“Transubstantiation” is the official Roman Catholic concept referring to the change that takes place during the sacrament of Holy Communion. This change involves the substances of bread and wine being turned miraculously into the substance of Christ Himself. The underlying essence of these elements is changed, and they retain only the appearance, taste, and texture of bread and wine. So, too, we Roman Catholic faithful believe that we become the Body of Christ we receive in faith, though our appearance also remains unchanged.
My last blog on the Eucharist raised some soul-searching questions: Who can consecrate? Do we eat God? Is the Eucharist a right or a privilege?
To begin, it is God who changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. The priest is merely the instrument, granted an essential player in this holy drama, chosen for the part by Our Lord. That is what we believe. Having said that, it is also correct to say that while the priest serves a special role in the transformation of the bread and wine, WE EACH PLAY A CRITICAL PART IN TRANSFORMING OUR BODY INTO THAT OF CHRIST.
It is this which is the primary objective of this holy sacrament…nothing less than our transubstantiation. And in this way we fulfill the commandment, “Take and eat…Take and drink…Do this in memory of me.” So, just as we mere humans are called to do the unthinkable and “give birth to God” (through our words and actions), in that same vein, one might say that we do “eat God”…in order that we might become Divine. As the saying goes, “We are what we eat.” (But as previously stated, it takes more than the mere receiving; there must be AWARENESS and TRANSFORMATION…in our way of thinking, seeing, being).
Now, we not only believe that Christ has called priests to be His embodiment in the celebration of this holy banquet, we also believe that Christ founded the Church to build His peaceable kingdom on earth. The Church, like each of us, is a mystery: it is both human and divine. It has Holy Guidance and yet its members and leaders are very human. It seeks to guide and to serve with love and compassion, imitating Jesus himself. But at times it can seem cold and insensitive. And as an official representative of our Church, I wish to say to those who feel alienated, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for hurting you and making you feel uninvited, unloved, an outcast.” That is not the inclusive Church Jesus modeled and we are called to be.
It is natural as we, the Church, strive to build Communion with God and with each other that like any other organization there be rules on what it takes to be a member in good standing. Whatever club we wish to join will have its standards, and we make our decision to join or not accordingly. However in this case the “club” has something very special that members want. It has, we believe, the keys to heaven…it unlocks the door to a profound encounter with God. What are the faithful to do? Well, hopefully, we begin by searching our soul on what really matters to us, and try to listen to and follow the example of Our Lord. In deciding what matters most to us, it is worth remembering that GOD IS OF NO IMPORTANCE…UNLESS GOD IS OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE. God’s way must take precedence over our earthly wants and desires.
Presuming, of course, that such is the case with each of us, we may still differ with Church leadership on any number of issues in discerning our path to God. I must say that the differences expressed in the blog comment I received do not seem to me to be so “black and white” that one would be deprived of Communion. At least I am not aware that this is the official position of the Church throughout the world, though it might be in some dioceses. (An explanation of the power of bishops might be helpful here but too long for this response.) As an example, divorce in and of itself is not a sin. Perhaps, consultation with a priest might be helpful whenever we disagree with the official position of the Church, to see how grave our difference may be, certainly before we decide we’re not wanted and walk away. [Feel free to contact me at paceallegria@yahoo.com if you wish.]
In general, we believe that to be in Communion with the Church we must be in agreement on what we stand for, though with 1.1 billion members, it would be a miracle indeed if we all agreed on everything. One of the things we profess to believe is that Communion requires that we be free of serious sin. Of course we are not perfect, but there are ways to be reconciled, if we choose. (This, too, may need further comment, at another time.)
Because enfleshing Christ is our goal, in searching our soul we should seek to imitate Him…to pray, seek counsel or enlightenment, to be attentive to the needs of others, to be charitable in our thoughts, words and acts, to be obedient, to be humble and forgiving… It is not easy to be Christ-like. He left us the Church to help us, though at times it might seem to some that it is more an obstacle than an aid. Perhaps, this too serves a purpose: to help us discover what we truly believe (via a challenge or confrontation) so as to bring out the best - the Christ - in us. In the end, both the Church AND the individual have a key role to play in enfleshing Christ today.
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Correct me if I am wrong but a long time ago, decades, I married a Catholic man (Italian, no less) and as a Protestant attending Mass, rearing the children Catholic, I concluded that the MASS is all about the Eucharist. It is an uncomfortable subject for Protestants in some ways because we view communion as a "symbol" of the Body and Blood of Christ, as the Bible so states. I saw my husband as well as my Mother-In-Law become incredibly obsessed with going to Mass to receive and incredibly obsessed with worry about the thought of not going to heaven when they died. I was the observer and noticed that my husband and his family scooted into Mass at the last possible moment and left right after receiving. I am only speaking for them. My point is, I personally embrace the time before Mass begins to the last moment and it has always been hard for me to understand what I perceive to be this lack of reverence and time of meditation. My mother-in-law would constantly talk of her "good deeds" and make the "biggest" sign of the cross I ever saw, had holy water in each room of her house, which she reminded me to bless myself with if, God forbid, I forgot to. I remember once while taking her and a (former) Catholic priest somewhere, he announced that he was going to leave the Catholic Church and become an Anglican (sp?) priest. She was in tears, and just could not understand why he made that decision and surely he would burn in Hell if he left "The Church". Growing up as my husband did, I believe this kind of atmosphere created a very guilt ridden husband, in my opinion; he was constantly worried about getting to heaven and just could not understand why I was not worried. Have any of you experienced something like this in your lives? My upbringing lead me to NOT make public displays of my holiness, led me to believe that I do have a personal relationship with God, and that I can observe quietly life's mysteries in gratitude, help those who need help as I come across them, but mainly realize we are all different and there is more than one path to salvation. Our God is a loving God and I believe whatever we call Him/Her and whatever brings us to the Lord in the quietness of our own heart, soul and conscience, is personal. As for the Eucharist, I accept that it is a mystery that I personally have to accept as just that, a mystery, along with other mysteries in life, such as the wonderful mystery of a birth. Over the years, I have observed that the Catholic Church has many "man-made" laws, which constantly change as to what is right and what is wrong, i.e. eating no meat on Friday, etc. I believe one has to live a deeper, more spiritual inner life, with good intentions to develop a reverent conscience in this life. My experience with my husband and his family, going over the top, so to speak, made for some very guilt-ridden, nervous people, who feared they "might" do something wrong and not get into heaven. Thus, in my opinion because of the "harsh" teachings of the Church, they could not fully be in the "observation" mode. Instead, they put themselves in a constant state of worry and anxiety, and missed out on the miracle of every day of life with those we come in contact with. Fr. Frank, you are very intense, holy, and sometimes out of my comfort zone but I bless your mission and thank you for this web site to draw comments from a wide variety of viewers. Peace to All.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry but "enfleshing Christ" sounds so cannibalistic? It does not conjure a pleasant picture in my mind.
ReplyDeleteRe-doing an earlier comment which didn't come through; if it does, excuse the repetition!
ReplyDeleteIs it acceptable to comment on a comment? Church means many different things -- I see it as a community drawn together and encouraged, challenged, and 'made holy' though still human, but with divine guidance and stability. One definition: 'One Christian telling others where to find bread'-- not referring to Eucharistic Bread, but to the sustenance we all search for daily. Tallying good deeds, or "attending" (looking at rather than observing!) Mass is hardly what it's all about. Leaving after Communion indicates not even receiving the last admonition, 'Go in PEACE to LOVE and SERVE God!' -- a good wrap-up of the entire service! Bless us all!
Today "I" smiled at the assembly line priest while he gave communion. Guess what? He smiled back. Maybe through our actions we can put a little smile on a priest's face. Blessings to All.
ReplyDeleteThank you for following up your blog on the Eucharist with Transubstantiation. Both have been so very enlightening and helpful. It was new to me what you said: Christ did not come to change bread and wine into his body and blood. He came change us into him. My next thought was: well, what if I am only receiving, no awareness and transformation- is God still in this Eucharistic Celebration? I went back to the Burning Bush blog and you answered it right there when you talk about the TWO miracles.
ReplyDeleteThank you for making me aware that I have a critical part in the transformation of my body into that of Christ, that it is up to me – and grace – to allow more of Christ come alive in me, both by following his example of love and authenticity and by being aware of his presence in the Eucharist, during communion. Letting his light shine through me, with the desire to become radiant, in spite of all the stumbling on the way or maybe even because of it. Ingrid.
How about a refresher on confession, or original sin?