Eucharist

• Mysterium Fidei - Encyclical of Pope Paul VI on the Holy Eucharist (September 3, 1965)
• The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist: Basic Questions and Answers - Issued by USCCB, June 15, 2001
• Catechism of the Catholic Church - The Sacrament of the Eucharist

On the night before He died, Christ gathered His disciples for a meal. He took simple bread and wine. He blessed it in a great prayer of thanksgiving to his Father. He broke the bread and gave it to His disciples. It was a familiar ritual, only this time it was different.

This bread "is my body which will be given up for you," Christ said. This cup "is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven." He commanded that we continue to do this in memory of Him (cf. 1 Cor. 23-26).

The Church has never failed to follow this command. We continue to celebrate this sacrament and to give thanks (Greek - eucharistein) to God. And we follow the same four-fold pattern of taking, blessing, breaking, and giving.

The Lord's Supper has always been inextricably linked to our Sunday assemblies. We do not recreate the Last Supper every Sunday morning, rather we engage in anamnesis - a memory which makes present. In the great Eucharistic Prayer, we join ourselves to the sacrifice of Christ, made present on our altar, and offered again to the Father. This is the source and summit of the Christian life (SC #10, CCC 1324).

Christ is present in four ways in the Mass - in the people, in the Word, in the priest, and in the Eucharistic elements. But "he is present . . . most especially in the Eucharistic species" (CCC 1373). In traditional theological language, Christ becomes present under the appearance of bread and wine. The "substance" (deepest reality) of bread and wine are changed by the Holy Spirit to the "substance" of Christ's body and blood. The "accidents" (appearance or physical attributes) of bread and wine remain. This is defined as "transubstantiation" (CCC 1376).

Christ is wholly present in either the bread or the wine, but it is fitting to receive Christ under both forms as a fuller expression and foretaste of the heavenly banquet.

When we receive Communion, we hear those wonderfully ambiguous words - "The Body of Christ." We respond "Amen" (so be it). In so doing, we express our faith in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharistic bread. But we also remind ourselves that this sacrament forms us into the Body of Christ. Nourished by this bread and wine, Christ's body and blood, we are called by God, though Christ our Head, and by the grace of the Spirit, to build the kingdom of God on earth.

In this sacrament, we find the cause and sign of our unity. In this sacrament, especially, the Lord continues to dwell among His people.

Theology

"At the Last Supper, on the night when he was betrayed, our Savior instituted the eucharistic sacrifice of his body and blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross through the centuries until he should come again and in this way to entrust to his beloved Bride, 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 heart is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory given to us" [cf. Augustine; Liturgy of Hours for Corpus Christi].

"The Church, therefore, earnestly desires that Christ's faithful, when present at this mystery of faith, should not be there as strangers or silent spectators; on the contrary, through a good understanding of the rites and prayers they should take part in the sacred service conscious of what they are doing, with devotion and full involvement. They should be instructed in God's word and be nourished at the table of the Lord's body; they should give thanks to God; by offering the immaculate Victim, not only through the hands of the priest but also with him, they should learn to offer themselves as well; through Christ the Mediator, they should be formed day by day into an ever more perfect unity with God and with each other, so that finally God may be all in all" (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #47, 48).

Timeline: Major Developments in the Understanding of Eucharist

30-33 AD Public Ministry of Jesus
Meals are important - the wedding feast at Cana, feeding of the 5,000, dining with sinners and tax collectors

Jesus institutes the Eucharist at the Last Supper and commands His disciples to "Do this in memory of Me." (1 Cor 11:23-25, Mt 26: 26-29; Mk 14: 22-25; Lk 22: 14-20)

Post-Resurrection Meals
The disciples walk with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, but recognize Him in the breaking of the bread (Luke 24:13-35). Christ prepares breakfast on the seashore (John 21:1-14).

New Testament
Eucharist as part of an agape meal. Paul scolds Corinth about its Eucharistic practices (1 Cor 11: 17 22, 26-34) and reminds them that "every time we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim the death of our Lord" (11: 26).

2nd to 8th Centuries
Ignatius of Antioch - Letter to the Philadelphians (110)
Three things as norm:
1 a gathered assembly
2 the presidency of bishop
3 the action of praise and thanksgiving with bread and wine

Justin Martyr - First Apology (150)
1 early Christians gathered on a Sunday
2 presiders gave thanks to the best of thier abiliy
3 Eucharist taken to absent members
4 Eucharist as part of initiation rite

Tertullian (160-255) - On Prayer
1 Communion on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays
2 penitential fasting and Eucharistic feasting are incompatible

Cyprian of Carthage - The Lapsed (251)
Repentance and reconciliation as conditions for Communion

9-10th Centuries
1 Latin is being used at Mass
2 Private prayers of the priest added to liturgy
3 Shift in understanding - priest praying while people doing other things
4 Priests begin to give Communion in mouth
5 Communion is distributed after Mass
6 gradual removal of cup from laity

11-12th Centuries
1 great attitude change
2 Eucharist not something to eat and drink, but an object to be reverenced
3 Decline in reception of Communion - people don't consider themselves worthy
4 Prolonged elevation of hosts. People have "ocular communion"
5 Genuflection added at consecration

13-15th Centuries
1 1215 Lateran Council mandates minimum of Communion once a year "Easter duty"
2 Pope Leo IV established the Feast of Corpus Christi in 1264
3 Thomas Aquinas and others use philosophical arguments: "substance" = Body and Blood of Christ; "accidents" = bread and wine.

16-17th Centuries
1 visits to Blessed Sacrament - tabernacles built near altar
2 processions with Blessed Sacrament carried in container 3 exposition of Blessed Sacrament so faithful might gaze at it followed by benediction

Council of Trent (1548-1563)
1 defines Transubstantiation
2 Order of Mass becomes uniform and in Latin (Missal of Pius V, 1570)
3 Eucharist strengthens us spiritually and wipes away venial sins

Ritual of 1614
1 advocates frequent Communion at Mass
2 provides rituals for Communion outside of Mass

20th Century

1910 Pius X advocates frequent Communion;
allows reception at age of reason (age 7)

1963 Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (see 1-14, 47-56)
1 Christ is present in people, priest, word, Eucharistic species (#7)
2 Reform of the Mass, including return to vernacular language

1965 Mass of Paul VI
- revised Liturgical Year, Sacramentary and Lectionary

1973 Immensae Caritas
1 Permits extraordinary ministers for distribution of Communion
2 extends faculty to receive more than once per day
3 eliminates fast for ill and aged
4 restores reception of Eucharist in the hand

2000 U.S. bishops issue pastoral letter on the Real Presence

4 Ways of Adoring the Blessed Sacrament

The practice of adoring the Blessed Sacrament allows us to consider the Eucharistic mystery in all its fullness. Four terms are frequently used to describe this practice. Let's look at the distinctions:

Adoration - a visit to Christ present in the tabernacle. We pray for ourselves and for the whole world.

Perpetual Adoration - the church is open all the time for visitation to the Blessed Sacrament. As an annual parish event, it is organized with groups and invividuals to be constantly present and engaged in readings, prayer and song.

Exposition - refers to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament outside the tabernacle, usually in a monstrance (a vessel which displays the host; from monstrare, "to show"). Again, there should be someone constantly in attendance, prayer, and song. There can never be exposition during Mass or the Triduum.

Perpetual Exposition - as the name implies, the host is exposed in the monstrance perpetually (except during the Triduum). This is only done by religious communities for which this is integral to their constitution or for a pious association of the faithful which has received the special permission of the bishop. It must be held in a separate chapel. - Rita Thiron

Perpetual Exposition Locations:
Burton: Holy Redeemer Parish
Lansing: Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish
Jackson: Queen of the Miraculous Medal Parish