around His waist. When He resumed His place at the table, He said to them, ‘Do you know what I have done for you?’ You call Me Teacher and Lord, and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” (Jn 13:3a, 4-5. 12-15)
Jesus—God Himself—undertakes the washing of feet and provides us with a powerful mental image of how to love and serve others with humility, hospitality and generosity.
We may never end up washing other people’s feet, but this image of bending our knees to a lower position, lifting the individual’s dirty foot, and gently washing it is a beautiful ongoing reminder of an attitude of self-giving love expressed in the action of humbly serving a person. Living out this eucharistic behavior of putting others first is not easy to do and yet this is what we, as Christians, are called to do through the power of God’s grace received in holy Communion.
Who Will Do the Dishes?
So, how does this play out in real life? Eucharistic behavior is not about sitting around and seeking to be nicer to others, while hoping someone else will do the dishes, or even leaving our family to go and serve others. The more united we are to Jesus, the more grace will transform our heart to be like His, which, in turn, prompts us to follow His example in self-giving, right in the midst of our ordinary life. This will take different forms, depending on our talents and circumstances, but all is to be done for the simple joy of loving and pleasing God through generously serving others.
Each of us deals with mundane tasks on a daily basis, such as washing dishes, working in an office with people of various personalities and backgrounds, walking with children through difficult teenage years, etc. Yes, it is amidst the nitty gritty, the day-to-day tasks that we can mentally “lower ourselves,” no matter our status, and serve those who cross our path, with patience, kindness and generosity. These tasks, some insignificant and some of great importance, can become something that is not so difficult, and in the process, can even become quite lovely. We may receive a special grace to feel more in love with Jesus and our family even as we do the dishes!
Story by Ann Lankford, Director of the Office for Catechesis and Evangelization
Published in the Fall 2025 edition of Catholic Life Magazine