Ukrainian Catholic ChurchAustralia, New Zealand and Oceania
Homily by Fr. Yuriy Tychenok on the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost
July 30, 2023
Holy Eucharist not only cures all diseases of the soul and body, but it is also a guarantee of eternal life.
The most expensive cheese in the world “Pule” is made from donkey’s milk. The price of one kilogram of the cheese costs more than $1000. In addition to great taste, it is hailed as a super healthy food with nutritional value and medicinal properties. The cheese is produced only in one area in Serbia from the milk of a special breed of donkeys, which are milked exclusively by hand. One kilogram of Pule cheese requires around 25 litres of donkey milk, whilst a female donkey can only produce 0.2 litres of milk per day. The production process is a closely guarded secret therefore everyone involved only performs one operation, to ensure that the recipe is kept secret.
The Son of God came into this world to share with us a unique recipe for a most useful food, the Holy Eucharist, which is the body and blood of Jesus Christ. The price that the Son of God paid for us to receive this indispensable and extremely important food is: humiliation, suffering and death on the cross. Eucharist not only cures all diseases of the soul and body, but it is also a guarantee of eternal life. The process of transforming the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is unique. It can only be performed by a priest or bishop by following a specially established series of actions, readings, prayers and singing, which constitutes, the Divine Liturgy. It is the same Christ who took compassion on a multitude of people and healed their sick, preached to them His life-giving word, and then fed them with only five loaves and two fish, is present here, today, with us during our celebration of the Divine Liturgy and when we received Communion with dignity and fear of God, Jesus enters our hearts to heal all our ailments.
Today, each of us should think about what price we are willing to pay for what Christ gives us? All that the Lord expects from us is to love God and our neighbours. This love is described in 10 short commandments, which are an unchanging and unique recipe for human happiness in this world. Reinforced by the Holy Eucharist, these commandments become for us a guarantee of eternal life. Amen!
