Reflections
U.S. Bishops respond to a waning faith in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, and reverence for the sacrament Readings Between the Lines Father Glenn LeCompte
“And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” These are the very last words of the risen Lord to his disciples in Matthew’s Gospel (28:20). One of the ways that we as Catholics recognize the fulfillment of the risen Lord’s words here is in his eucharistic presence. “To reflect on Christ’s gift of himself in the Eucharist and our response to that gift” (No. 7) is the stated purpose of the U.S. Bishops’ 2021 document, The Mystery of the Eucharist in the Life of the Church. In one of the grossest misrepresentations I have ever seen regarding a church document, many secular media sources would have us believe that the document was about whether or not to deny the sacrament of the holy Eucharist to certain people. Actually, the bishops are concerned about renewing the church’s faith in and reverence for the sacrament. Recent public polls, whose results must be carefully scrutinized, seem to indicate a waning faith in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist and acknowledgment of its importance in the life of Catholics. In addition, the bishops cite the challenges the pandemic has posed to communal sharing in the Eucharist. For a time in 2020 we could not have Mass with a congregation greater than one person besides the priest. When we were able to congregate again, it was with restrictions on seating, and some, for health reasons, were concerned about mixing with crowds. Many parishes tried livestreaming Masses, which had
LAWRENCE CHATAGNIER/BAYOU CATHOLIC
the benefit of helping people to stay in touch with the eucharistic celebration when they were not able to be present. But this practice has generated concern, inasmuch as it has led to misunderstanding of the importance of gathering for Mass, of the significance of the assembly’s role at Mass, of what true participation in liturgy is, and to self-deprivation of the sacrament of the holy Eucharist. Moreover, Hurricane Ida has caused many parishes to celebrate the Eucharist in less-thanideal worship spaces. In this article, and others I will write this year, I would like to supplement the bishops’ effort at renewing our faith in the Eucharist. Since this column is supposed to deal with Scripture, I will reflect on some biblical foundations of the Eucharist. “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion in the body of Christ? Since one (is the) bread, we, the many, are one. For we are all partake of the one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:1617, translation by Father Glenn LeCompte). This passage emphasizes the unity of the community which gathers to share the Lord’s Supper. The teaching Paul presents here is probably a bit of the Gospel tradition the Corinthians were taught, and
14 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • February 2022
which they embraced. Paul is not telling them something new here. Why do I say this? It is because he is using this bit of tradition about eucharistic sharing to admonish the Corinthians regarding the partaking of meals in pagan sacrifices (10:14-15, 18-22). In the Greco-Roman society in which the Corinthians lived, this would not have been uncommon. Paul maintains that idols are not divine, yet he implies that when people sacrifice to them they are sacrificing to demonic spirits. He probably derives this teaching about sacrifices to demons from Deuteronomy 32:17, which occurs in the context of a speech attributed to Moses. In this speech Moses points out the ingratitude of the Israelites, in particular, by sacrificing “to demons, to no-gods.” Participating in sacrificial offerings involved eating the meat that was cooked once the animal was sacrificed. To do so implied fellowship with the being to whom the sacrifice was being offered and with the other participants. The Corinthians would have understood, both from their experience in pagan culture and from Paul’s (or some other Christian evangelist’s) teaching about the Eucharist, that when they share in the cup of blessing and the one loaf of bread they have communion with Christ and through Christ with
a
