On the Worthy Reception of Our Lord in the Eucharist, Part 1
I know it has been awhile since I published a post, and even though it is a “priest preach” weekend coming up, we will be showing the Bishop’s Annual Appeal video so I have been bumped from preaching again. Instead I thought I would post an article I wrote for the bulletin (originally because they needed something to fill space). It is a summary of the USCCB’s recent document on the worthy reception of Holy Communion. I have the first two parts written, so here is part one.
On the Worthy Reception of Christ in Holy Communion (Part 1)
by
Fr. John C. Garrett
At their meeting in November 2006, the Catholic Bishops of the United States issued a document entitled, “Happy are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist. This series of bulletin articles will summarize the main points of this important and beautiful teaching which our Shepherds have given us on the very heart of our Catholic Faith. For those who are interested in reading the full document, it is available online at http://www.usccb.org/chronological.shtml (as well as the other two documents which the Bishops issued at that meeting, and that I hope to provide summaries of in the future).
The Bishops first reminds us that the center of the life of the Church is the celebration of the Mass. The Second Vatican Council described the Mass as the “source and summit” of all the activities of the Church. The Eucharistic Prayer, in which Christ’s sacrifice is both recalled and made present and we give thanks and praise to God, is at the very heart of the Mass. At the Mass we receive Jesus, first as the Word of God through the readings, and then sacramentally when we eat and drink His Body and Blood. The reception of Holy Communion is the consummation of the Mass. Due to our sinfulness, none of us are worthy to receive such a wondrous gift as the Eucharist. That is why, right before receiving Holy Communion the priest elevates the consecrated host and says, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Happy are those who are called to his supper,” and all present echo the words of the Roman centurion who said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed” (Mt 8:8). Despite our sinfulness, in His great love Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist to give us a share in His divine life.
The Bishops then presents a series of questions and answers that re-affirms the Church’s teachings concerning the Eucharist and the reception of Holy Communion.
WHAT DO WE BELIEVE ABOUT HOLY COMMUNION?
Fundamentally the Eucharist IS the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. It is not a symbol of Jesus, nor is it merely a sign of our fellowship. We believe that when the priest recalls the words and actions of Jesus at the Last Supper and consecrates the bread and wine, by the power of the Holy Spirit the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ. Traditionally the Church has used the word “transubstantiation” to describe this change that takes place. “The substance (what something is) of bread and wine is totally changed into the substance of Christ’s Body and Blood. While the appearances of bread and wine remains, the Risen Lord Jesus is actually present, and so it is he who is actually received in Holy Communion – Body and Blood, soul and divinity” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist, November 14, 2006).
The reception of Christ in the Eucharist is called “Holy Communion” because through it we come into communion with Him who is All-Holy. We are united to the Risen Christ and share in His divine life. Through Christ’s dwelling within us we are also united to God the Father, in the Holy Spirit.
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF BEING UNITED TO CHRIST IN HOLY COMMUNION?
“The principle fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd ed., #1391). Three significant elements are encompassed by this union with Christ in Holy Communion.
Participation in the One Sacrifice of Christ
Jesus established the everlasting covenant by lovingly offering His own life on the crose as a holy sacrifice to the Father for our sins. He is the spotless “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29). This sacrifice of Jesus is made fully present in the Eucharist, and we join ourselves to this one holy sacrifice of Christ by taking part in the liturgy of the Eucharist. “The Risen Lord Jesus comes to dwell personally within us, and so we share in his life and friendship. He gives himself completely and entirely to us, and we are called to give ourselves completely and entirely to him” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist, November 14, 2006). Receiving Holy Communion fortifies us against sin, heals our weaknesses, and empowers us to live holy lives of sacrificial love for one another.
Communion with One Another
Reception of Holy Communion is NOT a private devotion. Rather it is an integral part of our worship as a faith community. As Pope Benedict XVI has explained, “Union with Christ is also union with all those to whom he gives himself. I cannot possess Christ just for myself; I can belong to him only in union with all those who have become, or who will become, his own. Communion draws me out of myself towards him, and thus also towards unity with all Christians. We become ‘one body,’ completely joined in a single existence. Love of God and love of neighbor are now truly united: God incarnate draws us all to himself” (Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter God is Love (Deus Caritas Est), #14).
Holy Communion is a foretaste of heaven, where all of God’s children will together become one with our Lord Jesus Christ in the love of the Holy Spirit. This foretaste should inspire us to work for a deeper realization of communion among all men and women on earth. Pope John Paul II described this attitude as “solidarity” which he defined as “a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all” (Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Letter On Social Concern (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis), #38).
Sharing in Jesus’ Resurrection and Divinity
Since in Holy Communion we are nourished on Jesus’ own risen life and so become a new creation in him, reception of the Eucharist anticipates and is a pledge of our own bodily resurrection, “when we will share fully in the heavenly banquet of everlasting life” (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, “Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper”: On Preparing to Receive Christ Worthily in the Eucharist, November 14, 2006). As Jesus tells us, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. . . . [For] whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him” (Jn 6:54, 56).
Since receiving Holy Communion is able to have such a profound effect on us, if we receive it worthily, the Church encourages all the faithful to partake of it frequently. “It is clear that the frequent or daily reception of the Blessed Eucharist increases union with Christ, nourishes the spiritual life more abundantly, strengthens the soul in virtue, and gives the communicant a stronger pledge of eternal happiness” (Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instruction on the Worship of the Eucharistic Mystery (Eucharisticum Mysterium), #37).
In the next article in this series I will summarize the next two questions in the document, “Who may receive Holy Communion?” and “Should we ever refrain from receiving Holy Communion?”
