Continuation of ‘The Eucharist as the Expression of Our Faith (Adoration)’
Dear Parishioners,
During the Last Supper, Jesus did not simply state that what he was giving them to eat, and drink was His body and His blood; He also expressed its sacrificial meaning and made sacramentally present His sacrifice which soon would be offered on the Cross for the salvation of all. This was a faith invitation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms the fact that “the Mass is at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord’s body and blood” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1382).
The Church constantly draws her life from this redeeming sacrifice; she approaches it not only through faith-filled remembrance, but also through a real contract, since this sacrifice is made present ever anew, sacramentally perpetuated, in every community that offers it at the hands of the consecrated minister. By virtue of its close relationship to the sacrifice on Golgotha, the Eucharist is a sacrifice in the strict sense, and not only in a general way, as if it were simply a matter of Christ’s offering himself to the faithful as their spiritual food.
Do we take part in the Eucharistic celebration, or do we watch it being celebration? The celebration of the Eucharist is not the action of the priest alone, even though he is the central figure, the president and minister of the celebration. The entire congregation contributes to the entire celebration and every one draws from the celebration the grace, the nourishment it produces. There are two levels of participation involved here: internal participation and external participation. The two sum up to make what we call active participation. Internal participation means that each word and action of the Mass becomes relevant to the Christian. Through attentive listening the Christian interiorizes the whole event into his or her life. External participation, on the other hand, involves the response of the body. This starts from proper prior preparation and embraces gestures like singing, hand clapping, dancing, the external symbols, standing, kneeling etc.
The gift of His love and obedience to the point of giving His life (Jn 10:17-18) is, in the first place, a gift to His Father. In giving His sacrifice to the Church, Christ has also made His own the spiritual sacrifice of the Church, which is called to offer herself in union with the sacrifice of Christ. This is the teaching of the Second Vatican Council concerning all the faithful: “Taking part in the Eucharistic sacrifice, which is the source and summit of the whole Christian life, they offer the divine victim to God, and offer themselves along with it” (Lumen Gentium, No. 11).
When all is said and done, we cannot say that we can fully explain away the Eucharist. Being an expression of our faith, and faith being a mystery, the Eucharist truly remains a Mysterium Fidei which surpasses our understanding and can only be received in faith. St. Cyril of Jerusalem exhorts, “Do not see in the bread and wine merely natural elements, because the Lord has expressly said that they are His body and blood; faith assures you of this, though your senses suggest otherwise” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, No. 15). And because faith is a shared reality, the Eucharistic sacrifice is intrinsically directed to the inward union of the faithful with Christ through communion; we receive the very one who offered himself for us, we receive His body broken for us and his blood which He “poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28). We are reminded of Jesus’ words: “As the living Father sent me, so he who eats Me will live because of Me” (Jn 6:57). Jesus emphasizes the objective truth of His words: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life within you” (Jn 6:53). This is no metaphorical food: “My flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed” (Jn 6:55). “He, who eats it with faith, eats Fire and Spirit… Take and eat this, all of you, and eat with it the Holy Spirit. For it is truly My body and whoever eats it will have eternal life” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, No. 17). Happy Sunday!