Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

By Caravaggio 1606

“They recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.”
Lk 24: 31

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, June 26, 2011
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 John 6:51-58

Second reading from 1 Corinthians

Brothers and sisters: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

The Word of God
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in Me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent Me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will have life because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Introduction
Still God-with-us

In His ascension into heaven Jesus promised He would not leave us orphans but would be with us to the end of time. (Jn 14:14) He kept His promise by sending us the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. He kept it also by giving us the Eucharist -- His abiding presence among us. Though ascended into heaven, Jesus is still Emmanuel – still God-with-us.

Dramatic changes

With a bit of nostalgia older Catholics recall the solemn celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi. It was, indeed, a big production. The Blessed Sacrament, encased in an elaborate monstrance and under a portable canopy, solemnly made its way through villages in valleys and hamlets on hills. Three times the procession stopped along the way for benediction with the Blessed Sacrament.

Corpus Christi is no longer the big production it used to be. With Vatican II (1959-1962) dramatic changes have taken place in Catholic Eucharistic life. Older Catholics remember the pre-Vatican days when on a Sunday morning only 20 to 30 people out of a packed congregation would rise to receive Communion. They were the ones who considered themselves in the state of “Sanctifying Grace” after making a sacramental confession. The rest of the faithful, (those who had not confessed their `mortal sins,’ or who were divorced and remarried, or who hadn’t fasted from every speck of food and drink from midnight on, or who weren’t Roman Catholics) remained nailed to their pews at Communion time. All that has dramatically changed; now a whole congregation of sinners rises to receive Communion. It’s a new day in Eucharistic theology; Communion is not considered to be a reward for saints but food for sinners on the human journey.

Older Catholics remember also the super-sacral approach to the Eucharist of pre-Vatican days. Only the consecrated hands of an ordained priest were permitted to touch the Blessed Sacrament. Now the faithful receive Communion in their hands, and from the hands of Eucharistic ministers who aren’t ordained! Some of them aren’t even males! Now also some of the faithful carry the Sacrament home after Mass to bring Communion to a sick member of the family. Yes, indeed, for older Catholics especially, Vatican II seems to have changed everything concerning their Eucharistic faith. At the end of the day, however, nothing fundamental has really changed: the Eucharist remains central to Catholic faith.

Emphasis on `present in the bread’

One theologian characterizes the dramatic changes in Catholic Eucharistic life saying: “In the old days, the emphasis was on Jesus present in the bread. In this new day, the emphasis is on Jesus present in the breaking of the bread. That’s more than just semantics.”

In pre-Vatican days, the emphasis was on Jesus present in the bread. At the elevation of the Mass, the consecrated bread was raised on high, and a bell was rung to make sure everyone was awake and was looking at Jesus present in the bread[1]. There was a kind of salvation in gazing upon Jesus in the bread held on high -- very much like the salvation that came upon the Israelites when they gazed upon the bronze serpent fashioned by Moses and held on high by him. (Num 21:4-9; Jn 12:32) We remember also how on big feast days Mass was `climaxed’ with benediction with the Blessed Sacrament , as a kind of `frosting’ on the cake.[2] The Eucharist encased in the monstrance was held on high, so all could gaze upon Jesus present in the bread.

Emphasis on ‘the breaking of the bread’

In this new day, emphasis is on Jesus present in the breaking of the bread. On that first Easter morning when two of the disciples were on the road to Emmaus, they met a Stranger. At dusk they looked for lodging, and invited the Stranger to stay and supper with them. At table, He took bread and blessed it, broke the bread and gave it to the disciples. At that moment, Scripture says, the eyes of the disciples were opened, and they recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread. (Lk 24:13-35)

Bread not broken at a first Communion

Karl Jung, the father of modern psychology, describes the day of his first Communion.

I awaited the day with eager anticipation, and the day finally dawned. There behind the altar stood my father in his familiar robes. He read prayers from the liturgy. On the white cloth covering the altar lay large trays filled with small pieces of bread which came from the local baker whose goods were nothing to brag about. I watched my father eat a piece of the bread and then sip the wine which came from the local tavern. He then passed the cup to one of the old men. All were stiff, solemn, and it seemed to me, uninterested. I looked on in suspense, but could not see nor guess whether anything unusual was going on inside the old men. I saw no sadness and no joy in them. Then came my turn to eat the bread which tasted flat, and to sip the wine which tasted sour. After the final prayer all the people swiftly pealed out of church, neither depressed nor illumined with joy, but with faces that seemed to say. "Well, that's that." In a minute or two the whole church was emptied.

In the course of the following days it dawned on Jung that nothing had happened on the day of his first Holy Communion; bread had not really been broken, and Jesus had not been recognized in the breaking of the bread. Jung found himself saying, "Why, that is not religion at all. It is, in fact, an absence of God. I must never go back there again. It’s not life but death that’s there.” (Memories, Dreams, Reflections) Jung’s very first Communion was fatal; it turned out to be his very last Communion!

Bread not broken at funeral

Years ago I concelebrated at the funeral Mass of a friend who died on the operating table, as his loving wife and I were anxiously waiting outside the operating room. At the funeral Mass everything went off well enough until Communion time. Then, out of the blue, the pastor announced, “Catholics may now come up and receive Holy Communion!” That was a very disingenuous way `to disinvite’ all non-Catholics from the Eucharistic banquet. The pastor had turned the Bread of unity into a rock of division, as he divided the congregation before him into Catholics and non-Catholics. At the end of the day, bread had not been broken, and Christ had not been recognized in the breaking of the bread. Only the congregation had been broken into “Catholics who may now come up and receive Holy Communion” and those who may not!

A great bread-breaker

Bishop of Saginaw, Michigan, Kenneth Edward Untener (1937- 2004) was a great bread-breaker. His first words as bishop to the people of his diocese were: "My name is Ken, and I will be your waiter for a long, long time.” Then Bishop Untener proceeded to wait upon his people and break bread. He sold the bishop's mansion, and for the next 24 years lived in 69 rectories. The trunk of his car became his office. On the 25th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter Humanae Vitae in 1993 (reaffirming the Church's stand against artificial birth control) Untener used the occasion to keep his promise to be a waiter serving his people. He invited his Church to reopen an honest and transparent discussion on birth control. (His invitation was not well received.) On the issue of divorce, Untener said, “I am not here to condemn divorced people, nor am I here to condone them. I am here to help them. Jesus did not come to condemn or condone the woman caught in adultery; He came to help her.” Untener especially comforted his priests and challenged his fellow bishops.

On the day of his episcopal consecration Untener promised the people of Saginaw that he would be their waiter. He did such a wonderful job of breaking bread and of revealing Jesus in his bread-breaking that a throng of 1,800 people attended his funeral Mass. The service evoked tears and laughter, audible `amens’ and a standing ovation. What an utter contrast that was from Jung’s first Communion day, when after the final prayer all the people swiftly pealed out of church, “neither depressed nor illumined with joy, but with faces that seemed to say. `Well, that's that.’"

Conclusion
Present in both

Is Jesus present in the bread or is He present in the breaking of the bread? Catholic faith says He is present in both. Whenever bread has been truly broken (whether at a first Communion or a funeral or a Sunday Mass) Jesus is present in that bread-breaking, and the faithful don’t peel out of church saying “Well, that’s that!” Rather, they linger on with “tears and laughter, audible `amens’ and a standing ovation.” And very much like Peter on the Mount of Transfiguration the faithful cry out, “Oh how good it was for us to be here at Mass this morning!” (Mt 17:4)

But Jesus is present also in the Bread carried solemnly in a Corpus Christi procession or quietly reposed in a tabernacle. It is Jesus present in the tabernacle which makes great cathedrals and small chapels welcomed rest spots (`Jacob’s wells’)[3] for us weary wayfarers. Sanctuary lamps in cathedrals and chapels, glowing gently and faithfully in the dusk, assure us that we’re not alone in the wearisome human journey before us.

[1] In many churches a bell is no longer rung at the elevation
[2] In this new day, Benediction immediately following Mass is now forbidden.
[3] John 4:6