September 24, 2002 The Eucharist
by Fr. Stephen Dominic Hayes, O.P.
Introduction
If you're not being fed it's because you think it's bread, there's a lot of truth to that.
What is it?
When we talk about the Eucharist what are we talking about? It is that sacrament that is the center and end of Christian life. To give us the Eucharist is why Christ came. Christ came to save us from sin, the Eucharist is a part of that. He came to raise us to glory, the Eucharist is also part of that.
In John's Gospel, John is at the cross and after Jesus gives Mary to John in a new relationship Mary becomes mother again, of the members of the Church in the person of John. The Lord gives up his life and he sends forth his spirit not only to his father but to this little community that is forming at the foot of the cross.
Then the soldier split his side open and blood and water flowed. That is seen as the signs as our life in Jesus and the Eucharist. To be in union with this holy sacrament is to be in union with Christ not symbolically but personally.
To participate in the sacrament is to participate in the full sense in the life of Christ. Not just as he lives now but in what he has done and is doing.
Have you thought what you would have done on that day if you had been there? What you have done, which group would you have sat with. Would you have been on the side against him or that small group on which Jesus breathes his spirit.
In this vision is the heart of the Eucharist.
Institution of the Eucharist
The night before Jesus died he took bread and wine and changed the ceremony of Passover. Imagine if the priest changed the mass and how shocked you would be. You can see how the apostles would have been shocked to see Him apply these things to himself. So He takes the bread and says, "this is my body." and after the mean He takes the third cup, the cup of blessing that which closes the meal and goes into the looking forward to the messiah. He takes this cup and says, "this is the cup of my blood."
Jesus also changes the pattern of Passover. The fourth part of the service is about the coming of the messiah. In the passion narrative we see that He changes that. Jesus and the Apostles sing the songs of praise but then they go to the mount of olives where he will be betrayed. Then the prophecy comes true!
There is also the fourth cup that closes the celebration, this cup is taken by Jesus on the cross when He takes the sponge of wine and then says, "it is finished" what is finished? This new Passover.
It is this Passover which becomes the pattern celebration in the early church.
The Early Church
The Last Supper is the first time He broke the bread with disciples. The second time was on Easter Day on the road of Emmeaus. On the road he spoke to them, teaching them the words of Scripture. This is analogous to the Liturgy of the Word. They came to the end of the journey and He stayed with them and broke the bread. They recognized Him in the Eucharist. They ran back and say "we have seen the Lord" the next line in scripture is when He appeared in their midst and ate with them.
The second time he does this is the story of doubting Thomas, a week later on Sunday. If you notice, each time Jesus was with them those first times was on Sunday, the Church continues to meet on Sunday today.
Eyes of Faith
The Eucharist is about the fulfillment of the prophecies of the old testament in the person of Jesus. His final and total intervention in the life of the World. You can't see this unless you have faith! That is at the heart of the mystery. It is the beginning of the companioning and shepherding of the Church that Christ has founded in His spirit and blood.
This is what the Eucharist is for. If you think it's just symbolic, you're missing the boat, entirely.
In the scriptures you'll see references that emphasize these elements. St. Paul said "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?" (1 Cor 10:16)
If you notice that there is a deliberate tracking of the people in the dessert. The people in the desert were given manna and quail. These fell out of the sky. In the feeding of the 5,000 they came from the hand of Jesus. Jesus identifies with God Himself, a claim of divine power backed up with a work of power.
He talks about Himself as the bread come down from Heaven. (John 6:51) My flesh is real food, My blood is real drink. (John 6:55) The people then said, "this is getting weird." In Hebrew, to do this in the symbolic sense is to mean to curse and revile that person. So so what Jesus says cannot be symbolic. If He's talking literally, how can this man do this? That's revolting! That's cannibalism. At this point His ministry begins to fade. Many people couldn't stay with him. This is the point where Judas starts to turn.
The early writers of the Church.
The pattern of the Church writers is that they hold the sacrament to be really body and blood of Christ. The Gnostics couldn't believe Jesus was only incarnate and not man. Which prompted Ignatius to say in the year 110 "There are those who don't attend the Eucharist because they do not believe as we do that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ who died for us." There are many other examples.
The Liturgy of the church itself says, "We ask you Lord that you send your Holy Spirit so that it will become the body and blood of Jesus." The Eastern Church does it after the institution ("this is my body, this is my blood") "Make this bread the body of your Son, etc". Do you get the impression what's going on here?
What's on the alter is the Body and Blood Soul and Divinity of our Lord.
The Mass
The Eucharist happens in a four part liturgy. The Liturgy of the Word is the start of the service of the Word of God. It is shape and pattern of the Jewish celebration. The liturgy of the Word is not in the four parts of the Eucharist we are to speak about.
Having heard the word of God and having it been explained in the sermon and then praying for the church we go to the proper of the four parts:
- Jesus took the bread and wine
- Blessed it
- Broke it
- gave it to His disciples.
In the Modern liturgy you have:
- Offering, where you bring up the gifts.
- Calling down the holiness of God to set it aside, think of Moses and the gift of the law.
- The actual working of the sacrifice. Side note: In the Old testament, you burn the offering. But who's is it? it is God's so you don't use the offering again for your own purposes. In the Catholic Eucharist the offering is given to the people and not taken home and used for their own purposes, either.
- Giving the Eucharist to the people.
Somebody at every mass has to receive otherwise it's not a mass. That's the job of the priest.
Sometimes the order is slightly different but the mass will always have all four parts.
Meaning of the Eucharist
Focus for a moment on the nature of the sign. When we call something a sacrament we call it a sign of something else. Smoke points to fire. What does this sacrament point to? In one sense it points to Christ Himself. What we start with is bread and wine but it's no longer that, who says? Jesus. Did He say, this is my body in bread? no, He said this is my body.
This is a matter of faith. St. Thomas said, "I believe because Christ said it."
Story: A Catholic prison inmate said to Father, "I explain it this way, When the Lord said, let there be light, there was light, was there any possibility that there wasn't going to be light? no... He does it fully and perfectly. Well, when he said this is my body and blood is it? yes! Then He, who is God, tells His disciples, to 'do this in memory of me', how can they do that unless He has given them the power to do the same. Otherwise they can't do the same." With those that command, comes the power, is there any doubt that Jesus can give that power?
Q: is it true that also the mass is a recreation of Holy Thursday through Sunday.
What the Church teaches is that the mass represents what happened, not just represents but re-presents it. It's a symbolic door, it points to what happened at calvary. We don't say that Jesus 'dies again' every Sunday. Notice there is a double level of being there. One level is symbolic of Christ's death because the body and blood are shown separated. What happens when you separate the body from the blood, you die, that's the meaning of the opening of Christ's heart by the soldier.
And so the body is seen separated from His blood, He is certifiably dead. What we see in the separation of the elements on the alter is the image of His death. Are you standing beneath the death of Christ? Yes, you stand at Golgotha.. if you're PAYING ATTENTION. These are discerned by an act of Faith. Is He dead again? No, He is risen and cannot die again.
Think of it as a door that opens to the reality of Christ's offering. Christ stands as high priest before us. Was he truly priest for us on the cross? Yes. Isn't that the same offering or is it two, one in heaven and one on the cross? No, all one offering. There is only one offering. We participate in it when the door to it opens through the celebration of the Eucharist.
Q: Jesus said we cannot have life within us if we don't receive him. Why in other churches we don't receive every week?
If Christ is present in both species. We partake in both. Interesting question, in the protestant reformation, different reformers took different ideas on what it was. Luther wanted to reject Thomas Aquinas.
St. Thomas used the language of Transubstantiation... Aristotle says that if it has a long neck, webbed feet and quacks, what is it? a duck. The 'accidents' of the item show us what it is. And yet, the sight, color and size of the Eucharist is bread and wine... but it is not bread and wine, it is the body and blodd of Christ. We discern this by faith. It's not just His person but His whole life and being.
Q: Why did the Church allow the taking by hand. Is it valid for someone to dip the host in the blood? Are you allowed to do it?
Is it licit to dip the host? No, it is not. Unless you are dipping it as a minister to give it to someone else. You cannot self-communicate.
The Eucharist is about Jesus who is charity itself. If you receive you are participating in charity. There was a big question during post vat II between 1962-83. There was a question on what the rules were. Priests sometimes do it wrong because they were not trained right. They may have been trained in 'looser days.'
What's the minimum thing to be valid, a priest validly ordained, proper gifts, bread and wine according to the rite in which you're celebrating, you need the proper intention--the priest has to intend to do what the Church does in the Eucharist.
There will always be errors in the Eucharistic celebration from missing a section, elderly who forgets, a theologian who has his own ideas, or a priest who misunderstands what he is supposed to be about. But they don't always mean it's invalid.
Q: In Europe everyone receives the Eucharist no matter what, but I in America normally those concious of Mortal sin do not go to communion, why is that?
Perhaps they're more virtuous in Europe! No, the Church teaches that you must be properly prepared to come to communion and so you must be free of mortal sin. It it like the man who came to the wedding without a proper wedding garment, he was thrown out. It's canon law in Europe and in Africa and over here, there is no difference. If you are aware of mortal sin you cannot receive. You must confess first.
You can savage his body and blood--consuming with no reverence or respect--or come to Him in reverence as st. Paul says "examining yourself carefully." and receive.
Q: Can you self-communicate?
No. Eucharist is supposed to be ministered one to another.
Closing Remarks
Your body and His body, your blood and His blood, His soul and your soul, His humanity and divinity and your humanity are conjoined.
