All things to be done in unity

Rubrics in an illustrated Gradual - Wikipedia

In yesterday’s blog (Rightsand Rites), I distinguished between:

• the language used in the Mass
• the specific Rite (new, old, etc.)
• detailed rubrics

Rubrics derive from the Latin rubrica, meaning “red earth”, and refer to the red text in liturgical books that gives instructions about what is to be done during the Mass. They indicate, literally, the red writing on the page of the missal, describing what is to be done and how. These rubrics, and the detailed liturgical guidance they contain, are very important, but they belong to a different category of importance from the Rite itself.

Rites and Rights

 

My late mother used to say that one of the advantages of the ‘Old Latin Mass’ was that you could follow it more easily when you were abroad, as she experienced in the 1950s. She was no ‘traditionalist’ in the sense in which the term is used today to describe a small minority of Catholics who have rejected not only what they call the ‘New Mass’, but also some of the key teachings of the Second Vatican Council.

Salvation is on offer to all

Sunday 31 May 2026

Trinity Sunday

Lectio Divina:*

Exodus 34:4-9 Daniel 3:52-56

2 Corinthians 13:11-13 John 3:16-18

Meditatio:

‘..For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.’  (John 3:16)

 

Commentary:

This relatively short Gospel reading for Trinity Sunday contains one of the most beautiful passages in all Scripture:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

This is the heart of the Gospel: God’s love poured out for the world.

Celebrating the Eucharist: continuity, tradition and reform

 

Caption:  Pope Paul VI celebrates an open-air mass at Kololo Terrace in Kampala, during his historic three-day visit to Uganda in 1969.

One of the roles of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is to serve as a centre of unity for the worldwide Church. This role has developed over time, shaped by personal, political, and theological circumstances in each era. According to Roman Catholic understanding, the Pope is the visible head of the Church on earth and the Vicar of Christ – the one who represents Christ and exercises a unique ministry of leadership in His name.

What do you want?

In today’s Gospel reading for the Mass of the day we hear Jesus asking the blind man, Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52):

What do you want me to do for you. (Mark 10:51)

Each time we participate in the  Mass we need to prepare and still our souls in the time just before the celebration begins. He asks us, each time, ‘what do you want me to do for you today, N..?’

We should speak, heart to heart, with Jesus the lover our souls and say to him that we wish to grow in faith, hope and love. Perhaps we might add a special intention for someone. If we get what we ask for let’s thank Jesus for this. If we do not, or, if it is slow to happen or happens in a different and even surprising way let us thank Jesus for that too. He knows what is best for each one of us better than we know, ourselves.

Human dignity comes first

In our confused world, we question what is right or even what is true.  There are so many claims on our attention, our values and our behaviour.  Without a solid point of reference we risk losing our moorings and crashing on the rocks. For me and for millions of others Christ is the rock because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). It is Christ who shows us our true worth and dignity.

In the Mass we meet the living bread who gives Himself to us in his Body and Blood. This is our source of life and this is the goal of our Christian living in a world thirsting for meaning and purpose.

In his recent encyclical, Pope Leo speaks of the Eucharist in these terms (#88):

For the Christian community, solidarity finds its source in the mystery of Christ and is nourished by the Eucharist. Solidarity emerges from communion in faith and the Sacraments: Baptism and Confirmation unite us in Christ, so that we may become one Body and one Spirit, one heart and one soul (cf. Eph 4:4; Acts 4:32). The Eucharist, which is the sacrament of unity, nurtures our belonging to the Body of Christ and teaches us how to share. The diverse sensibilities present in the Church and the strong convictions that animate each person are a source of richness if they remain anchored in the certainty that unity is a gift received and a responsibility to be fulfilled.

When we struggle to know the right path forward we must turn, first, to the Word of God proclaimed day after day in the Eucharist. There we find the source of true ‘intelligence’ and intelligence that surpasses all ideas and scripts designed to achieve short-term conquest, profit or ideology.  Rooted in Christ we can work with others to make technology work for us. However, this goes beyond any one nation state or global power alliance.  The human species’ very own survival is not to be taken for granted. It is urgent that we work for global justice and governance of what could enslave us and possibly ultimately destroy us

Artificial 'intelligence' and communion

Picture: Pope Leo XIV (Vatican)

Today we made the journey to Croatia for a break. Looking out at the grass outside where we are staying, a strange object is roaming about the lawn, somehow ‘knowing’ when to turn and cut the grass. A robotic lawnmower is only one of a myriad of new devices designed to make life easier.

Artificial ‘intelligence’ is transforming our world in countless ways. It resembles a new industrial revolution, accelerating communication and allowing access to information in seconds. It brings remarkable opportunities as well as serious challenges. I deliberately use quotation marks around the word ‘intelligence’ because it is not clear that these systems possess intelligence in the proper sense. Human beings reason, decide, feel, and act from their innate capacity to live for others and with others. Everything humans create—from chewing gum to computers to autonomous, AI‑guided military drones - is the fruit of human intelligence and freedom, ordered toward some purpose, whether for good or for harm.

Mother of the Eucharist

                                             Pic:  Francesca Pollio Fenton/EWTN News

Yesterday, we celebrated the birthday of the Church. At Pentecost, the Church was born – not quietly, but with a kind of holy explosion, bursting forth into the streets of Jerusalem and spreading rapidly to Samaria, Antioch, Alexandria, Rome and beyond. The Good News went out in every direction, reaching Asia, Africa, and Europe.

In 2018, Pope Francis established that today, the Monday after Pentecost, be celebrated as the Memorial of Mary, Mother of the Church. This feast forms an important link in a long tradition that stretches back to the earliest centuries of Christianity.

Eucharistic joy at Pentecost

The cultural and ethnic diversity of Ireland is most welcome and has greatly enriched our society. Yesterday, I attended an African cultural evening in Carlow Town. It was noisy, colourful, busy, and above all joyful. The dancing, the food, the music, and the lively chatter made it a truly memorable occasion.

There is something about African culture, as we experience it here in Ireland, that is uplifting, joyful, and community-oriented. Perhaps we have lost some of that spirit in recent years?

Amen

There is at least one word in the sacred liturgy that is seldom used in ordinary life except, perhaps, ironically or emphatically: Amen. This word appears many times throughout the Mass and also in the Liturgy of the Hours. It means “so be it” or “truly.”

The Great Amen is proclaimed by all the faithful at the end of the Eucharistic Prayer. In it, we are saying ‘yes’ to all that has been prayed and proclaimed – to the saving power of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Eat and drink

Picture source is here

A distinguishing feature of the celebration of the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church is that, in most instances – at least in my observation over several decades – Holy Communion is provided under one species only, namely the consecrated bread rather than the consecrated wine. The practice in the Eastern rites is different, where Communion is almost always given under both kinds.

Worthy to receive? (#2)

In yesterday’s blog (Worthy to receive? #1) I touched on the matter of worthiness to receive Holy Communion at least in the Roman Catholic church. As is well known, there are many rules and guidelines governing who may or may not be in a position to receive Holy Communion in the Roman Catholic Church. There are, for example, restrictions concerning those who are not in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church, although clearly defined exceptions do exist. In particular circumstances, it is possible for Christians belonging to communities of the Reformation (referred to in more recent times in Roman Catholic terminology as “ecclesial communities”) to receive Holy Communion, but only under specific and exceptional conditions.

How do we know that the Holy Spirit has come?

Sunday 24 May 2026

Lectio Divina:*

Acts 2:1-11 Psalm 104(103)

1 Corinthians 12:3-7 John 20:19-23

Meditatio:

‘..the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord’   (John 20:20)

 

Commentary:

---

The scene is set by John. The disciples are afraid - very afraid. They might well be like a small congregation in a tense situation today, glancing nervously at every uncertain movement, imagining the worst. Fear grips them at a deep, almost physical level. You can feel it in the gut.

Then, something extraordinary happens. Jesus stands among them again. As he does each time he appears after the Resurrection—and as he still does today in the life of the Church – he says: “Peace be with you.”

Worthy to receive? #1

Source: Pinterest

To receive Holy Communion is, to borrow a contemporary phrase, truly ‘awesome’. Indeed it is. While we ought to approach the Sacrament with confidence, joy, and hope, we should also pause and reflect on what it is that we are about to receive. It is no small thing to drink the cup of salvation, which is the Blood of Christ.

Jesus said to the disciples who sought places beside Him:

“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or be baptised with the baptism with which I am baptised?” (Mark 10:38).

The mysteries of the altar

Why Relics? | St. Innocent of Alaska Orthodox Monastery

When we enter a church, we see an altar. Usually it is large and stands out, though sometimes it is more like a small table. Whatever shape or size it takes, it is the centre of worship. Tradition has also associated the altar with the place where the Eucharist is reserved – in the Tabernacle in the West, or in the Artophorion in the East. If we look more closely, however, we begin to see that there is far more here than first meets the eye.

It may be helpful to step into a setting less familiar to many of us: the sanctuary area of an Eastern Orthodox church which uses the Byzantine rites. This sacred space is normally reserved for clergy and those with a blessing, and is only partially revealed to the congregation during the Divine Liturgy when the Royal Gates are opened.

The tabernacle - what, where and why?

The artiphorion or tabernacle on the altar at a celebration of the Eucharist in the UkrainianGreek  Catholic Church.

The first mention of the word tabernacle is in the Hebrew Bible, in the Book of Exodus. It refers to the mishkan – the dwelling place of God:

“And have them make me a sanctuary, so that I may dwell among them. In accordance with all that I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.” (Exodus 25:8–9)

The mishkan, or “Tent of Meeting”, was the place where, above all, the people approached God. God was among His people. It was a visible sign of His enduring presence – a local and physical sign. It housed the Ark of the Covenant, containing the Ten Commandments given to Moses.

Jumping forward to the first millennium following the Resurrection of Christ, Christians had reason to reserve the consecrated bread after the Eucharist, principally in order to bring it to the sick who were unable to participate in the celebration (Viaticum).

Over time, the reserved consecrated bread became a focus of special veneration. It is noteworthy that in the ancient rites and customs of both the Eastern (Orthodox) and Western Churches, the consecrated bread was housed in a special and sacred container on the altar where the Eucharist was celebrated. Only since the reforms of the 1960s has the tabernacle often been placed apart from the altar in the Roman Catholic Church. Today, it is typically located within the sanctuary, often behind or to the side of the altar where Mass is celebrated.

The sanctuary area including the altar and, behind it, the Tabernacle in my home parish of Holy Trinity church, Goresbridge, County Kilkenny

For Catholics, the tabernacle is a sacred and special place where Jesus Christ is truly, really, and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament. It is a focal point for prayer, adoration, petition, and silent contemplation. Typically, a sanctuary lamp, often red, is placed nearby to signify that the Eucharistic presence of Christ is reserved there.

In some parts of the Anglican Communion, the Blessed Sacrament is reserved, usually for the purpose of Communion for the sick between celebrations of the Eucharist. However, some Anglo-Catholic (“High Church”) communities give a place of prominence to the reserved sacrament, as in the example below, where a hanging pyx is used. The image of the Bread of Heaven, or manna, suspended above the altar is striking.

High Wycombe Anglican church, Buckinghamshire. Photo by Sarumsleuth

Practice in the Eastern Orthodox Churches is similar in some respects to that of the Roman Catholic Church. There, the Artophorion (Greek for tabernacle) is placed on the altar where the priest celebrates the Divine Liturgy. An important difference, however, is that the Orthodox generally do not practice private Eucharistic adoration outside the liturgy, as is common in the West. Rather, the consecrated Gifts are venerated within the context of the liturgy itself.

Below is a striking and beautiful image of the sanctuary in a Russian Orthodox church.

In the centre of the sanctuary, beyond the Royal Doors, is the altar table, which can only be glimpsed from a distance when the doors are opened during services. The Holy Table, or Prestol, is where the Eucharistic sacrifice is offered; the Book of the Gospels rests there, the Antimension is placed upon it, and the reserved sacrament is kept in the Artophorion (tabernacle). It is honoured as the throne of God, the tomb of Christ, and the heavenly altar.

Note the “altar of oblation” to the left. It is called the Prothesis and is the place where the bread and wine are prepared before the Divine Liturgy.

The Altar at the Church of All Saints in Yekaterinburg - Sergei Pyatakov / Sputnik

Tomorrow, I will explore the place of the Antimension in the Eastern liturgy. It is rich in symbolism and draws together many Eucharistic themes.

Everywhere, always, by all

 

In my blog of this series (“Bread for the Journey”) published yesterday (Just believe) I quoted from the Imitation of Christ written in the 15^th Century:

Do not argue in your own mind, or try to answer the doubts the Devil hurls against you. Trust the word of God, believe his saints and prophets, and you will put your wicked enemy to flight.

The author was interested in a relationship with the Lord and not in disputes over philosophy or theology important and useful as these may be in context.

Just believe

There is a considerable temptation on the part of some devout souls to agonise over aspects of the mystery of the Divine Eucharist and the manner of Christ’s presence in the same.

I suspect that devout souls in England were perplexed by some of the controversies swirling around the realm at the time of the Reformation and subsequent political and theological battles that ensued.  In a widely used poem whose source is disputed but often attributed to John Donne (1573-1631) and which has alsobeen attributed to Queen Elizabeth I (of mixed memories in Ireland, let it be said) there is a flavour of this in the lovely quaint English:

He was the Word that spake it;
He took the bread and brake it;
And what that Word did make it,
I do believe and take it.

Sinful men and the power of the word

Many people have been deeply wounded by the institutional Church, and this in at least two distinct but related ways.

First, some individual priests have been guilty of grievous and, at times, heinous crimes.

Second, some bishops — including those in very senior positions — knowingly covered up wrongdoing and reassigned offenders, even when the risk of re‑offending was clearly grave.

It is therefore not surprising that many people cite these failures as reasons why they “walked away from the Church” long ago.

Celebrating in communion with the whole church

 

The Eucharist is not a private affair. It is the gathering of believers who come together to hear the Word of God, proclaim the death and resurrection of Jesus, and receive his Body and Blood. It is an act of the whole Church. On his journey to martyrdom in Rome, sometime around 110 A.D. , Saint Ignatius of Antioch wrote to the Church at Smyrna:

Preparing for Pentecost

Ascension Sunday

Sunday 17 May 2026

Lectio Divina:*

Acts 1:1-11 Psalm 47(46)

Ephesians 1:17-23 Matthew 28:16-20

Meditatio:

‘ I am with you always.   (Matthew 28:20)

 

Commentary:

---

What was formerly celebrated as Ascension Thursday has become—at least in Ireland—Ascension Sunday. This is something of a loss, as it interrupts the traditional and indeed biblical pattern of a nine‑day period of prayerful preparation for the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The first Christian novena was this very prayer to the Holy Spirit, made in the company of the Apostles and Mary, the Mother of Jesus (cf. Acts 1:14).

This Sunday’s Gospel is taken from the very closing section of the relatively long Gospel according to Matthew. While written with a Jewish audience particularly in mind, it reminds us that the universal call to salvation now extends to all nations. There are no privileged groups or insiders now. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ, who sends us out as his missionaries of healing and good news.

The Ascension reminds us that while our hearts are lifted to the heavenly places where Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, we are nonetheless mandated, commissioned, and sent to continue the saving mission of Jesus in a broken and waiting world.

Matthew ends his Gospel by reporting these words of Jesus:

“And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus—who is the eternal “I AM”—is with us always. Always. Always. Including in those moments when we might feel that God is absent or silent.

In contemporary Western post‑modern culture, some adopt what might be called a practical atheism, living as though God were irrelevant to life here and now. With genuine respect for those who hold such views for pragmatic or experiential reasons, it must still be said that the fullness of human meaning, identity, and purpose ultimately finds its home in a trusting faith in a loving and personal God. More than that, Christians believe that God seeks us, finds us, and meets us in Jesus Christ. As St Irenaeus famously taught, “the glory of God is the human person fully alive”—and our coming fully alive takes place in the light and truth of God.

Even if our churches seem to be weakening in parts of Europe, it may be that we are being led back, so to speak, to Galilee: to the places of first encounter, original faith, and missionary impulse, rather than relying on the spiritual prestige or security of former centres of influence.

Along the way, we may have to contend with doubt—but doubt need not prevent worship, for as Matthew tells us:

“When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.” (Mt 28:17)

Our call is to be open to the fullness of life given by the Holy Spirit. From that life and light, we are invited to become bearers of hope – candles in the darkness - for others. This is our commission, rooted in the sacrament of Baptism, nourished by the teaching of the Word of God, and sustained by the mutual care that must be the hallmark of a living, and not a dying, Church.

We are sent to bless the world not in three separate names but in one Name—the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. And this Name is Love (cf. 1 John 4:8).

 

Some extras:

Collect of the Word for this Sunday (Church of Ireland)

Eternal and gracious God, we believe your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to have ascended with triumph into your kingdom in heaven; may we also in heart and mind
ascend to where he is, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God now and for ever. Amen

Post-Communion prayer (Church of Ireland)

God our Father, you have raised our humanity in Christ and feed us with the bread of heaven.  Mercifully grant that, nourished with such spiritual blessings, we may set our hearts in the heavenly places; where he now lives and reigns for ever.

Post-Communion prayer (Roman Catholic missal of 1970)

Father, in this Eucharist we tough on the divine life you give to the world. Help us to follow Christ with love to eternal life where he is Lord for ever and ever.

Private prayer after Holy Communion

(from The Family Missal and Prayer Book of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Ballyroan, Co. Dublin, 1976)

Lord Jesus, King of glory, you ascended in victory to the Father; but you do not leave us orphans.  I treasure your promise “Know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time. Stay with us, Lord.  Lord Jesus, send the one you promised, the gift of the Father, the Holy Spirit, that your Church may spread your saving gospel to the ends of the earth.

 

Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament

Adoracja z Niepokalanowa

This day 109 years ago an important event took place in the midst of World War 1.  It is said that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children in Fatima in southern Portugal.

It is not required of Catholics to believe in apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints.  However, many do and at some point most have been touched along the way by memories, pilgrimages and readings.  The image of the ‘Lourdes Grotto’ has marked the Irish countryside from inner city park corners to a field near where I live.

In 1917 three young children say they witnessed a series of apparitions in which Our Lady imparted various warnings and important spiritual messages. The context was set by the time when a vicious world war enveloped Europe and more would be presaged.

At the centre of these apparitions and other similar ones across the world (at least those that have been approved as worthy of belief by the church) is the message of prayer, penance, conversion, reparation and trust in God.  Many miracles and life-transforming experiences have been reported. I have no reason to doubt the sincerity and validity of these witnesses. Nobody is required to believe or go there but it can help.

Crucially, in one of the messages Our Lady told the children:

“Pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war.”

The next time we face a difficult or annoying chore or unexpected email or visit we might consider this advice:

“O Jesus, it is for love of Thee, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation of the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.”

The little things matter along with the big. And even today, as Ireland has come closer than ever to an all out assault on human life in the womb we may join our prayers especially from before 8.30pm when the vote will be taken on the second state of the ‘Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill 2026’.

Where does the Eucharist enter in at Fatima?

Even before the 1917 apparitions, the children reported a vision of an ‘Angel of Peace’ who visited them on three  occasions the previous year. 

On one occasion, the three children saw the angel prostrate before a host and chalice that hung in the air. Worshiping the Eucharist, the angel prayed:

“Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore You profoundly. I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which He is offended. And, through the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of sinners.”

While some question the theological basis of this prayer I think that it offers a very simple and practical formula for all of us – lay and ordained – to lift our minds and hearts to God especially but not exclusively in the presence of the reserved Blessed Sacrament.

Just as Mary said yes to God in the incarnation she continues to lead us to Jesus present in the sacrament of the Eucharist so that we may become broken bread for a troubled world.

Just two additional facts to be mindful of today:

1. There is an interesting connection between the name Fatima and the world of Islam.  Muslims honour Mary as the virginal mother of the prophet Jesus.  Mary is a bridge to bring the children of Abraham together. (see ‘Nothing ever happens out of heaven except with a finesse of all details).
2. “The Feast of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament is on May 13 because it is the day St. Peter Julian Eymard, that great saint of the Eucharist, founded the Congregation of the Most Blessed Sacrament and told his novices to pray: ‘Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, pray for us who have recourse to thee.’” [see here]

Grateful memories from the past and a concern for the future

 

Picture: Pugin's chapel, Loreto Abbey, Rathfarnham, Dublin - Patrick Comerford

This morning, 62 years ago, there was great excitement in a house on the foothills of south Dublin. Together with my parents we were setting out on foot for Loreto Abbey in Rathfarnham for my First Holy Communion. I was dressed in pure white from head to toe. I remember particularly the sleeveless white jumper over the white shirt and tie, the white short trousers, long stockings, and the squeaky new white soft shoes.

We have lots of friends in the Eucharist

Martyrdom of St Polycarp

Tomorrow, the church celebrates the memory of Saints Nereus and Achilleus, early Christian Martyrs of Rome along with Saint Pancras.  We do not know a lot about each of them except that they were honoured and remembered in the liturgy of the early Roman church.  

By tradition, Nereus and Achilleus were soldiers who converted to Christ and were martyred around 100 A.D..  Pancras was a 14 year old boy who was beheaded during the Great Persecution associated with Diocletian in 303 on the Via Aurelia on the way out of Rome for having refused to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods.

The fruits of the Eucharist

 

Once again, I had occasion to visit my local cathedral for Sunday Mass. One thing in particular struck me as I was leaving afterwards.

The celebrant—who would usually greet people at the door—was sitting, still vested for Mass, in a pew, listening intently to a young woman. I thought that she might be distressed. In any case, I had a strong sense that this moment captured something essential:

…this is what it is all about – serving and loving each person one by one as we are sent out into the world from the celebration.

For me it tied together three things from this morning’s mass:

1             The ‘post-communion’ prayer for this Sunday which reads as follows:

Almighty, ever-living God, who restore us to eternal life in the Resurrection of Christ, increase in us, we pray, the fruits of this paschal Sacrament and pour into our hearts the strength of this saving food, through Christ our Lord. Amen

2             Today’s daily reflection from the Focolare movement:

‘Isn’t it true that the world today wants to see people who truly give witness to the love of Jesus?  Therefore, let us love with deeds, rather than with words, starting with the humble service asked of us every day by those right net to us’ (Chiara Lubich, May 1988).

3             Communion reflections for the Sixth Sunday of Easter from an old missal I have kept:

Lord Jesus I reverence you in my heart.  You sent the Holy Spirit to me at confirmation.  May the Spirit of Truth help me to understand your words and strengthen me in my daily life to follow your example. Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in us the fire of your love.

Eucharistic Presence – an Eastern perspective

 

By Velopilger - Own work, Public Domain

In yesterday’s blog I wrote about areas of agreement between Roman Catholics and Anglicans regarding the Eucharist, and in particular the mystery of Christ’s real presence in the consecrated bread and wine. It should be noted, of course, that Anglicans represent only one strand of Christianity that emerged from the Reformation of the sixteenth century. Moreover, there are arguably as many theologies of the Eucharist among Anglicans as there are among Christians across all denominations.

We are not alone

 

Sunday 10 May 2026

Lectio Divina:*

Acts 8:5-17 Psalm 66(65)

1 Peter 3:15-18 John 14:15-21

Meditatio:

‘ You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you’.   (John 14:17)

 Commentary:

We are drawing ever closer to that most wonderful of celebrations: Pentecost Sunday—the feast on which, once again and anew, the Holy Spirit comes among us in a special way, even as the Spirit is at work in our broken and wounded world day by day. As we remember the first great outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples and apostles shortly after the death and resurrection of Jesus—events that are inextricably bound together—we open ourselves to a fresh gift of the Spirit’s peace, joy, and freedom.

The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist #1

 

The Disputation of the Holy Sacrament (Raphael 1509-1510) depicts theologians debating, with Pope Gregory I and Jerome on the left, and Augustine and Ambrose on the right, Pope Julius II, Pope Sixtus IV, Savonarola and Dante Alighieri. Source: here

Christ is present to us in a number of important ways:

• in the person next to me here and now;
• in the poor;
• in his Word;
• where two or three are gathered in his name;
• in the minister sent by him;
• and in his Body and Blood, offered in the Eucharist and received in Holy Communion.

It is in this last sense that Catholics speak of the “Real Presence” – a very special presence that is regarded as unique, substantial, and enduring.

Some other Christians, including Anglicans, also speak of the Real Presence in the specific sacramental context of the Eucharist. Rather than descend into acrimonious historical controversies or disputes over terminology, it is more fruitful to note what Roman Catholics and Anglicans actually say—and, indeed, what they agree upon—concerning the Real Presence.

To that end, here is an extended extract from the 1971 Agreed Statement on eucharistic doctrine (paragraphs 6-11):

Communion with Christ in the eucharist presupposes his true presence, effectually signified by the bread and wine which, in this mystery, become his body and blood. The real presence of his body and blood can, however, only be understood within the context of the redemptive activity whereby he gives himself, and in himself reconciliation, peace and life, to his own. On the one hand, the eucharistic gift springs out of the paschal mystery of Christ's death and resurrection, in which God's saving purpose has already been definitively realized. On the other hand, its purpose is to transmit the life of the crucified and risen Christ to his body, the Church, so that its members may be more fully united with Christ and with one another.  Christ is present and active, in various ways, in the entire eucharistic celebration. It is the same Lord who through the proclaimed word invites his people to his table, who through his minister presides at that table, and who gives himself sacramentally in the body and blood of his paschal sacrifice. It is the Lord present at the right hand of the Father, and therefore transcending the sacramental order, who thus offers to his Church, in the eucharistic signs, the special gift of himself.

The sacramental body and blood of the Saviour are present as an offering to the believer awaiting his welcome. When this offering is met by faith, a lifegiving encounter results. Through faith Christ's presence - which does not depend on the individual's faith in order to be the Lord's real gift of himself to his Church - becomes no longer just a presence for the believer, but also a presence with him. Thus, in considering the mystery of the eucharistic presence, we must recognize both the sacramental sign of Christ's presence and the personal relationship between Christ and the faithful which arises from that presence.

The Lord's words at the last supper, ‘Take and eat; this is my body’, do not allow us to dissociate the gift of the presence and the act of sacramental eating. The elements are not mere signs; Christ's body and blood become really present and are really given. But they are really present and given in order that, receiving them, believers may be united in communion with Christ the Lord.

According to the traditional order of the liturgy the consecratory prayer (anaphora) leads to the communion of the faithful. Through this prayer of thanksgiving, a word of faith addressed to the Father, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ by the action of the Holy Spirit, so that in communion we eat the flesh of Christ and drink his blood. The Lord who thus comes to his people in the power of the Holy Spirit is the Lord of glory. In the eucharistic celebration we anticipate the joys of the age to come. By the transforming action of the Spirit of God, earthly bread and wine become the heavenly manna and the new wine, the eschatological banquet for the new man: elements of the first creation become pledges and first fruits of the new heaven and the new earth.

End of extract, above

The Agreed Statement does not resolve all doctrinal differences regarding the Eucharist. Nevertheless, it establishes a significant measure of agreement on key essentials concerning both the nature of the eucharistic sacrifice and the real sacramental presence of the Lord in the consecrated bread and wine. It is important to note that the Statement is concerned primarily with what is affirmed about Christ’s presence and the transformation of the elements, rather than how that transformation is to be explained.

A fully systematic philosophical explanation of the how does not emerge until the second millennium, and then in response to particular heretical or overly literal and superstitious interpretations of eucharistic change. In this context, St Thomas Aquinas developed the doctrine of transubstantiation, drawing on concepts informed by classical Greek philosophy in order to counter mechanistic or crudely physical accounts of what occurs in the Eucharist. These latter approaches claimed that Jesus’s body replaced the bread in a measurable and biological way or that Christ was ‘cut up’ or multiplied like ordinary matter.  In other words, we are dealing, here, with mystery and not magic; with faith and not physics.

The term transubstantiation itself was already in theological use by the early eleventh century and was employed dogmatically by the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215; Aquinas did not invent the term but gave it its most influential philosophical exposition.

In this way, Catholic teaching developed as a faithful articulation of firmly held apostolic and patristic beliefs regarding the presence of Christ, using the language of transubstantiation from the Middle Ages onwards and drawing especially on the systematic theology of St Thomas Aquinas. For Catholics, this sacramental presence is uniquely substantial and enduring beyond the moment of reception, a reality the Church has solemnly defined using that terminology.

All this said, what Catholics—both East and West—believe about the Real Presence and about the change in the “eucharistised” bread and wine is consistent with what has been believed since the earliest apostolic times, as explored in other reflections in this Bread for the Journey series. The Church is bound to the reality of transubstantiation, not to Aquinas’s particular philosophical system.

The rupture in doctrine, ministry, and authority that occurred at the time of the Reformation - including its English expression - remains a real difficulty for Roman Catholics. Much work remains to be done. More love is required, that we may learn again to see and to walk together in the Eucharist. Greater conformity to the values of the Gospel is needed if full communion is to be attained.

In the meantime, it is worth asking whether a greater generosity in eucharistic hospitality, attentive to local and personal circumstances and without breaking universal communion, might not be considered as we strive for ever deeper mutual understanding and agreement.