RECENT MEDITATIONS ON THE EUCHARIST

Tribulation Times

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July 7, 2010 

(1Co 11:26-29) For as often as you shall eat this bread and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come. Therefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.

EXCERPTS: RECENT MEDITATIONS ON THE EUCHARIST

ARCHBISHOP CHARLES J. CHAPUT: The next great task of the liturgical renewal is to build an authentic Eucharistic culture, to instill a new sacramental and liturgical sensibility that enables Catholics to face the idols and suppositions of our culture with the confidence of believers who draw life from the sacred mysteries, in which we have communion with the living God.

We need to discover new ways to enter into the liturgical mystery; to realize the central place of the liturgy in God's plan of salvation; to truly live our lives as a spiritual offering to God; and to embrace our responsibilities for the Church's mission with a renewed Eucharistic spirituality. 

BISHOP THOMAS J. TOBIN: I suppose it’s typical for human beings to sometimes take our finest gifts for granted – our health, our faith, our family and our friends, for example. And even as Catholics we have the tendency to take for granted one of God’s most precious gifts – the Holy Eucharist, and all that it means for us. Although we typically pay lip service to the importance of the Eucharist, I wonder if we really appreciate its significance in our lives.

As the heart and soul of our Catholic Faith, the Eucharist a gift and mystery that includes several important dimensions. The Eucharist is a sacrifice – the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, made present again in a sacramental way. The Eucharist is a sacrament – the abiding presence of Christ among His people under the external forms of bread and wine. The Eucharist is a meal – established by Jesus at the Last Supper, and in which the action of eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Christ is essential to its meaning. And the Eucharist is a celebration – an affirmation of our faith in sign and symbol.

So, dear reader, as we consider the Holy Eucharist, let’s try to resist our normal tendency to take our gifts for granted. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ; it is the Bread of Life; it is spiritual food for our journey on earth; and it contains all the power we need to transform the world into the Kingdom of God.

CARDINAL SEAN O'MALLEY: After adoration and Scripture readings, Cardinal Seán O'Malley of Boston, the homilist, spoke, saying that at the Last Supper Jesus gave a new commandment, "love one another as I have loved you," and a new gift, the sacrament of the Eucharist.

"He loves us first. He loves us to the end. He loves us to the point of laying down his life for us. He loves us while we are still in sin," Cardinal O'Malley said.

While this command to love is daunting, "he gives us the sacrament so we can live this life of love. … It strengthens us. It challenges us."

The Eucharist comes to God's people through the priesthood, the cardinal added. "This wonderful gift (the priesthood) makes the Eucharist available everywhere for all times."

Speaking with a deep, resonant voice, the white-bearded cardinal said, "Many today find the teaching too hard to believe and simply stop coming."

However, "Jesus' words and actions assure us he has left us a miracle of love in the Eucharist," he said. "Our God loves us and the Eucharist is a celebration of that saving love."

At the same time, the Mass "reminds us of our need for repentance and conversion."

He told of a missionary to the Masai people in Africa. When the priest reached a Masai village, dancing and prayers would precede the celebration of the Eucharist, and could go on for a day. The tribal leaders would decide if the community was ready to come to the Eucharist. It was not always celebrated if the leaders decided there was sin in the community, he said.

The cardinal, a member of the Capuchin Franciscan order, said the American cultural environment is one of "entertainment and entitlement."

Contrast that with Moses taking off his shoes in the presence of the burning bush or Peter falling down before Jesus after the miraculous catch of fish and saying, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."

"The Eucharist is a greater miracle than the miraculous draught of fish," the cardinal said, a miracle to be approached with awe and humility.

He prayed the Congress would be "an Emmaus experience for all of us."

After meeting Jesus in the breaking of the bread, the disciples immediately set out to tell others. Like them, the cardinal prayed that participants will experience "Eucharistic amazement" and "when we enter into Communion with Christ, we will sense the duty to be a witness."

Ladder of Divine Ascent excerpt: Step 26- "On discernment of thoughts, passions, and virtues"

66. I know also a fifth kind of spiritual dispassion which comes from great simplicity and praiseworthy innocence. For on such people, help is justly bestowed by God who saves the upright of heart and imperceptibly rids them of all vice; just as infants, when undressed, are quite unaware of it.       

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