It's easy to go to Mass on auto pilot. You genuflect, go into the
pew, sit down, stand up, kneel, mumble prayers, think about your
girlfriend or your plans for the afternoon, mumble prayers, stand
again, shake someone's hand, kneel, get up, walk up the aisle,
receive the body and blood of Christ...
Hey, wait a minute! Receive the body of Christ? Take His actual flesh
into your mouth and into your digestive system, eat the flesh of a
guy who lived 2000 years ago? You do that? You do it without even
thinking about it?
Maybe it's time to do a little thinking. Do you believe that's what
you're doing? Or is Communion just another part of the Mass for you?
Do you take it seriously, or is it just one more hoop to jump through
before you get to go home and talk on the phone?
A lot of Catholics aren't too clear on this whole concept of the
Eucharist. They're not too sure what it is. The Church doesn't really
believe it's the actual body and blood of Christ, does it? It's just
a symbolic thing, right? A meal, right? I Mean, otherwise it'd be too
gross to even think about, much less do.
Well, guess again. The Church does believe the Eucharist is the real
body and blood of Christ. After the words of consecration ("This is
My body ..." and "This is My blood..."), the bread and wine are no
longer bread and wine. They've become Jesus Christ: body, blood, soul
and divinity. He's there.
So how did we come up with this one? Did a bunch of bishops get
together? ("Hey guys, here's a good one. We'll make them believe that
the wine becomes blood. That'll freak them out!") No. We don't need
to make this stuff up. Like everything else, we believe it because
Christ told us it's true.
It all happened in the Gospel of John. Jesus was teaching His
disciples, talking about bread. And He said something really
astounding. He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the
flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you have no life in you
.. for My flesh
is real food indeed and My blood is real drink indeed" (Jn 6:53-55).
He was pretty adamant on the point.
The disciples figured He didn't really mean it. They asked again. And
again. He insisted He meant it. "Real food indeed. Real drink
indeed." They should've known when He said, "Truly, truly." He wasn't
fooling around.
They naturally freaked out. Living the commandments was fine. Loving
your neighbor was nice. But cannibalism wasn't really their gig. The
next chapter says, "After this many of His disciples drew back and no
longer went about with Him" (Jn 6:66). He lost a lot of support. But
He never said, "Come on, guys! I didn't really mean it! It's just
symbolic." He let them go. Christ wouldn't do that over a
misunderstanding. He meant what He said.
So how do we get this bread which is really His body? He told us at
the Last Supper. "And He took bread and when He had given thanks He
broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given
for you. Do this in remembrance of Me." And likewise he took the cup
after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the
new covenant in My blood" (Lk 22:19-20).
So Christ made things pretty clear. Unless we eat His flesh, we have
no life within us. Receiving the Eucharist is a big deal. It's
essential to our life in Him. It's essential to staying on the right
side of the gap between God and man.
It's a pretty awesome thing when you think about it. God, the big
God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who created the
universe and holds it in existence -- He comes into you in a very
real, very physical way. He becomes tangibly present in your body, He
gets as close as He possibly could.
When you understand that, you get a little better understanding of
people who go to Mass every day. They're not just going to sit down,
stand up, mumble prayers and kneel. They're going to receive the
body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ. They're going to drink Him
into their lives, literally, so that He remains present to them.
They're going so that, with Him constantly present, they'll be better
able to love as He loves. They'll be stronger Christians and live
better lives. They don't go because they're really good people. At
least that's not why I go. I go because I need a lot of help.
All of this tells us something about how we should approach
Communion. He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me." Not "Do this
thinking about your homework," or "Do this without paying attention."
Receiving the Eucharist is a profound act. It's as close as you'll
get to God in this life. If we want to receive all the benefit we can
from it, we need to have the right attitude. Our approach needs to be
prayerful, respectful and reverent.
We also need to approach the Eucharist "clean." We can't just sin all
week, and then expect to receive the body and blood of Christ.
Receiving worthily means that going to Him with a clear conscience.
If you've committed a serious sin which you haven't confessed, to go
to Communion would be another serious sin. It's a "slap in the face"
to God. Far from strengthening your faith, receiving Communion
unworthily will diminish it. I believe it was Voltaire who said that
the way to lose your faith is to commit a serious sin and then go to
Communion. It's a "grace drain" and it's really wrong.
So the Eucharist is serious business. It's the best thing we have
going in our day to day life - - constant, ongoing contact with the
living God. It's our "daily bread" that nourishes our spiritual life.
It provides our USDRA of grace.
Don't take the Eucharist lightly. Pay attention to the consecration.
Something really incredible is happening. And don't settle for
"starvation rations." Receive the Eucharist often. It's your
spiritual food. You need it.
Bonacci is a frequent lecturer on chastity.
This article appeared in the February 23, 1995 issue of "The
Arlington Catholic Herald."
Courtesy of the "Arlington Catholic Herald" diocesan newspaper of the
Arlington (VA) diocese. For subscription information, call
1-800-377-0511 or write 200 North Glebe Road, Suite 607 Arlington, VA
22203.
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