20th of Year B
August 2006
The gospel for today, for the last couple of Sundays, and for the next few Sundays is about the `Bread of Life' or the Eucharist.
There is nothing in our faith, which brings such a difference of reaction among Catholics as the Eucharist. Reaction ranges from utter boredom to ecstasy - not, I hasten to add, concerning its basic meaning but concerning its effect on their spiritual life.
Every priest I have ever heard talking about what the Mass means to him (I am not talking about sermons or homilies, but in confidence, which priests do sometimes among themselves) has a different window of understanding and meaning.
No two priests will fully agree about what the Mass means to them or about the benefit they receive from it.
Here, when I talk about the Mass I include it, and all its differing names and devotional manifestations down the ages. Thus you have Eucharist, Benediction, Holy Hour, Forty Hour Adoration, the Blessed Sacrament, Holy Communion, Receiving, Breaking of Bread, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the Host, The Holy Sacrifice, The Last Supper, Calvary. Etc.
This very multiplicity of names only illustrates the diversity of approach, which I am talking about. When all is said and done, and everyone has agreed to disagree, what we are talking about is what Jesus of Nazareth did at the Last Supper and told us to do `in memory of me'. This great diversity of approach and understanding is not surprising since it was given to us by Jesus as the way to remember his whole life's mission in one simple act. So the Last Supper is the original, the template. All the others could be called `spin-offs'. All these `spin-offs' are beneficial and useful provided they don't obscure the main purpose of the original or confuse our understanding of the original.
I find it helpful to read John 13:1-15 (the account of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet). John makes this the principal act of Holy Thursday night rather than the actual ‘Last Supper’ (which he omits). This focuses our attention immediately on service to others. The Last Supper itself is a meal. The sharing of food and drink as at a family dinner or the gathering of friends to share and enjoy a meal together.
The words spoken by Jesus at the Last Supper; which you hear at the consecration of every Mass – “take this and eat it.” “take this and drink it.” “this is my body,” “this is my blood” means that God shares his being, his life, his nature and his kingdom with us in the same way and to the same degree as Jesus shared the bread and wine (his body and blood) with his disciples. This is total self-giving on God's part, made graphic the next day on Calvary. The words ‘so that sins may be forgiven' tell us that the crucifixion is also a sacrifice offered to the Father so that our sins be forgiven.
So I end up with four aspects of the Mass (or any type of Eucharistic devotion) which must never be lost sight of
- Service to others
- Sharing what I have with others
- My sharing in God's life, nature and kingdom
- A sacrifice offered for the forgiveness of my sins
To be authentic, our Eucharistic devotions, whether it be the Mass or a Eucharistic procession or communion of the sick or devotions to the Blessed Sacrament, must be motivated by at least one of these aspects.