THE
EUCHARIST, A MYSTERY TO BE BELIEVED
(Gerald Musong, 11028T)
The mystery of the Eucharist is the
mystery of God himself, who is triune in love. All began with God when he sent
his only begotten son to come into the world, not to condemn the world, but
that the world might have life in him and be saved through him. As a matter of
fact, this worlds show deepest source of God's gift (Sacramentum Caritatis, 7). This means that in the celebration of
Eucharist, Jesus does not give us a thing, but gives us himself. He identified
himself with the bread from heaven. He promises that if anyone partakes of this
bread, the person will live forever, and the bread which he shall give for the
life of the world is his flesh (Jn 6:51). This of course sees Jesus showing
that he himself is the bread of life which the eternal Father gives to us
humans (SC, 7). In the Eucharist, we
are being introduced to the loving plan tht guides all of salvation history.
The trinity becomes part of our human condition. Here, God owns life encounters
us and is sacramentally shared with us in the form of bread and under whose appearances
Christ gives Himself to us in the paschal meal (SC, 8). We take part in this God's inmost life because of the
perfect communion of love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And so, it rests
on Christ, dead and risen, and in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit which is
given without measure that we are fully able to share in this life.
The Eucharist so to say is Jesus the
True Sacrificial Lamb. Jesus accomplished his mission in the paschal mystery,
which is about his obedience which led him to his death, even on a cross. This
brought about the new and eternal covenant. At the point of his crucified
flesh, this is where God's freedom and our human freedom met in a definite way. Eternally
and valid.(SC, 9). He gave himself in
order to raise man up and save him. This is what we call love in its most
radical form (SC, 9). And so, because
of this radical love that led to the paschal mystery, our deliverance from evil
and death has taken place. So, in instituting the Eucharist, Jesus had spoken of
the new and eternal covenant in the shedding of his blood (Mt 26:28). This is
the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world as John cried out in the
Jordan. As we know these words are being repeated in every celebration of the
Eucharist. This confirms that Jesus is the true paschal lamb who out of free
will gave himself in sacrifice for us, and thus brought about the new and
eternal covenant. The Eucharist, a ritual meal, which calls for the sacrifice
of lambs was a remembrance, the proclamation of a deliverance yet to come (SC, 10).
The Church, his bride, is called to
celebrate the Eucharistic banquet daily in his memory. The Church guided by the
Holy Spirit celebrates this great mystery in the liturgical forms. This Spirit,
the Paraclete is the first gift of Christ to those who believe (SC, 12). At the farewell discourse
reported by John, Jesus clearly relates the gift of his life in the paschal
mystery to the gift of the spirit to his own. It is through the work of this
Spirit that Christ himself continues to be present and active in his church,
starting with her vital centre which is the Eucharist (SC, 12). This takes us to the sacrament of Holy Orders since those
who make the Eucharist the Eucharist by being another Christ receive the
sacrament of Holy Orders. This relationship clearly comes from the words of
Jesus in the Upper Room. He told them to do what he has done to remember him.
This is what can be called the institution of the Eucharist (SC, 22). At the same time, he
established the priesthood of the New Covenant. He is priest, victim and altar,
in other words, the mediator between God the Father and his people, the victim
of atonement who offered himself on the altar of the Cross (SC, 23).
****
THE EUCHARIST IS A SACRIFICE
(GERALD MUSONG, 11028T)
All other sacraments like Baptism
and confirmation exist for the Eucharist. They depute us to worship and that
worship reaches its high point in the Eucharistic sacrifice. Only through the
Eucharist are we able to offer God those “spiritual sacrifices” acceptable to
him, that “spiritual service” which our baptism demands of us. In the
Eucharist, we come into direct contact with the glorious body of Christ.[1] In
the Eucharist, we are gathered as the members of the Church together to offer
sacrifice to God but also to join the members’ one to another in joining them
to Christ. The Wording of the great Eucharistic prayer in all the liturgies
indicates clearly that the Mass or the Holy Eucharist is a true and proper
sacrifice. We notice that the Mass brings to life the last supper, in which
Christ left his beloved spouse, the Church, as a sacrifice which commemorates
and represents his sacrifice upon the cross in the form of bread and wine.[2]
This therefore suggests that what is offered in the mass is not a sacrifice
independent of the sacrifice of the cross. In other words, this is the
sacrifice of the cross made available to us in another form. Therefore, the
mass is one and the same victim; it is the same Christ who offers himself today
through the ministry of priests and who once offered himself on the cross; the
only difference lies in the manner of offering (Council of Trent, Sess 22, Sept
17, 1562 chapter 2, D940 1743). This manner of offering is of course here
sacramental. So, the mass is the sacrament of the sacrifice of the cross. It is
so to say a sacramental sacrifice. Sacrifice as used here is not opposed to
real. And so, the mass is a real sacrifice simply because it is the one perfect
sufficient sacrifice made present again through sign.[3]
This sign stands for the sacrificial, Eucharistic meal which the Mass renews
daily. This means that sacrifice and sacrament are considered as two
complementary aspects of the same reality. To better understand how this can
be, recourse is given to sacramental principle which states that the redemptive
incarnation is prolonged and made operative throughout time and space by and
through the sacred signs. With this, we are in the presence of the same victim,
the same redeeming sacrifice, the same priest, that was offered on Calvary.
Hence, the Eucharist represents the
sacrifice of the cross in both senses of the word “represent” meaning to
signify, and to make present again. The Christ of glory and the Christ of the
Eucharist are both the same.[4]
Worthy of note, we have to remember that the victim and priest are the same
Christ our Lord, it is not too difficult to see that the essence of the
sacrifice is re-produced in the rite of double consecration.[5]
This is a rite that simultaneously signifies and effects the sacramental
shedding of Christ’s blood. At the consecration of the Mass, the body and blood
of Christ are sacramentally separated in signo
and in myesterio. Christ becomes a
sacrificial victim as he did on the cross. The Words of the secret prayer of
the ninth Sunday after Pentecost says it all when it says: “As often as the commemoration
of this victim is celebrated the work of our redemption is accomplished. We
note that Christ does not die gain, nor is he put to death again. But we do
everything by faith in the symbols of his death and resurrection which lie
before us on the altar.
[1]
Cf. W. J. O’Shea, Sacraments of Initiation, 69-70.
[2]
Cf. W. J. O’Shea, Sacraments of Initiation, 95.
[3]
Cf. W. J. O’Shea, Sacraments of Initiation, 95.
[4]
Cf. W. J. O’Shea, Sacraments of Initiation, 96.
[5]
Cf W. J. O’Shea, Sacraments of
Initiation, 96.
***
The Eucharist in
Our Personal Life
(GERALD MUSONG, 11028T)
As to the Eucharist and faith, we
have the exclamation in the liturgy “the mystery of faith”. This, in the
Eucharist, recognizes an appeal to faith and a miracle of faith. We are told
therefore that “Christian faith is conscious of being challenged by a mystery
that enraptures it and transcends it”[1]
This suggests that only faith can actually and really accept the sacrificial
offering effected with the words “This is my body” and the presence deriving
from them. This faith should be of course open to the divine infinite, and it
is not of the secondary order. This is the core of what it means for Christian
revelation, since it presupposes faith in a redemptive incarnation and faith in
the Church.[2]
Even Jesus himself had already accentuated the necessity for this faith on the
occasion of the first proclamation of the Eucharist. He said that he had not
come to give humanity an abundance of material bread: but he came among human
beings as “the bread that came down from heaven” (Jn, 6:58). So, seeing the
Apostles still there before him, impressed by this great testimonial of
affection in the midst of the disbelieve on the part of his audience, Jesus did
not hesitate to demand from them the adherence of faith that he had not
obtained from the great majority of his audience. He only wanted them to belief
in the Eucharist that he had just proclaimed. So, it seems very evident that it
is not possible to follow Christ without believing in the Eucharist. So, the
proclamation “The Mystery of faith” ever echoes as a cry of joy: the joy of
faith itself and the joy of the mystery that is that of the risen Christ once
more present amid humanity.[3]
Looking at Eucharist and Charity in
comparison, we find that the Eucharist, mystery of faith, has also been
regarded and lived in the Church as a mystery of charity. So, faith is animated
by charity. When Jesus called for a commitment of faith during his public life,
he was in a sense also calling for a movement of love that would bring together
persons to himself. This of course goes with love of neighbour. This exaction
of a total love finds an application in the Eucharist: the Eucharistic Christ
asks to be received, as food, in Communion with this love. They should not only
consider the food as only food, but also to adore the food and love with all their
heart, with all their soul, and with all their might. In return, they have to
give themselves without reserve and with total availability. It opens the soul
to all of the exigencies of love, and gives new vigour to that soul’s fervor in
the face of the sufferings of life. The Eucharist causes charity to blossom
through sacrifice, strengthening the secret gladness of this love.[4]
With regard to Eucharist and hope,
there is the hope for the destiny of humanity and of each individual as such.
Jesus is the one who reveals this hope to the individual when he said “those
who ear my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up
on the last day” (Jn. 6:54). And with the destiny of humanity, the proclamation
of the coming of Christ into the world, which opens the entire outlook of the
future of humanity, is taken up and broadened by the Eucharist, as St. Paul
says “as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s
death until he comes”. (1 Cor 11:26). Thus, the Eucharist contributes an
essential element for Christ’s glorious return. This of course gives us hope in
celebrating the Eucharist which needs communities and individuals down the road
to their final destiny. It is an inexhaustible spring of hope, of a hope that
does not disappoint (Rom 5:5), because it is fastened to the sovereign power of
Christ and to the immensity of his love, which is poured out for us to
overflowing through the Holy Spirit.
[1] R.
Barr, trans, The Eucharist, The Sacrament of New Life, 24.
[2]
Cf. R. Barr, trans, The Eucharist, The Sacrament of New Life, 24.
[3]
Cf. R. Barr, trans, The Eucharist, The Sacrament of New Life, 24-25.
[4] Cf.
R. Barr, trans, The Eucharist, The Sacrament of New Life, 28.
***
THE SON OF GOD
BECAME BREAD AND WINE
(GERALD MUSONG, 11028T)
The Sacrament of
the Eucharist is not just any sacrament so to say. This is Jesus Christ Himself
in the form of bread and wine. This is
in comparison to the other sacraments where they can be explained as a means
through which Jesus can reach out to us and help us on our way towards God the
Father. Conversely, Eucharist is actually Jesus Himself.[1]
Well, the question that led tongues waggling is whether we really do we really
believe in this holy presence in the form of bread and wine? This of course is
a challenge in our faith. No matter how much we try to convince ourselves about
our faith in the great presence in mere bread and wine, without recourse to
Jesus Himself, we are doomed to failure. We only need to naturally turn to
Jesus Himself.[2]
This Jesus became
man as an act of love in the incarnation which is already a big leap forward. But,
when he realized that his time on earth is coming on an end, he wanted to find
a way by which he could remain with us here on earth until the end of time.
This in a way was to keep his memory alive and fresh in our minds, in the minds
of those who are called his own. So, he wanted to find a way whereby anyone at any
time or place in the world could come up to him and enjoy his presence, talk to
him, feel the warmth of his love. This was in a bid to remain with us forever.
As a result, he invented the Eucharist, a sacrament of love: a continuous
divine presence in the form of simple bread.[3]
We celebrate this act of simple and unconditional love on Holy Thursday, which
the night he was betrayed, and every time we celebrate the Holy Eucharist, the
mass. And so, this gives the reason why we call the Eucharist the sacrament of
love. So, he poured out, as it were, in this sacrament the riches of his divine
love for human beings, “causing his wonderful works to be remembered (Psalm 111<119>4).
His intention was that when we receive the sacrament, we celebrate his memory
and to proclaim his death until he comes to judge the world. Hence, this was to
be spiritual food that will strengthen those who live by the life of him who
said: He who eats me will love because of me” (John 6:57).
Anyone who does
not believe and does not live his or her Christian faith can easily dismiss the
Incarnation, the Holy Eucharist or any other mystery of our faith as nonsense.
The Eucharist is a real and mysterious presence of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus
Himself. St. Thomas Aquinas says, “All the other sacraments are ordered to it
as to their end”.[4]
This emphasizes the fact that all the other sacraments point towards the Holy
Eucharist. And so, the Sacrament of Eucharist is the Sacrament of Sacraments (CCC
1211). The Eucharist is above the other sacraments in the way Christ is present,
and so raises the Eucharist above the other sacraments as the perfection of the
spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend.[5]
Hence, “in the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood,
together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus and, therefore, the whole
Christ is truly, really and substantially contained’” (CCC 1374). This is why
the Eucharist is above all the sacraments. It is Jesus Christ Himself. That is
why this sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is so important.
[1] Cf. C. Mallia, The Sacrament of the Eucharist, 5.
[2] Cf. C. Mallia, The Sacrament of the Eucharist, 5.
[3] Cf. C. Mallia, The Sacrament of the Eucharist, 9.
[4] St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica III, 65, 3.
THE MATRIX OF
CHRISTIAN WORSHIP
GERALD MUSONG (11028T)
In as much as the Eucharist did
not fall from space. The Christian liturgy, and the Eucharist especially, is
one of the most original creations of Christianity. It developed to what we can
confidently call Eucharist, mindful of the fact that there are many theologies
to the Eucharist. So, it is not a sort of ex nihilo creation. Yet, it is
not a set of ceremonies that should be followed to the letter, nor is it rites
and prayers, but instead as Ronzani will put it “the celebration of the
transforming action of the Trinity in our life and our response to the saving
action God through ritual and our daily living”.[1]
This means in other words that the assembly is the one that encounters the
Father, who out of the love He has for the assembly, in the risen Lord through
the Spirit gives us the race that we need to be able to long for Him. Because
we long to meet him face to face calls for special preparation, full, conscious
and active participation as well as a certain follow-up to achieve it
effectiveness.[2] In order
for the Eucharist not to fall into the danger of “rubricism” which will
consequently turn our liturgy into dull and meaningless ceremonies, there
should be that conscious effort to engage all agents play an active role, aware
that every celebration is to be adapted to particular circumstances and
assemblies. This is very much supported by Vatican II document on the Liturgy
(SC 11). This goes a long way to form a
Eucharistic assembly which is an indication that we have become one in Christ,
have joined the family of God and that we belong to this family. It is only at
the Eucharist that we reveal the identity and characteristics of this new
family. In Luke 24:30, we find the Lord himself inviting us to gather, calling
on us to join the other Christians in the celebration of the Eucharist, the
memorial of his passion, death and resurrection and gift of the Holy Spirit.
And so, the Eucharist invites us to live our lives in a new way, as true
disciples of the Lord, by loving one another and bringing God’s love to all we
meet.[3]
With
this great participation of the faithful, the Lord is present in many ways in
the celebration of the Eucharist. Just to name a few, he is present in the
assembly of those who have gathered in his name, in the ordained minister who
presides over the celebration, I his Word and in the consecrated Bread and
Wine, which share as our spiritual food. Here, we are nourished by this
presence and asked to live our baptismal commitment and to be true disciples of
the Lord. The Trinitarian aspect of the Eucharist is well expressed in the
Eucharistic prayer, the prayer of the Church whose prayer is always addressed
to the Father, the saving mission of Jesus Christ, and also the sanctifying
power of the Holy Spirit.
The
Eucharist is so important that it is central to our life and together with the
first Christian, we will boldly say “we cannot live without the Eucharist”.[4] As
a matter of face, it is the duty of the theologians or pastors or any Christian
to make sure that the faithful take active part in the celebration of the
Eucharist. This is in such fashion that the Eucharist’s Trinitarian aspect
becomes dynamic, transforming and life-giving experience for all Christians who
are on their quest for the Father’s house.
[1] R. Ronzani, Understanding the
Eucharist: Pastoral Reflections on the Sunday Mass, 7.
[2] Cf. R. Ronzani, Understanding the
Eucharist: Pastoral Reflections on the Sunday Mass, 7.
[3] Cf. R. Ronzani, Understanding the
Eucharist: Pastoral Reflections on the Sunday Mass, 13.
[4] Cf. R. Ronzani,
Understanding the Eucharist: Pastoral Reflections on the Sunday Mass,
126.
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