Readings Between the Lines

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

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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 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

Reflections

each other. Therefore, they should not establish communion with demons by participating in pagan sacrifices.

The communion that is realized by sharing in the Eucharist is an important aspect of the Eucharist itself. Unity is an essential quality of the Christian community. Paul has already asserted this truth by rebuking the Corinthians about forming factions by pledging allegiance to various evangelists (1:10-17). In Chapter 12, he will reprove them about divisions arising over the diversity of spiritual gifts among them. Such divisive behavior is contrary to the nature of the Christian community. The eucharistic meal, of which the Lord commanded his followers to partake in memory of him (1 Corinthians 11:23-25), symbolizes the unity of the community. They partake of a single loaf of bread, broken and shared among them, and drink of the one “cup of blessing.” This means that if they claim to belong to Christ, if they claim membership in the church community, if they share in the sacrificial meal of Christ’s body and blood, then they are united with Christ and each other. Additionally, their unity must be manifest in their relations with one another outside of their eucharistic gathering. Otherwise their sharing in the eucharistic meal is robbed of its unitive symbolism.

Not only is their eucharistic sharing a symbol of their union as a community, it actually unites them. In order to heed the Lord’s command, “Do this in memory of me,” they must physically gather and participate in the ritual.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1325, “The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God ... .” Unless there is serious and just cause for not doing so, it is essential that we gather, that is, be physically present for the eucharistic celebration (as opposed to watching a broadcast or just being absent), because doing so expresses our unity and realizes it in a particular way. When Mass ends, we are sent forth to live our lives in union with one another, even as we express our oneness at the Eucharist. BC

Reflection Questions

v How do you experience unity with other Catholics when you participate in the Mass? v What challenges to unity does the Christian community face? v What benefits of gathering for the Eucharist are lost when a person who is not impeded from participating in Mass sits alone at home and watches a livestream broadcast of the Mass?

Life is great~ Get busy living.

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