Behold what you are; become what you receive

St Augustine (354-430 A.D.) was a theological heavy weight – giving us a huge range of writings that encapsulated the themes of conversion, communion and grace.  Augustine along with others helped set the scene for much of Christian thinking and spiritual life for the next 1,600 years.  The current Pope, from the Order of  Saint Augustinian, draws from a rich Augustinian tradition that is timely in a world threatened by forces that seek to tear it apart.

As a young man, Augustine sought truth, goodness and beauty in many places, but ultimately found their fulfilment in Christ alone. Famously, he wrote at the very beginning of his Confessions:

 You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.

For Augustine, the Eucharist was not simply an individual union with Jesus; it is the sacrament that builds up the Church. In receiving, we are united with one another and with Jesus [refer to Sermon272].  He taught that in the Eucharist Christians are called to ‘be what you see, and receive what you are’ (Sermon 272), a teaching often summarised as Behold what you are; become what you receive.  As I have already written, there is a beautiful post‑Communion prayer used in the Anglican tradition, one I use myself in thanksgiving after receiving Holy Communion:

Almighty God, we thank you for feeding us with the spiritual food of the body and blood of your Son Jesus Christ. Through him we offer you our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice. Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise and glory. Amen.

 In receiving the Jesus in the Eucharist, we are invited to become what we receive: the living and Risen Body of Christ in the world, transformed by grace and united in love.

Saint Augustine’s insight is well captured in Book VII (chapter 10:16):

And Thou beat back the infirmity of my sight, pouring forth upon me most strongly Your beams of light, and I trembled with love and fear; and I found myself to be far off from You, in the region of dissimilarity, as if I heard this voice of Yours from on high: I am the food of strong men; grow, and you shall feed upon me; nor shall you convert me, like the food of your flesh, into you, but you shall be converted into me.

In other words, are not only nourished by the food of eternal life but we are converted into what it is: the Body of Christ.  In so doing, we are sent out into the world to be living bread broken, poured out, given for the life of the world.