Andrew Ngosa -11030

What we celebrate at the Altar

a reflection on Part II of Sacramentum Caritatis.

The Eucharist is the mystery of faith and the summit of the liturgical action. The liturgy, on the other hand, is the radiant expression of the paschal mystery, in which Christ draws us to communion with himself. The beauty of the liturgy is in Christ himself, who is the bread we see on the altar and the wine which is contained in the chalice.

It is also important to note that the Eucharist is celebrated in symbols which help to foster the sense of the sacred. Attentiveness is called to the various kinds of language that the liturgy employs; words and music, gestures and silence, movements, the liturgical colours of the vestments. The celebration should be aided by works of art, and the most important element of sacred art is Church Architecture. Moreover, the purpose of painting and sculpture is to enhance devotion and the spirit of the liturgy. Everything related to the Eucharist should be marked by beauty.

Another factor in the liturgy is music, which is to be executed in correspondence with the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, the structure of the rite and the liturgical season. The whole liturgy is one, from the liturgy of the word to the liturgy of the Eucharist, including the rites of introduction and conclusion. The Pope writes that the liturgy of the word should always be carefully prepared and celebrated, because knowledge and study of the word of God enables us to better appreciate, celebrate and live the Eucharist.

In the presentation of gifts, we bring to the altar all the pains and sufferings of the world, in the bread and wine, in the certainty that everything has value in God’s eyes, to be transformed and presented to the father. The Eucharistic prayer is the centre and summit of the entire celebration. Here the church implores the power of the Holy Spirit that the gifts offered by human hands may be consecrated, to become the body and blood of Jesus Christ, for the salvation of all who partake of it.

The Eucharist is also the sacrament of peace. Through this sacrament the church prays insistently for the gift of peace and unity for herself and the whole human family. Therefore, the expression of the sign of peace becomes relevant especially if it is not exaggerated to cause distraction within the liturgy. Another moment of the celebration is the distribution of the Eucharist. Every effort should be made to ensure that this simple act preserves its importance as a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus in the sacrament.

Finally, the dismissal by the deacon or the priest at the end of the mass, should be understood as is the starting point. It expresses the missionary nature of the church, to go out and witness to the world.

The Patristic Fathers and the Eucharist

from “Eucharistic Theology” by Joseph Powers.

The Eucharist is a mystery placed by God into the visible continuity of human history. From the origins of the church, the Eucharist has been celebrated in varied ways and in our day it continues to be celebrated in varied forms. There has been a diverse understanding of the Eucharist producing diversity on liturgical attitudes. The example is the presence of the epiklesis in the liturgies of the eastern rites and its absence in the western rites. The theology of Eucharist was shaped in the first six centuries.

The celebration of the Eucharist was moved to the Basilica in a more official character. The priest also whose function was not originally to preside at the celebration of the Eucharist, but to be in the priest’s choir, the presbyterium, began to be ordained for the purpose of celebrating the Eucharist on behalf of the bishop as the church grew in numbers. Constant in all this was the aspect of the Eucharistic celebration as the communitarian experience. Thus, the Eucharist was presented as the image and source of the unity of the Christian community and the entire church. This was especially stressed and emphasised by Ignatius of Antioch.

During the time of the fathers, the emphasis about the Eucharist was not so much about the fact of the real presence itself, or the change of bread and wine. However, it was about “the meaning of the real presence of Christ: the nourishment of the church and the Christian in time of persecution”. Cyril of Jerusalem explained to the neophytes about the meaning of communion. He said that the Christian become one with Christ upon reception of the body and blood of Christ. The Christian therefore “become really a bearer of Christ because his body is one and his one blood flows through all”. Ambrose emphasized the reality of the presence of Christ in the context of his description of the splendor of the ceremonies of baptism and the Eucharist.

Furthermore, St. Augustine’s theology of the Eucharist established something meaningful about the real presence of the body and blood of Christ. He stated this presence quite clearly, both directly and by implication. In this way, the fathers answered the question of how bread and wine are changed simply that, this change is brought about by the power of God.

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The Eucharist we believe in; according to the first part of Sacramentum Caritatis.

The Eucharist as a mystery of faith is the sum and summary of our faith (CCC 1327). The church’s faith is nourished and grows in the grace filled encounter with the risen Lord at the table of the Eucharist. Our Eucharistic faith has, as its element, the mystery of God himself. It is through the Trinitarian love that we receive Christ for our salvation (Jn. 3:16-17). In the Eucharist, Jesus gives himself to us totally, and reveals the ultimate origin of this love, the eternal father. Thus, God’s whole life encounters us and is sacramentally shared with us. We therefore acclaim with Pope Benedict XVI that the mystery of faith is thus a mystery of Trinitarian love, a mystery in which we are called by grace to participate. Through the paschal mystery Jesus accomplished his mission of saving the world. In instituting the Eucharist, Jesus spoke of the new and eternal covenant, in the shading of his blood. This ultimate purpose of Jesus’ mission was clear from the very beginning. He is the true paschal lamb who freely gave himself up to bring about a new and eternal covenant.

The institution of the Eucharist at the last supper took place within a ritual meal commemorating the foundational event of the people of Israel. The ritual meal was a remembrance of their ancient liberation which was made to be understood in the context of a more profound, radical, universal and definitive salvation. In instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus anticipates and makes present the sacrifice of the cross and the victory of the resurrection. The Holy Spirit is fully present throughout the life of the incarnate word. Thus, it is through the working of this same spirit that Christ himself continues to be present and to be active in his church.

The Eucharist is at the base of the church, and is Christ who gives himself to us and continually builds us up as his body. The Eucharist is the unity of the faithful within the ecclesial communion. This leads to the understanding of the inseparability of Christ and the church. The oneness and indivisibility of the Eucharistic body of the Lord implies the oneness of his mystical body, which is the one and indivisible church.

The Sacred Communion

The following article is a synthesis of chapter two of Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia. In this chapter of the encyclical, the Second Vatican Council establishes that the church grows as often as the Eucharist is celebrated on the altar. Christ as the head of the church offered his body and his blood to his disciples at the last supper to involve them in the sacrifice of the cross. Consequently, the actions and words of Jesus laid to the foundation of the new messianic community, the people of the new covenant. In this community, it is baptism that brings about incorporation into Christ and then is consolidated by sharing in the Eucharistic sacrifice. Therefore, as we receive Christ, Christ too receives each one of us and enters into friendship with us. It is through this union that the people of the new covenant become the sacrament for humanity, continuing the mission of redemption of Christ. Moreover, the Eucharistic communion confirms the church in her unity as the body of Christ. The bread we break is one and so is the church. The unifying power of the Eucharist counters the seed of disunity of our daily experience and creates the human community.

This communion cannot only be restricted to within mass but also outside mass. This may be extended to the private adoration of the Lord, sometimes with others, recognizing the presence of Christ in the Eucharistic bread exposed for worship. The idea is that the Eucharistic adoration is a sign of gratitude, an expression of love and acknowledgement of the Lord’s presence.

Pastors are therefore encouraged especially by personal witness, the practice of Eucharistic adoration. Apart from the magisterium, this practice is supported by the example of many saints. St Alphonsus Ligouri for instance acclaimed adoration of the Eucharist as the greatest devotion after the sacraments. Moreover, St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon, of Belgium, from her early youth, had a great veneration for the Blessed Sacrament, and always longed for a special feast in its honour. The Eucharist is a priceless treasure by which a Christian community disposed to it can develop this Eucharistic worship which prolongs and increases the fruits of our communion in the body and blood of Christ.

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The Last Supper in the Life of the Church (reflection from article 3 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church about the Eucharist)

The church faithfully continues to use the species of bread and wine according to the Lord’s command. Through the invocation of the Holy Spirit these species turn into the body and blood of Christ. Therefore, in the offertory, the church acknowledges the creator’s gifts of bread and wine, as the work of human hands and fruits of the earth. This action prefigured by the gesture of the king-priest Melchizedek who offered bread and wine to the patriarch Abraham.

Apart from being offered as the first fruits, bread and wine also signified something new and important in the life of the Israelites. The unleavened bread Israel ate during the haste departure of Egypt, and continues to eat every year as a ritual meal for the celebration of the Passover feast. The manna in the desert was also an indication of Israel’s reliance on the word of God.

The bread and wine is given a new meaning in Jesus, when Jesus multiplied and fed the multitude through his disciples, and when he turned water into wine at Cana. This turns out that the Lord has the words of eternal life and to receive the Eucharist in faith is to receive Jesus himself. Jesus loved his disciples that when his time on earth came to an end, he gave them a pledge of his love. This pledge was to never depart from them, and to make them sharers of his Passover. Therefore, he instituted the Eucharist to be celebrated as a memorial of his passion, death and resurrection until he comes.

Jesus timed his last meal with his disciples with the Passover meal to give the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning, which is to be seen in the light of the new Passover meal, the Eucharist. And so, while Jesus is physically away from the church, he continues to be present with us through the celebration of the Eucharist. Jesus’ command “do this in memory of me” invites the church to celebrate his life, death and resurrection, and of his intercession in the presence of the father.

It is on the first day of the week that Jesus rose from the dead, that the early Christians met to break the bread, and that until today the Church and the people of God continues meet to celebrate the Eucharist. The Eucharistic celebration hints at the final Passover of the church in the glory of the kingdom of God.