The Good News of the Eucharist By Ralph Martin

What Does the Gospel Say About the Eucharist? What does the Gospel, which is simply Old English for “Good News,” say about the Eucha- rist? Quite a bit, it turns out. In fact, one of the important realities that the Gospel proclaims is the good news of the Eucharist.

At one of the most critical moments in Jesus’ life, in the few hours before He was to begin His Passion, which was to lead to His saving death, He had one last meal with His disciples, the sacred Passover meal of the Jews.

The Passover meal commemorated the deliverance from slavery of the Jewish people, who labored in Egypt and who were led out by Moses. As the angel of death passed over the land to kill all the firstborn, only the homes of the Israelites, who had marked their door- posts with the blood of a lamb, were spared the punishment of death. The Fathers of the Church understood the Passover meal and the Passover event itself as a type of what was to reach its fulfillment in Jesus. Just before Jesus

1 offered His life as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from eternal death (the true Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world by the shedding of His blood), He instituted a new sacred meal—a meal derived from the Passover, but a sacred meal of the new covenant—to commemorate what He was about to do:

When the hour arrived, he took his place at table, and the apostles with him. He said to them: “I have greatly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. . . . “ Then, taking bread and giving thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying: “This is my body to be given for you. Do this as a remembrance of me.” He did the same with the cup after eating, saying as he did so: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” (Lk 22:14-16,19-20)

The Greek word for “remembrance” (an- amnesis) has connotations of making present as well as remembering. The sacred meal of the new covenant that Jesus instituted at the Last Supper and commanded His disciples to do in His memory carries with it the connotation of recalling to mind Jesus and His sacrificial death, and making them present.

One striking illustration in the Gospel of

2 the eucharistic presence of Jesus is contained in the account of the encounter on the road to Emmaus. After the Word was spoken and ex- plained, and as the bread was being broken, the two disciples recognized the presence of Jesus with them in the speaking of the Word and the breaking of the bread:

When he had seated himself with them to eat, he took bread, pronounced the blessing, then broke the bread and began to distribute it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him; whereupon he vanished from their sight. They said to one another, “Were not our hearts burning in- side us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” . . . Then they recounted what had happened on the road and how they had come to know him in the breaking of bread. (Lk 24:30-32,35)

Jesus had shocked His disciples earlier in His ministry, when, in anticipation of His eucharistic presence that would become possible after the Resurrection, He very bluntly told them:

I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven for a man to eat and never die. I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh, for the life of the world.

3 At this the Jews quarreled among them- selves, saying, “How can he give us his flesh to eat?” Thereupon Jesus said to them: “Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has life eternal, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood real drink. The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the Father who has life sent me and I have life because of the Father, so the man who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and died nonetheless, the man who feeds on this bread shall live forever.” (Jn 6:48-58)

Here, Jesus made it clear that the manna of the Old Testament was only a foreshadow- ing of the real bread from heaven that is Jesus Himself, to be made present sacramentally in the Eucharist after His Resurrection.

The early Church obeyed Jesus and expe- rienced His presence as they broke bread in remembrance of Him and His sacrificial death:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. A reverent fear overtook them all, for many

4 wonders and signs were performed by the apostles. . . . They went to the temple area together every day, while in their homes they broke bread. With exultant and sincere hearts they took their meals in common, praising God and winning the approval of all the people. Day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-43;46-47)

Paul warned the early churches that ap- proaching the Eucharist with reverence and holy fear is essential for spiritual and even bodily health:

I received from the Lord what I handed on to you, namely, that the Lord Jesus on the night in which he was betrayed took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper, he took the cup, say- ing, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes! This means that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord un- worthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord. A man should examine himself first; only then should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. He who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats

5 and drinks a judgment on himself. That is why many among you are sick and infirm, and why so many are dying. If we were to examine ourselves, we would not be falling under judgment in this way; but since it is the Lord who judges us, he chastens us to keep us from being condemned with the rest of the world. (1 Cor 11:23-32)

The Church understands the Eucharist as making present the body and blood of the risen Lord, on the basis of the authority of the Scriptures, on the authority of Christ Himself.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church cites both St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Cyril of Al- exandria, to this effect:

That in this sacrament are the true Body of Christ and his true Blood is something that “cannot be apprehended by the senses” says St. Thomas, “but only by faith, which relies on divine authority.” For this reason, in a commentary on Luke 22:19 (“This is my body which is given for you.”), St. Cyril says: “Do not doubt whether this is true, but rather receive the words of the Savior in faith, for since he is the truth, he cannot lie.” (1381)

What Does the Eucharist Say About the Gospel? What does the Eucharist say about the Gos- pel? Again, quite a bit. The Eucharist is itself

6 a proclamation of the Gospel in word and sign. The Eucharist proclaims the basic message of salvation and brings us into contact with the sav- ing deeds and person of Christ. As Paul says in his instruction to the Corinthians, “Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor 11:26)!

The very heart of the gospel message, the death of Christ for our salvation, is the very heart of the Eucharist. “Eucharist” is a Greek word that means “thanksgiving.” What we primarily give thanks for in the Eucharist is the sacrificial death of Christ for our salvation. Understanding the gospel message is essential for understanding the Eucharist. What Is the Gospel Message? What is the Gospel message? That short summary of the Gospel that is commonly seen on signs at sports events, John 3:16, does accurately sum- marize the Gospel:

Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may have eternal life.

Let’s look at a somewhat longer text from Ephesians that brings out in a striking way the reason we have to be thankful that God has given us His only Son, which is also the foundation for

7 the prayer of thanksgiving and praise that is at heart the Eucharist:

You were dead because of your sins and offenses, as you gave allegiance to the present age and to the prince of the air, that spirit who is even now at work among the rebel- lious. All of us were once of their company; we lived at the level of the flesh, following every whim and fancy, and so by nature de- served God’s wrath like the rest. But God is rich in mercy; because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin. By this favor you were saved. Both with and in Christ Jesus he raised us up and gave us a place in the heavens, that in the ages to come he might display the great wealth of his favor, manifested by his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Eph 2: 1-7)

It’s only when we realize what our situation is apart from Christ that we can adequately ap- preciate what a great gift salvation is. Our sins and offenses, our allegiance to a world set in rebellion against God, our openness to the work- ings of the evil one, all put us in a situation that causes spiritual death, now and eternally. Our sin and alienation from God also consigns us to a superficial life, lived at the level of disordered desires, at the mercy of our own foolishness, and victimized by the powers and principalities working through the world structures of fashion, entertainment, sophistication, economics, false

8 beliefs, and destructive behavior. The really shocking truth brought out in this passage is that, because of all of this, we deserve God’s wrath.

Another way of saying this is that, because of our participation in the sin of the world, we are spiritually dead, incapable of relationship with God, and destined for hell. It is not com- mon to hear today the truth about sin, hell, the power of the devil, and the just wrath of God, but that does not make these realities any less true. Even if many of our fellow Catholics have come to believe that almost everybody will be saved and hardly anyone will end up in hell, that does not change the truth of Jesus’ merciful words of warning: “Enter through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to damnation is wide, the road is clear, and many choose to travel it. But how narrow is the gate that leads to life, how rough the road, and how few there are who find it” (Mt 7:13-14)!

The really good news, though, is that even though apart from Christ we deserve hell, we are offered instead the chance for heaven, if we accept the sacrifice Christ offered on our behalf for the remission of our sin. Let’s look at the text from Ephesians again: “and so by nature deserved God’s wrath like the rest. But God is rich in mercy; because of his great love for us he brought us to life with Christ when

9 we were dead in sin. By this favor you were saved” (Eph 2:3-5).

Even though apart from Christ we deserve God’s wrath, God, in His mercy, because of His great love for us, offers Christ to us as provision for our sin and as the doorway to heaven, if we respond in faith and live in accordance with Him. It is by God’s favor, or grace, or mercy that we are offered the possibility of salvation.

This is such an important part of the basic Good News that Paul repeats it, so he is sure we don’t misunderstand the significance of what he is saying: “I repeat, it is owing to his favor that salvation is yours through faith. This is not your own doing, it is God’s gift; neither is it a reward for anything you have accomplished, so let no one pride himself on it” (Eph 2:8-9; emphasis mine).

Paul does not want us to miss the pure act of gratuitous love that is the Father’s gift of Jesus to us. He makes clear that the salvation offered to us in Jesus is not our own doing in any way, nor is it a reward for anything we have accom- plished. The reason why God has established His plan of salvation in this manner is pre- cisely so that no one can “pride himself on it.”

And here’s the nub of the question. The original sin was rooted in pride. The appeal of

10 the evil one to our first parents was, “You shall be as gods.” It’s only as our desire to be independent from God is crucified through faith, conversion, and baptism, and our status as creatures and our dependency on God for everything is accepted again, that we can be saved. That requires a breaking of our pride, accomplished by the grace God gives that makes us able to repent and believe.

Salvation then, in its first moments, is not primarily something we achieve, but something we humbly and gratefully receive through faith and trust in the merciful words and deeds of the Lord, most especially the sacrificial death of Jesus for us on the cross.

And while genuine conversion and faith issue in “works” (prayer, holiness, good deeds, loving service, patient suffering, works of mercy and evangelism, the offering of our work and life to God on a daily basis, etc.), these very works, so essential to genuine faith, are themselves made possible in us through ongoing grace and ongo- ing faith. The works themselves are gifts from God; the power and desire to do them are also gifts from God. As the concluding part of the text from Ephesians says: “We are truly his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to lead the life of good deeds which God prepared for us in advance” (Eph 2:10).

11 What does all this have to do with the Eucharist? A lot. It is precisely the great deed of our salvation, this sacrificial death, this awesome deed of love, that is prayerfully remembered, proclaimed and made present in the Eucharist. What the Eucharist is all about is deepening our understanding of and response to the saving deeds of Christ, which are actually made present to us in word and sign in the Eucharist. If we don’t understand the basic gospel message of salvation, we won’t understand the Eucharist, and we won’t have the gratitude and thankfulness that leads to praise and worship from which the Eucharist receives its very name.

As John Paul II has said, celebrating the Eucharist is the Church’s way of “knowing nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2):

The Church never ceases to relive his death on the cross and his Resurrection, which constitute the content of the Church’s daily life. Indeed, it is by the command of Christ himself, her Master, that the Church unceasingly celebrates the Eucharist, find- ing in it the “fountain of life and holiness,” the efficacious sign of grace and reconcili- ation with God and the pledge of eternal life. The Church lives his mystery, draws unwearingly from it and continually seeks ways of bringing this mystery of her Master

12 and Lord to humanity—to the peoples, the nations, the succeeding generations, and every individual human being—as if she were ever repeating, as the Apostle did: “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.” The Church stays within the sphere of the mystery of the Redemption, which has become the fundamental principle of her life and mission. (Redemptor Hominis, 7)

Let’s look now more specifically at the vari- ous elements of the Eucharist so that we can better understand what is happening and how we can participate with greater understanding and surrender. Participating in the Eucharist Not too many years ago, Catholics used to talk about “hearing Mass” and priests about “say- ing Mass,” which communicated a somewhat passive approach to the Eucharist. One of the great intentions of the Second Vatican Coun- cil was to bring about a reform of the liturgy that would make it possible for all Catholics to participate in a more conscious and active manner. Whatever we might think about the success or failure of liturgical reform so far, the mind of the Church is clear: we are to participate in the liturgy not as passive specta- tors, simply watching what the priest does and prays, but as active participants with the priest, in the prayer which is the Eucharist: 13 Mother Church earnestly desires that all the faithful should be led to that full, con- scious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations which is demanded by the very nature of the liturgy, and to which the Christian people . . . have a right and obligation by reason of their baptism.

In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy the full and active partici- pation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else, for it is the primary and indispensable source from which the faithful are to derive the true Christian spirit. . . .

But in order that the liturgy may be able to produce its full effects it is necessary that the faithful come to it with proper disposi- tions, that their minds be attuned to their voices, and they cooperate with heavenly grace lest they receive it in vain. (Constitu- tion on the Sacred Liturgy, 14, 11)

In fact, if we pay close attention to the vari- ous prayers of the Eucharist, we can see that the Eucharist is an active interchange between the Lord and us, His people. There is a mutual giving and receiving that characterizes the entire Eucharist. If we are not consciously and actively receiving the gifts that are being given in the Eucharist and giving ourselves in return, we may truly be missing what the Eucharist is all about. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church

14 puts it, “In the Eucharist the Church is as it were at the foot of the cross with Mary, united with the offering and intercession of Christ” (1370).

Let’s now consider some of the particular prayers and actions of the Eucharist, in order to better understand the dynamic exchange and interaction which is taking place through- out the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Word The Eucharist begins with an exchange of blessing between the priest and people:

“The Lord be with you” “And with your spirit.”

Then, we, priest and people, bring our sins before the Lord, asking for His forgiveness and mercy: “I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned . . .”

The priest then prays on behalf of both himself and the people: “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.” And we all express agreement with the prayer by saying, “Amen.”

During the Sunday liturgy, we burst into praise by saying or singing the Gloria, which gives praise and thanks to God, most especially for the salvation brought to us by Jesus.

15 Having prepared ourselves to meet the Lord by confessing our sin and receiving for- giveness, we then begin to meet Him as He comes to us in His sacred Word. The readings of the Old Testament, the Psalms, and the New Testament continually bring before us the great story of our salvation and the teach- ing of Jesus. As we listen to the Word of God, we try to understand what is being said, and most particularly what may be being said to us, through the particular readings that would give us deeper insight into the ways of God and ways of more adequately responding and obeying. The purpose of the homily is to help us better understand, respond to, and apply the word of God to our lives.

There is much complaining about the quality of homilies given during the Eucharist, but one thing I have found very helpful is to ask the Holy Spirit to speak to me through the homily in some way, even if it “objectively” is not very inspiring or insightful. And I find that, as I dispose myself to hear God’s Word, I will hear the Lord, no matter who the homilist is. Being humble before God’s Word and eager to receive it is very important for us, no matter who the human instrument may be.

I have also found it helpful to acknowledge my own weakness before the Lord, my own distractibility, short attention span, tiredness,

16 or whatever, and ask the Holy Spirit to help me pay attention. I also thank God for giving me a wife who oftentimes pays better atten- tion than I do when the Word is being read at Mass. I can turn to her and ask, “What was that reading about?”

The profession of faith at Sunday Mass is a way of renewing our faith and our acceptance of the truths of our faith; it is also a review of the most fundamental truths of our faith and an opportunity to give ourselves to God again and the truth of His Word as we pray the Creed.

The Prayer of the Faithful follows the Creed, and is an opportunity to bring the needs of the Church and the world before the Lord. Our active participation is expressed as we follow the prayers being prayed and re- spond with conscious prayer in the formula of response used. At this, the Liturgy of the Word comes to a conclusion and the Liturgy of the Eucharist begins. The Liturgy of the Eucharist The first prayer of this part of the liturgy again illustrates the dimension of exchange which is taking place, and our dependency on God for even having anything at all to offer by way of sacrifice: “Blessed are you, Lord, God of all creation. Through your goodness we have

17 this bread to offer which earth has given and human hands have made. It will become for us the bread of life.” A similar prayer is prayed over the wine as it is offered to God.

It is only through God’s goodness that we have bread and wine to offer to the Lord, which, while coming from God, comes through the instrumentality of the earth and human hands. It is this bread and wine, which God Himself gives to us, that we offer back to God as a sacrifice, and that He, in turn, returns to us transformed into the priceless gift and awe- some sacrifice of the body and blood of the risen Lord Jesus. The theme of exchange, of mutual gift giving, is primary.

The priest then asks the people to pray that “our sacrifice,” the sacrifice of both the priest and the people, the bread and wine, may be received by God.

Now the most solemn part of the liturgy begins, the Eucharistic Prayer. The Eucharistic Prayer The priest and people exchange antiphonal prayer, lifting our minds and hearts to the Lord, giving thanks and praise to God. And then the priest prays the Preface, which almost always, in one way or another, recounts the great deeds of Christ for our salvation. For

18 example, the Preface for Sundays in Ordinary Time II says:

Father, all powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord. Out of love for sinful man, he humbled himself to be born of the Virgin. By suffering on the cross he freed us from unending death, and by rising from the dead he gave us eternal life. And so, with all the choirs of angels in heaven, we proclaim your glory and join in their unending hymn of praise.

The basic gospel message is proclaimed again and again in every Eucharist in almost all the weekday and Sunday prefaces the Church offers for our use.

Then the Eucharistic Prayer itself begins. There are four Eucharistic Prayers that can be used at the discretion at the priest. All of them contain basically the same elements. We will consider Eucharistic Prayer I for our commentary:

We come to you, Father, with praise and thanksgiving, through Jesus Christ your Son. Through him we ask you to accept and bless these gifts we offer you in sacrifice.

While the priest says the prayer out loud, it is all of us who come and offer the gifts of bread and wine in sacrifice. These humble gifts

19 of bread and wine are symbolic of all else that we are giving: our obedience, our worship, our time, our money, our whole selves. And most importantly it is through Jesus that we come and through Jesus that we speak to the Father and offer the gifts.

It is only because of our relationship with Jesus that we are able to do and pray what we do and pray in the Eucharist. What we pray and do, we pray and do through Him, with Him, and in Him, as we very soon will pro- claim. Our union with Jesus is what enables us to participate in the Eucharist because, what we say and do in the Eucharist, we can only say and do because of Him, and through Him, and with Him, and in Him. This is why Vatican II, in speaking of the liturgy, stated clearly: “The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church. Before men can come to the liturgy they must be called to faith and to conversion” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 9).

The gifts of sacrifice that we offer are of- fered, then, for the whole Church, for the liv- ing, in intercession for particular individuals that we may name, for ourselves, for those who are dear to us, and for our well-being and re- demption: “We offer you this sacrifice of praise for ourselves and those who are dear to us. We pray to you, our living and true God, for our

20 well-being and redemption.”

And we make this prayer and offer this sac- rifice not only through Jesus but also in union with the whole Church, with Mary, and with all the saints. We join ourselves to the prayers of the whole Church and all the saints.

Then we pray in a very direct way that the offering of this sacrifice may not only give us peace in this life, but save us from final damna- tion. What the Gospel is about, what the Eu- charist is about, is salvation: “Father, accept this offering from your whole family. Grant us your peace in this life, save us from final damnation, and count us among those you have chosen. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

But, of course, the sacrifice of bread and wine cannot bring salvation. It is not a pre- cious enough sacrifice. Only if the bread and wine were to become the body and blood of the risen Jesus would it be sufficient to bring salvation. And that is what we then pray: “Bless and approve our offering; make it acceptable to you, an offering in spirit and in truth. Let it become for us the body and blood of Jesus Christ, your only Son, our Lord.”

And then the words of consecration, the words of Jesus, declaring the bread and wine to be His body and blood, are spoken, and the

21 Holy Spirit brings to pass what is spoken and prayed. The bread and wine have become for us the body and blood of Jesus. It is a mystery that at first scandalized the disciples when Jesus spoke about it. It is a mystery that believers ever after sing His praises for such an awesome gift, a mystery that the Catechism of the Catholic Church declares “surpassing understanding” (1333).

An awesome gift. But also, an awesome invitation to total surrender. Love is calling to love; deep is calling to deep. The free gift of total love is calling forth a free response of total love. A profound exchange is being evoked in the Eucharist.

When Jesus said (and says in every Eucha- rist), “Do this in memory of me,” He is not just asking that a ritualistic action be done in His name, but also that we do what He did, namely, give ourselves totally to the Father in a life of loving obedience, even until death. While we must “do this” (the sacramental action and offering), we must also “do this” (the total self-giving on Jesus’ part that makes possible salvation, that makes possible the Eucharist, that makes possible our participation not just in the Eucharist as a ritual action, but in the ac- tual dynamics of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Himself). When Jesus took/takes the cup and gave/gives it to His disciples and said/says,

22 “Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me,” we must remember Jesus’ previous words to His disciples about what it would mean for them to drink the same cup that He would drink: “Can you drink the cup I shall drink or be baptized in the same bath of pain as I” (Mk 10:38)? The Eucharist is, in fact, a drinking of the same cup, an invitation to the imitation of Jesus, to total self-surrender, to discipleship, to a renewed commitment to the new covenant.

The Eucharist is also the sacrifice of the Church. The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head. With him, she herself is of- fered whole and entire. She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer, and work, are united with those of Christ and with his total offering, and so acquire a new value. Christ’s sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1368)

After these awesome words of consecra- tion, as the bread and wine have become for us 23 the body and blood of Jesus, the sacred elements, separated on the altar, signifying the separation of the body and blood of Jesus in sacrificial death, the Gospel is again proclaimed in each of the four Acclamations of Faith the priest can choose from:

“Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.” (A)

“Dying you destroyed our death, rising you restored our life. Lord Jesus, come in glory.” (B)

“When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim your death, Lord Jesus, until you come in glory.” (C)

“Lord, by your cross and resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior of the world.” (D)

Here, too, our eyes begin to turn to another sacred meal, the third of the great meals of sal- vation history, the marriage feast of the Lamb, which will be inaugurated upon Jesus’ return in glory. The Passover meal looked toward the real deliverance by the Lamb of God, Jesus, and the subsequent institution of the Eucharist which makes present and advances Jesus’ work of salvation. The Eucharist itself is a sacramen- tal form for this life only, which will give way in the Parousia to the marriage feast of the Lamb, where we will see Jesus face to face, where God will be all in all. At that point, we will no longer

24 see through a glass darkly and commune with God through sacramental signs, as wonderful as they are, but see Him clearly face-to-face.

That is why some scholars speak rightly not only of the mystery of the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but also of His real absence. A great fullness is celebrated in the Eucharist, but it is not complete; we must be mindful that there is still an absence that will only be filled when Jesus returns in glory at the end of time. And the Eucharist orients us towards this final return of Jesus and the third and final meal of salvation history, the marriage feast of the Lamb.

The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ’s faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators. On the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred action, conscious of what they are doing, with devo- tion and full collaboration. They should be instructed by God’s word, and be nourished at the table of the Lord’s Body. They should give thanks to God. Offering the immaculate victim, not only through the hands of the priest but also together with him, they should learn to offer themselves. Through Christ, the Mediator, they should be drawn day by day into ever more perfect union with God and each other, so that finally God may be all in all. (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 48)

25 Now the memorial prayer is prayed where, not only is bread and wine offered, but some- thing far more precious—the body and blood of Jesus:

And it is through the sacrifice of Jesus, “the holy and perfect sacrifice,” that we appeal to the Father for grace and mercy, that, “as we receive from this altar the sacred body and blood of your Son, let us be filled with every grace and blessing.”

What are these “every grace and blessings” that we pray to be filled with as we receive the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist? The Catechism of the Catholic Church lists a whole range of fruits that we can expect from prayerful, faith-filled participation in the Eucharist (1391- 1398). Receiving Communion, the Catechism says, increases our union with Christ; provides spiritual food; preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at baptism; separates us from sin; cleanses us from past sins and preserves us from future sins; strengthens our Christian love; wipes away venial sins; enables us to break our disordered attachments to creatures and root ourselves in Him; preserves us from future mortal sins; unites us more closely to Christ and to one another; and increases fraternal charity and regard for the poor.

Then we pray for those who have died in Christ who may be in need of prayer, and we 26 unite ourselves again to the prayer of the saints, the prayer of the whole Church, the complete Jesus, Jesus and His Body. The Eucharist is the action of the whole Christ, Christ and his Body:

He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of his minister . . . but especially in the eucharistic species. . . . He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised “where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.” (Mt 18:20)

. . . In it (the liturgy) full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members.

From this it follows that every liturgical cel- ebration, because it is an action of Christ the Priest and of his Body, which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. (Con- stitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 7)

The great concluding Doxology reveals the heart of the Eucharist, a prayer and sacrifice of- fered through, with, and in Jesus: “Through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, for ever and ever. Amen.”

Then, before receiving Communion, we pray the Lord’s Prayer to make sure that we’re 27 reconciled, as far as it lies within our power, with the Lord and our brothers and sisters in the faith, praying those radical words, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

The priest then prays for us to be protected from every evil, kept free from sin, and protected from anxiety, “as we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

The Eucharist is celebrated with a view towards the final meal of salvation history, the wedding feast of the Lamb, to be celebrated when Jesus returns in glory. We proclaim His saving death, in the Eucharist, until He comes again. The Eucharist is celebrated in light of the second coming of Jesus.

Then, we exchange the sign of peace as a sign of our peace with each other. Aware of the holy action we are about to partake in, we once again ask the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world to have mercy on us and grant us peace.

We express words of humility and hope as our final preparation before receiving the Lord in the Eucharist, a prayer that I, for one, can al- ways pray in a heartfelt manner: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and I shall be healed.”

28 At last, we receive the entire Jesus, “body and blood, soul and divinity,” as the traditional formulation puts it, under the appearance of bread and wine.

Inspired and encouraged by this great gift of the Lord, nourished by this food for the journey, strengthened by this medicine of immortality, we receive a final blessing and go forth to continue loving and serving the Lord and His people.

Finally, we hear the words of conclusion: “The Mass is ended, go in peace.” We can say a heartfelt, “Thanks be to God,” for having been able to participate in such worship, receive such a gift, and have such a great hope of eternal glory. Preparing for the Eucharist Mary has reportedly said to one of the contem- porary visionaries that if we would spend a short time before Mass preparing for it and a short time after Mass thanking God for it, we would receive so much more from it. This, I believe, is very good advice. Being able to arrive at Mass ten minutes early and stay ten minutes after can make a very big difference in receiving the grace that God is giving in the Eucharist. This can also be a very good way of growing in personal prayer.

If the only time we relate together as a family is at the common family meals, there would be something missing in the relationships. We need

29 to not only spend time with the Lord at the com- mon family meal of the Eucharist, but also spend time personally with Him in personal prayer. Insofar as it is possible given our circumstances, we should strive for daily personal prayer and daily Eucharist.

If, for whatever reason, daily Eucharist is not possible, we should go as often as possible and certainly treat with great seriousness our Sunday obligation to participate in the weekly Eucharist. Since the sacrifice of the Mass is a sacrifice that Christ, the priest, and the people offer, it is important that we be there to take our part in the offering of the sacrifice, the offering of ourselves. It really is true that we should not only ask what we are getting from the Eucharist, but we should be asking if we are giving ourselves in the Eucharist as we should. The Eucharist is about mutual self-giving, not just “getting!”

What the Church of the fourth century had to say to the faithful about attending daily morn- ing and evening prayer can definitely be applied to the Eucharist:

When you teach, bishop, command and exhort the people to frequent the church regularly, morning and evening every day . . . and not to diminish the Church by absenting themselves and making the Body of Christ lack a member. For it is not only said for the benefit of priests, but let each of the laity

30 hear what was said by the Lord as spoken to himself: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters” (Mat 12:30). Do not scatter yourselves by not gathering together, you who are members of Christ. . . . Do not be neglectful of yourselves nor rob the savior of his members nor divide his body nor scatter his members, nor prefer the needs of this life to the Word of God, but assemble each day morning and evening.” (Apostolic Constitutions, Book II, chapter 59)

The most important kind of preparation, though, that Scripture indicates as preparation for the Eucharist is the preparation of a life that is growing in virtue. Jesus tells us that if we are going to worship and there is something not right in one of our relationships, we should go and try to be reconciled before approaching the altar. Living a life of faith, hope, and love is the most important preparation for the Eucharist.

Paul tells us that what puts us most at risk of judgment, illness, and premature death by unworthily receiving the Eucharist is approach- ing the Eucharist with serious, unconfessed, and unrepented sin in our life. He particularly singles out greed, selfishness, and discriminatory behavior, but obviously does not restrict serious sin to these categories.

Eucharist is not something removed from the rest of life. It is the fruit of the life we are liv-

31 ing—we offer what we have and are in the Eucha- rist—and it is nourishment for continued growth in love and service, in the image of Jesus and His sacrificial love. We need to be careful that our life of piety and prayer isn’t disconnected from our daily responsibilities and relationships. Just as the bread and wine are transformed by the Holy Spirit into the body and blood of Jesus, we are supposed to be transformed, little by little, by the Holy Spirit as we receive the body and blood of Jesus. In fact, in two of Eucharistic Prayers (II and III), there are two invocations of the Holy Spirit: the first over the bread and wine, that it be transformed into the body and blood of Christ, and the second over the people, that we become more and more one body, one spirit, in Christ: “Grant that we, who are nourished by his body and blood, may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ” (Eucharistic Prayer III).

The Eucharist is about transformation—the transformation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of the risen Christ, and the transformation of us into the Body of Christ. If we are not, little by little, being transformed, we ought to examine our lives and ask the Lord what we can do to remove obstacles to His working.

32 Final Comments I have purposely not touched on some of the most talked about issues concerning the Eucha- rist in the Church today. I have not considered issues like the place of Latin in the Eucharist, whether the priest should be facing East or fac- ing the people, whether there should be com- munion rails or not, whether it is preferable to receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue. I have not talked about modern versus traditional in Church architecture, or whether the Blessed Sacrament should be reserved in the center of the Church or in a side chapel. I have not talked about pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II liturgical practices. I have not analyzed what the Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy actually called for in the way of reform, and what claimed reforms were never authorized. I have not talked about the very real abuses that undoubtedly have happened in the post-Vatican II Church.

I have done this purposely, not because these issues aren’t relevant or important, but because I don’t believe they are the most important. I believe that what is most important is under- standing what the Eucharist is all about and entering into it with faith, prayer, and under- standing. Conversion and transformation are the key issues. Understanding and responding with gratitude to the Gospel is, I believe, what’s most

33 important, as the Gospel proclaims the Eucharist and the Eucharist proclaims the Gospel.

Whether the Mass is in English or Latin, whether it is in a great cathedral or a living room, whether the homily is uninspired or wonderful, no matter what direction the priest is facing, and no matter where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, the important thing for the average Catholic is to take responsibility for what we have control over, namely, ourselves, and approaching the Eucharist with as much understanding, faith, and love that we can, giving ourselves as fully as possible in response to the awesome self-giving of Jesus.

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