By Jenny Koch
Connecting Liturgy and Life
Editor’s note: For 2026, the weekly “Connecting Faith and Life” column has been renamed “Connecting Liturgy and Life.” The column consists of reflections on Part Two of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), which focuses on the Liturgy and the Sacraments.
cf. CCC 1402-1419
“Mom, are you helping with the food today at Church?” Without thinking, I told my son, “No. We don’t have donuts this weekend.” To which he quickly replied, “No, during Mass. Are you handing out the food?” Then it struck me. He had caught on to something I mentioned. He sees the Eucharist as food, food for the journey. His witty mind is always thinking, seeing the irony of situations and phrasing things like no other member of the family.
Our conversation reminded me of my “reversion” story in college. Baptized Catholic, I had “strayed” during college, especially after the tragic events of 9/11. Traveling abroad gave me a good excuse to miss Mass, and I only attended Mass when my friend played piano at St. Mary and John’s. Meanwhile, I enjoyed attending different churches with my non-Catholic friends. We were jamming to some awesome Christian rock on road trips, and we were definitely growing together in Bible studies. I had also changed my minor to religious studies. I was poring through Paul’s letters like never before and reaching ancient theology in my spare time. My mind was racing! Yet, after all of the assignments and all of the reading, I was still missing something.
As graduation approached, my career plans changed, and my patience with church hopping was wearing thin. I remember one day after a service, I told my friends, “That was fun, but I need to go to Mass.” I missed and yearned for what I had neglected — Christ himself, present in the Eucharist. I tell this story because so many of my friends were in the same situation. After teaching OCIA for several years, I still hear the stories of converts wandering from church to church before finding a home in the Catholic Church.
The Catechism reminds us that the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith (CCC 1324). It is “the living bread that came down from heaven” (John 6:51), the memorial of Christ’s Passover. At the end of the section on this most important sacrament, the Catechism also reminds us of an ancient prayer — Marana tha! The literal meaning of Marana tha is “Come, Lord Jesus.” This word is found in the “Didache,” also called the ‘Teaching of the Twelve Apostles.” Created in the first 200 years of Christianity, it offers a unique prayer of Thanksgiving to say after Communion:
But after you are filled, thus give thanks: We thank You, holy Father, for Your holy name which You caused to tabernacle in our hearts, and for the knowledge and faith and immortality, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory forever… Remember, Lord, Your Church, to deliver it from all evil and to make it perfect in Your love, and gather it from the four winds, sanctified for Your kingdom which You have prepared for it; for Yours is the power and the glory forever. Let grace come, and let this world pass away. Hosanna to the God (Son) of David! If anyone is holy, let him come; if anyone is not so, let him repent. Marana tha. Amen.
The Eucharist makes us a grateful people, as we “break the one bread that provides the medicine of immortality” (CCC 1405). We should also take to heart the words of the priest: “It is right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give God thanks.” Being in the pews, participating in the banquet that is the Eucharist, is a “foretaste” of heaven. It is pointing us towards Christ. It cultivates our hearts, making them capable of loving Jesus by encountering him in the most intimate way. It prepares us for what is coming. The Eucharist is an anticipation of heavenly glory.” (CCC 1402) We are getting ready for heaven!
As we continue to celebrate this great gift, the Body and Blood of Christ, let us commit ourselves to a gratitude for the food. I am personally grateful for each and every person who has led me closer and closer to a life with Christ in the Catholic Church. I am also so very thankful for the enthusiasm of new Catholic converts, eager to receive the Lord in the Eucharist. Marana tha!