Introduction
The Eucharist is the central celebration of our faith. It is a ritual prayer that we celebrate each day in a great variety of situations: on weekdays, on feast days, for weddings, for baptisms, for funerals, etc. But since it is a daily celebration, it can like anything else which is done on a regular basis, could become routine, or even be felt as a burden or something we carry out without reflections, almost like robots, or wind-up priests and nuns going mechanically through the motions!
I would like to begin this reflection recalling the words pronounced by the Bishop on the day of priestly ordination, as he presents the chalice with the wine and the patent with the bread to the newly ordained. The Bishop says:
“Receive the offerings of the People of God for the Eucharistic sacrifice.
Be mindful of that which you do,
imitate that which you celebrate,
conform your life
to the mystery of the Cross of Christ, the Lord.”
That is, the priest is to become that which he celebrates! Each baptized person forms part of the priestly people and is called to do the same: to become that which we celebrate. That is to say, our life must be consumed by the fire of the Holy Spirit, which moves us continually to be conformed to Christ, the eternal High Priest. Each time, in the Eucharistic celebration, we hear that pressing invitation of Jesus: “Do this in memory of me!”We are called to nothing less than to be immolated with Him, to offer ourselves as a victim of expiation for the sins of the world. This is to enter into the sacrifice of Christ.
Much time was given in the speeches of many Bishops at the Synod on the Eucharist (October, 2005) in which I participated as a Synod Father, on what is called arscelebrandi, that is, the art of celebrating. “The arscelebrandi is not to be understood as inviting someone to the a kind of theatrical performance, to a spectacle to be observed, but rather speaks of an interior experience which is acceptable and evident to the faithful participating in the Mass. It is important that the Eucharistic celebration be not merely an exterior ars, a spectacle – we aren’t actors! – but rather the expression of the journey of our hearts, which also attracts their hearts. In this way, liturgy becomes beautiful, it becomes the communion of all those present with the Lord.”
To live the Eucharist= to become that which we celebrate
This becomes for us the greatest challenge we face daily on our journey towards holiness and in the living of the mission entrusted to us as peoples of the Blood of Christ.
Jesus was strongly critical of empty ritualism, that is, of celebrations void of any relationship with life, of beautiful festive celebrations which were not reflected in the lives of the celebrants. “I do not want your sacrifices, but rather works of love and of justice”! was the injunction which the Lord hurled upon the Pharisees.
Let us take a closer look at the fundamental aspects of “becoming that which we celebrate”.
- To be bread that is broken. “This is my body offered in sacrifice for you”.
When I hear these words I think of St. Ignatius of Antioch , who when on his way to Rome
With a very deep love for Jesus Christ, to the point of desiring to be immolated for Him, all is vain. Christ asked Peter: “Do you love me more than they?” Then, feed my sheep! Herein lies the presidency of Peter: in the service of charity. The altar is ready. The victim as well. Let us make of our very lives an offering (a sacrifice) to the Lord for the people we serve.
A priestly people called to a Life of Service
Often we have the image of the Church of the chasuble, of the book, of elegant liturgies, but we often lack the image of the Church of the towel, the Church which washes feet, the Church called to serve!
On the day of ordination many of us received beautiful stoles or vestments, golden chalices, true works of art. Did anyone give us a wash basin and a towel? Perhaps this would be a more adequate gift to remind us daily of what “priesthood” is all about, whether we speak of ordained priesthood or the priesthood of the People of God.
In John’s Gospel which does not relate the institution of the Eucharist as such, has in its place, the story of the Washing of the Feet which as an explanation of what Eucharist is all about. St. John
After celebrating the Eucharist, when we are back in our homes, do we open our lives to the people and to one another? Do we “break the bread of our lives”? Are we willing to break the bread of our lives for others even when the “other” comes knocking at our door at the most inconvenient time? When the “other” disturbs our prayer, or our solitude, or interrupts us when we are busy about an important project?
We must ask ourselves if we are willing to break the bread of our lives with our sisters and brothers in community each day. Do we welcome them to the table of our lives, even as we might criticize those who exclude others from the Eucharistic Table in the temple?
Our daily task is not simply to sit together at table in community under the same roof, but to be willing to be a living sacrifice, a burnt offering, for our sisters and brothers as we break the bread of our lives together.
(The story of my visit to the home of José and María in Chile): It wasn’t easy. I felt bad about eating the little food they had and for taking their bed from them that night! I lie awake asking myself “why I was doing this? What did it all mean? Was it worth it? Like the disciples on the road to Emmaus I had many questions and didn’t know the answers. Only when we said our farewells and they thanked me for sharing their hospitality with them because now they knew that God loved them, did I realize that we had celebrated Eucharist and that Christ was recognized in the breaking of bread!)
(The story of our seminarians in Rome befriending the street people who roam the piazzas of the city and are seen sitting on the Church steps! When one was missing, the seminarian visited him in the hospital. Later he saw him on the step and sat and spoke with him, promising to bring him some clothes. But the man said, the clothes didn’t matter. What mattered was that you sit and chat with me!)
Who do we take time to break bread with? With our sisters and brothers in community? With the poor and neglected?
- To be blood shed. “This is the chalice of my blood…shed for you and for all!”
Another patristic text can serve as a starting point for reflecting on this aspect of blood shed. St. Ciprian of Carthagena writes inLettere, 63, 7 (CSEL 3, 705-706) (see p. 35 del “Ogni giorno sulle orme del
“…One also can speak of the winepress: just as one cannot drink wine without first crushing and squeezing the bunches of grapes,neither can we drink the blood of Christ, if first He had not been trampled upon and crushed and had not first drunk of the chalice, which He would offer to the faithful.”
Which is the chalice which we offer in the Eucharist? Let us listen to the words of the II Vatican Council: “The joys and the hopes, the sadness and the anguish of men and women of today, of the poor and above all of those who suffer, are also the joys and the hopes, the sadness and the anguish of the disciples of Christ, for all that is genuinely human has an echo in our heart” (Gaudium et Spes, # 1).
When the priest at the altar prepares the chalice for the Eucharistic sacrifice, he mixes water and wine while saying: “By the mystery of this water and wine may we remember how the divinity of Christ has been mixed with our humanity, so that our humanity might be absorbed in His divinity.”
We, the priestly People of God, fill the chalice on the altar with the blood of Abel which we have gathered on our journey of compassion and solidarity into the suffering heart of humanity. As we journey we open our hearts and invite others to rest there and to unload their burdens on us, as Christ invites us to rest in His open heart. At the Eucharistic Table we then empty our hearts into the Chalice and we offer:
The Cup of suffering:
When we look reverently in the Eucharistic Chalice we see our lives as a weaving of joys and sorrows, successes and failures, victories and defeats, virtue and sin.The Eucharist Cup unites the signs of life, of suffering and of injustice with the Passion of Christ.The face of Christ who suffers and is crucified assumes the characteristics of various persons: the poor who populate our urban sprawling urban centers, the unemployed, the immigrants, street children, children with no possibility of education, young people without work or perspectives, and without guides, women who are underpaid or exploited, abandoned elderly, prisoners, the sick and especially those suffering with AIDS, women and children exploited in sex trafficking, etc.
We are engaged in an ongoing struggle against the forces which diminish or threaten Life, whether it be before birth (abortion) during, or at the end of life (euthanasia). We are committed to defending the human rights of all peoples.The Blood of Life invites us to embrace and to promote a “consistent life ethic” which promotes and defends life always and wherever it be threatened.
It isthe suffering of the poor, of the unemployed, of the immigrants, of the street children, of the youth who wander about without a clear direction to their lives, the women who are sometimes poorly paid and exploited, the elderly often forgotten and abandoned to their fate, the prisoners, to the sick, to those suffering from AIDS, the women and children victims of sex trafficking and exploitation, etc., etc.
The chalice on the altar gathers in all the brokenness and wounds of our world. It also wishes to contain our own suffering, in community, in the Church, in society. It is a chalice which we are invited to drink as Jesus did in the Garden of Olives
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, when speaking of the Eucharist in #1397, reminds us that The Eucharist commits us to the poor.“To receive in truth the Body and Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his brethren:
“You have tasted the Blood of the Lord, yet you do not recognize your brother/sister,… You dishonor this table when you do not judge worthy of sharing your food someone judged worthy to take part in this meal….God freed you from all your sins and invited you here, but you have not become more merciful.”(from a homily of St. John Chrysostomus)
We also recall the exhortation of Paul to the Community of Corinth which is recorded in his First Letter to the Corinthians 11:27-29:
“Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup.For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”
In this text he reminds all that we are responsible for “the body. If we ignore the body, we are receiving communion unworthily.
The Cup of Hope
As we journey into the lives and hearts of the people with whom we walk in ministry, we not only see suffering, but we also discover signs of life and the seeds of God’s presence in history. They are the signs of Resurrection and new life sprouting among us. As compassionate pilgrims we are also called to discover the face of the Risen Lord. It is important to celebrate those signs of hope in the midst of the suffering and difficulties of our lives. Love is stronger than hate. Life is stronger than death. Sin can be conquered and the powers of evil will not prevail. We discover this truth in the lives of many people whom we know who are living faithfully their baptismal commitment, who are faithful to their vows, who put people before programs, who live lives of generous self-donation, who are more interested in serving than in being served. We discover signs of new life and of God’s Reign in the solidarity of many people who share the lives of the poor and who make their cause their own. We see God’s presence in the courageous witness of Christians who risk their lives in difficult and dangerous situations in order to witness to the Gospel. We also see His presence in those who give not only their economic resources, but also who invest their time and their talents to promote the life and the dignity of the poor and oppressed.
It is important to celebrate those moments of hope, those small victories in the ongoing struggle against injustice and evil in its many forms. We need to offer in the Eucharistic Cup that problem which has been resolved, a need which has been taken care of, a reconciliation in community, a sick person who has recovered her health or her hope in life. (The story of the soup kitchen in Chile
Incelebrating all these small victories of everyday life, we affirm that history is being built and that creation continues in the actions and commitments of everyday, even those small and seemingly insignificant ones. We celebrate these small stones which are essential for building the Reign of God. It was this profound conviction which helped Jesus to overcome the moment of temptation in the Garden. He could say “yes” to that moment and thus his agony and death became the most creative and fruitful acts of all times!
These signs of life and death are mixed together in the Chalice that we offer the Lord in the Eucharist. It is both the Cup of Suffering and the Cup of Hope.We must lift up the Cup of our hands and recognize the joys hidden in our sorrows.
This is the Cup of Suffering and of Hope that we offer in the Eucharist. In that Cup our human blood with all its reality will be mixed and converted into Christ’s Precious Blood. It becomes our Blessing Cup.
Our “Amen”
When we say our "Amen" at the moment of receiving Communion, we are saying clearly that “yes” we wish to participate in the same dynamic of the life of Jesus Christ. As I have tried to indicate, the Eucharist is much more than a devotional practice in which I enter into intimacy with “my” God. It is rather a deep moment of community in which our minds and our hearts are stretched so as to see and to imagine “that beautiful order of things in the Blood of Christ!” We join our lives together in Christ in order to commit ourselves to giving our lives in order to transform that vision into reality. St. Augustine also said when speaking of the Eucharist, that “we are to be that which we receive!” We receive the Body and Blood of Christ as food for our response to the call to become bread and wine for others.
“Do this in memory of Christ” is not the mechanical repetition of a ritual gesture; rather it is letting ourselves be molded in order to love as He loves and thanks to Him, “even to death.” We must take life to Christ and Christ to life. The Eucharist emerges us deeply into history in order to come “story of salvation.” There is no communion without mission. The liturgy concludes with the invitation to begin another celebration, that in which all of life is involved.
Do this in memory of me …
Every Eucharist is a recalling of that love. It is an immersion in the love of God, in the love which binds together the Blessed Trinity.
There can be no fracture between Eucharist and life. St. John Chrysostomus (in his homily on alms) says “It is fitting to honor this day spiritually, not with banquets, with copious libations, with drunkenness, with dances, but with alms giving to the poorest among the brothers.”
As a Church which has at its core the Eucharist as the privileged moment for celebrating our faith and living the spirituality of the Blood of Christ, we are called tolive the Eucharist, that is, to be Eucharistic persons and communities: welcoming and inclusive communities, communities of reconciliation and of hope. We are a community which breaks its body and sheds its blood each day with Christ in generous service which knows no limits, in order to serve the People of God and to build the Reign of God. To live the Eucharist, that is, becoming that which we celebrate, is really our path to holiness!
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