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“Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: on Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist

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“Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: on Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist Issued by USCCB, November 14, 2006 Copyright © 2006, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. All rights reserved. To order a copy of this statement, please visit www.usccbpublishing.org. “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist INTRODUCTION The celebration of the Mass is the center of the life of the Church. The heart of the Mass is the Eucharistic Prayer, for through this prayer Christ’s sacrifice is both recalled and made present and we give our thanks and praise to God. The consummation of the Mass, however, occurs in Holy Communion, where we eat and drink the Body and Blood of Christ.1 At each Eucharistic liturgy, Jesus speaks his healing word to us and gives to us his life-giving Body and Blood—his very self. In so doing, Christ continually nourishes and forms his pilgrim Church as she journeys towards the Kingdom. In the Roman rite, immediately prior to receiving Holy Communion, the priest calls us to the joy of receiving the Lord, saying, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper.” In the presence of such a great gift, we humbly respond echoing the words of the Roman centurion: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed” (Mt 8:8). Because of our own human sinfulness none of us is worthy of so great a gift. Yet Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist to give us a share in his divine life. 1 See United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion Under Both Kinds (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2002), no. 5. 1 As bishops and shepherds of the Catholic faithful in the United States of America,2 we recognize our responsibility to nurture the faith of our Catholic brothers and sisters in this most wondrous mystery—Jesus’ Real Presence in Holy Communion. In the following series of questions and answers, we wish to affirm clearly what the Church believes and teaches concerning the Eucharist and the reception of Holy Communion. We also wish to provide a clear affirmation as to who may receive Holy Communion within a Catholic Eucharistic celebration.3 Finally, we want to recommend some practices that every Catholic can use for preparing to receive Holy Communion in a more worthy fashion. 1. WHAT DO WE BELIEVE ABOUT HOLY COMMUNION? Holy Communion is a sharing in the Eucharist in which Christ is truly present. The priest, recalling the words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper, consecrates the bread and wine, which are changed, by the power of the Holy Spirit, into the Body and Blood of Christ. This is why the Church has traditionally employed the word “transubstantiation” to describe the change that takes place. The substance (what something is) of bread and wine is totally changed into the substance of Christ’s Body and Blood. While the appearances of bread and wine remain, the 2 This resource has been developed specifically for Catholics within the Latin Church. With appropriate adaptations to particular ritual traditions, pastoral practices, and the requirements of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Latin-English Edition (CCEO) (Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of America, 2001), however, it may also prove useful for all Catholic churches sui iuris within the United States. 3 This document is directed to the Catholic faithful in general. As such, it does not intend to provide specific guidelines on the interpretation and application of canon 915 of the Code of Canon Law, which states: “Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion” (Code of Canon Law, Latin-English Edition [CIC] [Washington, DC: Canon Law Society of America, 1998]). See also CCEO, cc. 711 and 712. 2 Risen Lord Jesus is actually present, and so it is he who is actually received in Holy Communion—Body and Blood, soul and divinity.4 We call our reception of Christ in the Eucharist “Holy Communion,” for through our reception of his Body and Blood we come into communion with him who is All-Holy. The Son of God came to share in our lowly humanity that we might come to share in his holy divinity. When we receive Christ in Holy Communion, we are united to the Risen Christ and come to share in his divine life. Thus, through Christ’s indwelling, we are likewise united, in the Holy Spirit, to God the Father, the source of all holiness. 2. WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BEING UNITED TO CHRIST IN HOLY COMMUNION? The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “the principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus.”5 This union encompasses at least three significant elements. A. Participating in the One Sacrifice of Christ Jesus, our Great High Priest, lovingly offered his own life on the cross as a holy sacrifice to the Father for our sins. As the spotless “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29), Jesus established the everlasting covenant—“the new covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:20)—with the Father. In the Eucharist, this one sacrifice of Christ is again made fully present. 4 “Since Christ is fully present under each form of the Eucharist (that is, both the consecrated Bread and Wine), it is sufficient to receive him under the species (form) of bread or wine alone. However, the ‘sign of communion is more complete when given under both kinds, since in that form the sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1390)” (USCCB, United States Catholic Catechism for Adults [Washington, DC: USCCB, 2006], 222). 5 Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: Libreria Editrice Vaticana–USCCB, 2000), no. 1391. 3 By taking part in the liturgy of the Eucharist, we join ourselves to this one holy sacrifice of Christ. The celebration of the Eucharist culminates in the reception of Holy Communion. As Pope John Paul II has stated: “The saving efficacy of the sacrifice is fully realized when the Lord’s body and blood are received in communion.”6 We are nourished in the Eucharistic banquet by the living bread, and we partake of the cup of our salvation. The Risen Lord Jesus comes to dwell personally within us, and so we share in his life and friendship. He gives himself completely and entirely to us, and we are called to give ourselves completely and entirely to him. We are also lifted up into his heavenly Kingdom, and, in union with him, we are embraced by the Father in the love of the Holy Spirit as his redeemed sons and daughters. Receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, therefore, fortifies us against sin, which damages our relationship with God; heals us of our weaknesses; and empowers us to live holy lives of sacrificial love for one another. B. Communion with One Another The reception of Holy Communion is an act of the Church as the Body of Christ. While we each personally receive Holy Communion, it is not a private devotion. Rather, the reception of Holy Communion is an integral part of our worship as a community of faith. Likewise, the term “communion” accentuates the fact that, in receiving Holy Communion, we are united to Jesus and thus to one another. As we become one body with Christ in receiving Holy Communion, so we are also united with one another. “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Cor 10:17). As Pope Benedict XVI has explained: 6 Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter On the Eucharist (Ecclesia de Eucharistia) (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2003), no. 16. 4 Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own. Communion draws me out of myself towards him, and thus also towards unity with all Christians. We become “one body,” completely joined in a single existence. Love of God and love of neighbor are now truly united: God incarnate draws us all to himself.7 Receiving Jesus in Holy Communion is then the foremost source and expression of our communion with the Blessed Trinity and with one another. Holy Communion is truly a foretaste of heaven—where together all of the Father’s children will become fully one with his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the love of the Spirit. While the celebration of the Eucharist gives us a foretaste of that perfect unity for which we hope, this foretaste should itself inspire us to work for a deeper realization of communion among all men and women here on this earth. Since entering into the communion of the Eucharist brings us into closer conformity to Christ, we should be filled with a truly Christ-like love for our neighbor that takes us beyond a narrow concern for ourselves and moves us to promote the common good and to uphold the human dignity of every human person. Pope John Paul II described this attitude to the human family as one of “solidarity,” which he defined as “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.”8 7 Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter God Is Love (Deus Caritas Est) (Washington, DC: USCCB, 2006), no.
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