REFLECTIONS ON THE EUCHARIST by Rev. Dr. Anthony Barratt
PART ONE
Over the next four weeks, we are going to look at the Eucharist and the Mass: so often called “the source and summit”, or the beginning and end, of the life of the Church. Our aim will be to explore together some of the great richness of the Eucharist and the Mass: it is rather like a diamond with many faces and colours that reflect so much, as well as being of great beauty and inestimable value. In our mini-series, we hope to understand better
what we believe,
why we believe it and, for that matter,
how we arrived at these beliefs.
As we begin our project, perhaps we should first take a step back and share a few fundamental reflections about the Eucharist and the Mass. As we then journey on, we can explore the Eucharist as a sacred meal, as the real presence of Jesus Christ and as a true memory and sacrifice.
The Eucharist is, of course, one of the seven sacraments and it is useful to remember exactly what the sacraments are. The
Catechism (n. 1131) states that “the sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.” In other words, through the use of outward, physical signs (bread and wine, water, oil etc.), every sacrament continues the saving presence and work of Jesus Christ. The sacraments are often called symbols: they literally “throw together” (that is what the word
symbol means) the human and earthly on the one hand and the divine and transcendent on the other hand, or the physical signs and elements and God’s love and gifts. This is what the Eucharist is and what it does, but it also has a special characteristic compared to the other sacraments: there is a unique and special presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist (something that we will explore later in our series).
The Eucharist and the Mass are also ancient. Like all the sacraments, they reflect and continue here and now Jesus’ own ministry and mission. In fact, the roots of the Eucharist and the Mass also lie in the Old Testament. We see this, for example, in the prayers of blessing and thanksgiving for all that God has done for us and for the good things of creation (the prayers said at the preparation of gifts or in the Eucharistic Prayers we use at Mass). Many understand the Eucharist as the new form of the Jewish Passover and it is a living memorial of the Last Supper that Jesus celebrated with His disciples (Mark 14: 22-25). So, in the Eucharist we remember all that God has done for us and that this saving love is not just remembered but is actually made present: an amazing gift!
The Eucharist and the Mass is also a ritual encounter with the Lord. Why “ritual” encounter? Well, we are, after all, ritual beings (we all have our daily rituals and habits and if these do not happen, then the day often is not a good one!). This is why the Eucharist and Mass follow a set pattern and structure: a ritual that is to lead us to a living encounter with God. The structure and ritual is ancient. St. Justin writing around 150 CE, for example, gives a description of the Sunday Eucharist that is pretty much what we do today…an awesome thought. Why not “google” it and read it yourself, or see:
The Eucharist and the Mass is also something dynamic and active and it is also a pledge or a promise. It is a life changer and it is a gift given to transform us, just as the bread and wine are transformed (and yes: we will think about “transubstantiation” in a later article…!). From our Sunday Mass and Eucharist, we are sent out having been fed, sustained and transformed, so as to share and to live all these gifts in the week ahead. It is also a promise or pledge, or, as one prayer puts it, it is the “foretaste and promise” of the future we hope for in heaven. This is why the Eucharist is given to those close to death (it is called “viaticum”): just as the Eucharist was food for a person during their life, now it is the food to sustain them on their final journey to the new life.
Perhaps we can finish our brief reflection with a verse from a hymn about the Eucharist written by St. Thomas Aquinas some 800 years ago:
Jesus whom I look at, shrouded here below I beseech you send me, what I long for so; Some day to gaze on you, face to face in light And be blest for ever, with your glory’s sight.