The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

This is one of the Solemnities of the Lord that does not fall on a Sunday in New Zealand. However, this should not diminish its importance although, to my mind, it is closely related in its message to the Divine Mercy devotion which has its special day on the Second Sunday of Easter. We can also see with the promulgation of the memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church on the day after Pentecost a focus on the Crucifixion and thereby on the work accomplished by Jesus on the dreadful instrument of Roman torture. This can help to dispel any of the sometimes regrettable and saccharine representations of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, whether in statues or pictures. Jesus had a heart for the poor, neglected and the outcast as well as being a keen observer of nature yet he never stooped to exaggerated and effusive expressions of affection.  Rather, he tended to be very restrained: "Woman, here it your son" and "Here is your mother." (John 19: 26-27) Our own love for others needs to imitate that of our Master, as indeed he asked us to: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have love you." (John 15: 12) That love, coming from the heart of Jesus, is not a question of duty rather of self-giving and everlasting, steadfast covenant love - hesed. Such love: "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." (1 Cor 13: 7) The question is not whether our love is nice or pretty or emotional but whether, instead, it is conformed to the heart of God revealed in Christ Jesus: "We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those who he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he glorified." (Romans 8: 28-30)

Reflections on the Eucharist for Corpus Christi

On the occasion of the Feast of the Body and Blood of our Lord and the children in the parish continuing their sacramental programmes it seems opportune to share with parishioners some thoughts on the mystery of the Eucharist that lies at the heart of our Catholic faith. Pope St John Paul II taught: “It (the Eucharist) is at one and the same time a Sacrifice-Sacrament, a Communion-Sacrament, and a Presence-Sacrament.” (Redemptor hominis #20)

1   1.  Eucharist as Sacrifice-Sacrament

It is clear from the New Testament that the actions of Christ on the Cross were regarded as sacrificial. St Paul also links this sacrifice with the Passover feast when he says: “For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.” (1 Cor 5: 7) The Passover meal in which the community partook of the sacrificed lamb was an extension of that sacrifice. The Eucharist meant for Paul not just an expression of solidarity and brotherhood but also a sharing in the sacrifice of Christ such that to eat meat from other sacrifices was precluded: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ… What do I imply then? That food sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.” (1 Cor 10: 16, 19-21)

Christ drank the third cup, that is the “cup of blessing” at the Last Supper, however, he completed the meal from the Cross with the “cup of fulfillment” with the words: “It is finished” (John 19: 30). In this way the Last Supper finds its completion in the Cross and we too partake of the sacrifice on the Cross by our reception of Holy Communion.  

At the Second Vatican Council the reform of the liturgy led to a newer and deeper understanding the four presences of Christ in the Eucharist: people, priest, Word and Sacrament. Nevertheless, this did not in any way diminish the traditional theology which sees in the Eucharist a sacrificial offering which is efficacious for both the living and the dead: “At the Last Supper, on the night when He was betrayed, our Saviour instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of His Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the Cross throughout the centuries until He should come again, and so to entrust to His beloved spouse, the Church, a memorial of His death and resurrection: a sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us.” (Sacrosanctam Concilium, #47)

     2.     Eucharist as Communion-Sacrament

The comments from St Paul show us also that we not only participate in the sacrifice of Christ through the Eucharist but we are also brought into relationship with God and other. This Communion manifests Church to the world and we are sent out from it to be Church to the world. The theologian Henri de Lubac wrote: “The Eucharist makes the Church, and [in turn] the Church makes the Eucharist.” We do not somehow summon Christ through the Eucharistic celebration as if he had been somehow absent up till then. It is Christ who gathers us in the Spirit and it is Christ who feeds us with both his Word and the Sacrament. As the Bridegroom he loves, leads and nurtures the Church though this communion. Just as with other sacraments Christ baptises, confirms, forgives sins, heals ordains and blesses marriage so he brings about the sacrificial Eucharistic feast for those who participate in his life through baptism.

     3.     Christ as Presence-Sacrament

The presence of Christ in the Eucharist is real in all four presences previously mentioned, nevertheless, this presence endures objectively in the Blessed Sacrament. That is why we have Eucharistic adoration and reserve the consecrated species in the tabernacle. To bow or genuflect towards the tabernacle or to make the sign of the Cross after I have received Holy Communion are all worthy things to do as they acknowledge the presence of Christ in this way.

In the Eucharist Christ is present to us as the whole of himself since he cannot be divided. His Risen Body bears no division so we receive the whole of Communion under one kind although to receive under both kinds is a fuller expression of the symbolic action.

     4.     Conclusion

Is it possible to exhaust the meaning of the Eucharist? I do not think so since it is the mystery of Christ himself. We need to listen again to the words of Christ: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me and I in them. Just as the living father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6: 54-59) Simon Peter answered the Lord, when others who were unable to accept this teaching went away: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.” (John 6: 68-69)

Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

The simplest way to explain what we receive at Mass is that "it is what the Lord says it is." Which means, that the bread and wine are not what they were previously. They are now the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the body and soul of a person are one and the temporal and spiritual aspects of the Church are also a unity so the sacrament is also one. This transformation was described at the Council of Trent as "transubstantiation" but no words or philosophy is capable of adequately conveying so great a mystery just as the Holy Trinity defies our ability to fully understand it. The mystery deepens when we realize that the Church, for which the sacrament was instituted and who members receive it, is also really the Body of Christ and likewise admits of no division. Just as the sacrament of the Eucharist makes present the sacrifice of Christ under another form so Christ is present to the world in the Church when she acts sacramentally. After all it is Christ who baptizes, Christ who confirms, Christ who offers himself up and Christ who forgives: "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." (1 Cor 12: 12) The unity of the Church, as the Body of Christ, and the Eucharist, as the sacrament making present the sacrifice on the Cross, is crucial. I cannot have one without the other and I cannot love one without loving the other. The ambiguity of St Paul is revealing when he told the Corinthians off for divisions in their community: "For all who eat and drink without discerning the body, eat and drink judgment on themselves." (1 Cor 11: 29) The question I must ask myself is: how do I discern the body - both in the Church and in the Eucharist?

Feast of the Holy Trinity

One of the features of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ, with the risen Lord working with her as she continues the mission given her (Mk 16: 20), is that the Scriptures and Church teaching did not arrive inscribed on gold tablets or some other lapidary form. They arose from a lived experience of divine revelation and this continues in the life of the Church today. Jesus commands the disciples: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father ad of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you." (Mtt 28: 19). He did not, in that moment or even elsewhere in the Scriptures, explain or articulate clearly what this meant in a doctrinal sense. Yet the disciples knew what they needed to do. Later controversies about the Holy Trinity should not cause us to take refuge in doctrinal formulations and polemics at the expense of actually doing what Christ asked us to do. We have the sense of the faithful (sensus fidelium) and the liturgy as a rule of faith (the law of prayer is the law of belief - lex credendi lex orandi) to guide us as well as the Papal Magisterium and all the other resources available to us, such as the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This gives us confidence to assert the Holy Trinity as the great mystery of our faith even as we struggle to comprehend it. Furthermore, we have the assurance of the Lord: "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Mtt 28: 20) 

Pentecost

The onlookers at Pentecost ask the question: "And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own language"? (Acts 2: 8) When we think of language we need not always think about diverse or foreign tongues. When I say, colloquially, that "someone is speaking my language" what I means is that a person is communicating with me and I can understand him or her - we are on the same wavelength. When I speak to others about faith do I use jargon? Are my concepts and figures of speech designed to be understood or am I hiding behind a smokescreen of incomprehensibility? To be effective in communicating the Gospel we need to strive to speak language that those listening to us can understand. St Peter writes: "Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence." (1 Peter 3: 16) The next question is - what do I speak about? In the First Reading it says: "...  we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." (Acts2: 11) The best way to communicate my faith, in a language that the other will understand, is to witness to how God has been present in my life and changed me through the wonderful working of his grace: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." (1 Peter 2: 9)

The Ascension of the Lord

The Ascension of the Lord does not mean that we act in his absence. The concluding word of Mark's Gospel state: "And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it." (Mk 16: 20) The verb in Latin for "worked with" is "cooperate" (lat. Domino cooperante) It is crucial to our understanding of our mission as Catholics and evangelizers that we do not act alone when we strive to be "ambassadors for Christ" (2 Cor 5: 20). We cooperate with Christ knowing that his power is in his word not in our own righteousness. Christ works with us through the Holy Spirit leading others to know and love him as do. The signs, too, that accompany our proclamation of the Gospel through our speech and deeds confirm the power of Christ and his presence in our lives and in the Church. These show forth not in material prosperity but in the fruit of the Kingdom: "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Romans 14: 17) The mystery of the Ascension takes the Risen Christ from our sight however it means that his presence fills the Earth as the Holy Spirit comes down upon the Church bestowing on her the gifts of the Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord.