The Eucharist: A crisis well beyond the USA

Source: Fear of ICE has created a Eucharistic crisis - Michael Fox

Some years ago, the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States launched a National Eucharistic Revival, an initiative aimed at renewing faith in and devotion to the Eucharist. One of its principal goals was to deepen Catholics' understanding of what the Church teaches about the Real Presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament.

The timing was hardly accidental. In 2019, Pew Research found that only 31% of self-identified American Roman Catholics said they believed that the bread and wine used at Mass truly become the Body and Blood of Christ, while 69% regarded them as symbols. Even among Roman Catholics who attended Mass weekly, only 63% accepted the Church's teaching on the Eucharist. Clearly, there has been a disconnect between what the Church teaches and what many Catholics say they believe (even aside from what they actually believe which may not be entirely evident to themselves).  

Yet another early witness to the Eucharist

Now, dear reader, you might wonder why I keep repeating particular lines about the Eucharist over the course of these past 9 months since the start of the Bread for the Journey blog series.

You see, I need to bring home the same message again and again, namely, that the early Christian Fathers, Doctors, Saints, Mothers, Martyrs, theologians held to a shared understanding of the Eucharist that is decidedly catholic.  They held to:

1. The real presence of Christ in the Eucharistic Bread and Wine
2. The Eucharist as a sacrifice
3. The Eucharist as the means of unity in the Body of Christ.

St. Basil the Great (†379), Archbishop of Caesarea and one of the greatest Greek Fathers of the Church, is yet another witness to the truths of the Eucharist.  He left one of the most important early witnesses to Christian belief about the Eucharist. His teachings are especially significant because they come from the fourth century, long before later theological controversies divided Christians.

A sacred space in a place of healing

Yesterday, while visiting my local hospital in County Kilkenny I had occasion to drop in to say a little prayer in the oratory which is a small, single room hidden away down a long corridor.  In this little room, about the size of a small12-square-metre bedroom, patients, staff and visitors drop in for a few moments to pray in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Saint Luke’s Hospital was founded as a public hospital in 1941 and was staffed by religious sisters among others for many decades.

According to a notice at the entrance, Mass is celebrated there three days a week and Holy Communion is brought to the wards on two days a week including Sunday. Due to a gradual reduction in chaplaincy services and shortage of  priests in the locality and diocese there is no full-time chaplain and it is no longer possible

The Eucharist : a revolution begins there

The venerable François-Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận (1928 to 2002) died, this day, 24 years ago.  His case for beatification was opened in 2007.   The Vietnamese cardinal spent 13 years in prison, from 1975 to 1988, including nine years in solitary confinement as part of the communist government's repression of Church leaders after reunification. It was a time in which he shared in the suffering of Christ as in his abandonment on the cross.

During his captivity he silently celebrated Mass with tiny amounts of bread and wine:

Every day, with three drops of wine and one drop of water in the palm of my hand, I celebrated my Mass.

He also wrote:

Eucharist: standing along with Mary at the cross

Source: Mary at the Cross: A Mother’s Unwavering Love – Life Lessons by Jenine Marie

In yesterday’s blog I reflected on the close association between the Holy Cross – celebrated each year on 14 September – and the Eucharist which makes the fruits and the power of the sacrifice of Calvary present in the here and now.  Today’s memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows follows immediately after the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross yesterday.  The liturgy invites us to stand with Mary at the foot of the Cross contemplating her Son who is given for us.  The evangelist, John, witnessed to what happened as follows:

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home (John 19:26-27).

At this crucial moment in salvation history three important strands come together:

The Holy Cross and the Eucharist: living with a purpose

Today we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Cross, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The origins of this feast go back to the early centuries of Christianity and are associated with the dedication of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and the Church's veneration of the wood of the Cross on which Christ accomplished our salvation.

At the heart of every Eucharist stands the mystery of the Cross. The Eucharist makes present the one sacrifice of Christ, the true Paschal Lamb, who offered himself for us on Calvary. His sacrifice was offered once for all, yet its saving power reaches us whenever we gather to celebrate the Eucharist. Through this sacred mystery we are drawn into Christ's death and resurrection and share in the grace that flows from his redeeming love.

St John Chrysostom: honouring Christ in the Eucharist and the poor

St John Chrysostom was born in Antioch in Roman Syria (modern-day Antakya, Turkey) around A.D. 347. In the Roman Catholic Church his feast is celebrated on 13 September, while in the Byzantine tradition his principal feast falls on 13 November. Known as ‘Golden-Mouthed’ for his eloquence in preaching, he served as Archbishop of Constantinople and died in exile in A.D. 407. He is renowned for his sermons, biblical commentaries and the Divine Liturgy that bears his name, the most commonly celebrated Eucharistic liturgy in the Eastern Orthodox Church and in many Eastern Catholic Churches.. An example of this Liturgy (translated into English) in the case of the Antiochian Orthodox Church is provided here.

In the example given, the epiclesis, the prayer invoking the Holy Spirit upon the gifts, reads as follows: