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The Real Presence Of Jesus Christ
In The Sacrament Of
The Eucharist
On
June 15, 2001, the National Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a document
they called
"The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the
Eucharist Basic Questions and Answers."
I was impressed
with the document, thought it would be worth your while to read. I will share
one "question and answer" from the document each week in a series of
installments.
Introduction
The Lord Jesus, on the night before he suffered on the cross, shared one last
meal with his disciples. During this meal our Savior instituted the Sacrament of
his Body and Blood. He did this in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the
Cross throughout the ages, and to entrust to the Church his Spouse a memorial of
his death and resurrection. As the Gospel of Matthew tells us:
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and
giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then
he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it,
all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf
of many for the forgiveness of sins." (Mt 26:26-28; cf. Mk 14:22-24, Lk
22:17-20, 1 Cor 11:23-25)
Recalling these words of Jesus, the Catholic Church professes that, in the
celebration of the Eucharist, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus
Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the instrumentality of the
priest. Jesus said: "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.... For my flesh is true food, and my blood is
true drink" (Jn 6:51-55). The whole Christ is truly present, body,
blood, soul, and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine--the
glorified Christ who rose from the dead after dying for our sins. This is what
the Church means when she speaks of the "Real Presence" of Christ in
the Eucharist. This presence of Christ in the Eucharist is called
"real" not to exclude other types of his presence as if they could not
be understood as real (cf. Catechism, no. 1374). The risen Christ is
present to his Church in many ways, but most especially through the Sacrament of
his Body and Blood.
What does it mean that Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist under the
appearances of bread and wine? How does this happen? The presence of the risen
Christ in the Eucharist is an inexhaustible mystery that the Church can never
fully explain in words. We must remember that the triune God is the creator of
all that exists, and has the power to do more than we can possibly imagine. As
St. Ambrose said: "If the word of the Lord Jesus is so powerful as to bring
into existence things which were not, then a fortiori those things which
already exist can be changed into something else" (De Sacramentis, IV
5-16). God created the world in order to share his life with persons who are not
God. This great plan of salvation reveals a wisdom that surpasses our
understanding. But we are not left in ignorance: for out of his love for us, God
reveals his truth to us in ways that we can understand through the gift of faith
and the grace of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. We are thus enabled to
understand at least in some measure what would otherwise remain unknown to us,
though we can never completely comprehend the mystery of God.
As successors of the Apostles and teachers of the Church, the bishops have the
duty to hand on what God has revealed to us, and to encourage all members of the
Church to deepen their understanding of the mystery and gift of the Eucharist.
In order to foster such a deepening of faith, we have prepared this text to
respond to fifteen questions that commonly arise with regard to the Real
Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We offer this text to pastors and religious
educators to assist them in their teaching responsibilities. We recognize that
some of these questions involve rather complex theological ideas. It is our
hope, however, that study and discussion of the text will aid many of the
Catholic faithful in our country to enrich their understanding of this mystery
of the faith.
Basic
Questions And Answers
1.
Why does Jesus give himself to us as food and drink?
Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist as spiritual nourishment because
he loves us. God's whole plan for our salvation is directed to our participation
in the life of the Trinity, the communion of Father; Son, and Holy Spirit. Our
sharing in this life begins with our Baptism, when by the power of the Holy
Spirit we are joined to Christ, thus becoming adopted sons and daughters of the
Father. It is strengthened and increased in Confirmation. It is nourished and
deepened through our participation in the Eucharist. By eating the Body and
drinking the Blood of Christ in the Eucharist, we become united to the person of
Christ through his humanity. "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him" (Jn 6-56).
In being united to the humanity of Christ we are at the same time united to
his divinity. Our mortal and corruptible natures are transformed by being joined
to the source of life. "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" (Jn 6:57).
By being united to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in
us, we are drawn up into the eternal relationship of love among the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Spirit. As Jesus is the eternal Son of God by nature, so we
become sons and daughters of God by adoption through the Sacrament of Baptism.
Through the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation (Chrismation), we are temples
of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in us, and by his indwelling we are made holy by
the gift of sanctifying grace. The ultimate promise of the Gospel is that we
will share in the life of the Holy Trinity. The Fathers of the Church called
this participation in the divine life "divinization" (theosis).
In this we see that God does not merely send us good things from on high;
instead, we are brought up into the inner life of God, the communion among the
Father; the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the celebration of the Eucharist (when
means "thanksgiving") we give praise and glory to God for this sublime
gift.
2.
Why is the Eucharist not only a meal but also a sacrifice?
While our sins would have made it impossible for
us to share in the life of God, Jesus Christ was sent to remove this obstacle.
His death was a sacrifice for our sins. Christ is "the Lamb of God, who
takes away the sin of the world" (Jn 1:29). Through His death and
resurrection, He conquered sin and death and reconciled us to God. The Eucharist
is the memorial of this sacrifice. The Church gathers to remember and to
represent the sacrifice of Christ in which we share through the action of the
priest and power of the Holy Spirit. Through the celebration of the Eucharist,
we are joined to Christ's sacrifice and receive its' inexhaustible benefits.
As the Letter to the Hebrews explains, Jesus is the one eternal high priest who
always lives to make intercession for the people before the Father. In this way,
He surpasses the many high priests who over centuries used to offer sacrifices
for sin in the Jerusalem temple. The eternal high priest Jesus offers the
perfect sacrifice which is His very self, not something else. "He entered
once and for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves, but
with His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption" (Heb 9:12). Jesus'
act belongs to human history, for He is truly human and has entered into
history.
3.
When
the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, why do they still look
and taste like bread and wine?
In the celebration of the Eucharist, the
glorified Christ becomes present under the appearances of bread and wine in a
way that is unique, a way that is uniquely suited to the Eucharist. In the
Church's traditional theological language, in the act of consecration during the
Eucharist the "substance" of the bread and wine is changed by the
power of the Holy Spirit into the "substance" of the Body and Blood of
Jesus Christ. At the same time, the "accidents" or appearances of
bread and wine remain. "Substance" and "accident" are here
used as philosophical terms that have been adapted by great medieval theologians
such as St. Thomas Aquinas in their efforts to understand and explain the faith.
Such terms are used to convey the fact that what appears to be bread and wine in
every way (at the level of "accidents" or physical attributes - that
is, what can be seen, touched, tasted, or measured) in fact is now the Body and
Blood of Christ (at the level of "substance" or deepest reality). This
change at the level of substance from bread and wine into the Body and Blood of
Christ is call "transubstantiation." According to Catholic faith, we
can speak of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because this
transubstantiation has occurred (cf. Catechism,
no.1376).
This is a great mystery of our faith--we can only know
it from Christ's teaching given us in the Scriptures and in the Tradition of the
Church. Every other change that occurs in the world involves a change in
accidents or characteristics. Sometimes the accidents change while the substance
remains the same. For example, when a child reaches adulthood, the
characteristics of the human person change in many ways, but the adult remains
the same person--the same substance. At other times, the substance and the
accidents both change. For example, when a person eats an apple, the apple is
incorporated into the body of that person--is changed into the body of that
person. When this change of substance occurs, however, the accidents or
characteristics of the apple do not remain. As the apple is changed into the
body of the person, it takes on the accidents or characteristics of the body of
that person. Christ's presence in the Eucharist is unique in that, even though
the consecrated bread and wine truly are in substance the Body and Blood of
Christ, they have none of the accidents or characteristics of a human body, but
only those of bread and wine.
4.
Does the bread cease to be bread
and the wine cease to be wine?
Yes. In order for the whole Christ to be
present--body, blood, soul, and divinity--the bread and wine cannot remain, but
must give way so that His glorified Body and Blood may be present. Thus in the
Eucharist the bread ceases to be bread in substance, and becomes the Body of
Christ, while the wine ceases to be wine in substance, and becomes the Blood of
Christ. As St. Thomas Aquinas observed, Christ is not quoted as saying,
"This bread is my body," but "This is my body" (Summa
Theologiae, III q. 78, a. 5).
5.
Is it fitting that Christ's Body and Blood become present in the
Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine?
Yes,
for this way of being present corresponds perfectly to the sacramental
celebration of the Eucharist. Jesus Christ gives himself to us in a form that
employs the symbolism inherent in eating bread and drinking wine. Furthermore,
being present under the appearances of bread and wine, Christ gives himself to
us in a form that is appropriate for human eating and drinking. Also, this kind
of presence corresponds to the virtue of faith, for the presence of the Body and
Blood of Christ cannot be detected or discerned by any way other than faith.
That is why St. Bonaventure affirmed: “There is no difficulty over Christ's
being present in the sacrament as in a sign; the great difficulty is in the fact
that He is really in the sacrament, as He is in heaven. And so believing this is
especially meritorious” (In IV Sent., dist. X, P.1, art. un., qu. I). On the
authority of God who reveals himself to us, by faith we believe that which
cannot be grasped by our human faculties (cf. Catechism, no 1381).
6.
Are the consecrated bread and wine "merely symbols"?
In everyday language, we call a "symbol" something that points
beyond itself to something else, often to several other realities at once. The
transformed bread and wine that are the Body and Blood of Christ are not merely
symbols, because they truly are the Body and Blood of Christ. As St. John
Damascene wrote: "The bread and wine are not a foreshadowing of the Body
and Blood of Christ--By no means!--but the actual deified Body of the Lord,
because the Lord Himself said: 'This is my Body'; not 'a foreshadowing of my
Body,' but 'my Body,' and not 'a foreshadowing of my Blood,' but 'my
Blood."' (The Orthodox Faith, IV
[PG 94, 1148-49]).
At the same time, however; it is important to recognize that the Body and Blood
of Christ come to us in the Eucharist in a sacramental form. In other words,
Christ is present under the appearances of bread and wine, not in his own proper
form. We cannot presume to know all the reasons behind God's actions. God uses,
however; the symbolism inherent in the eating of bread and the drinking of wine
at the natural level to illuminate the meaning of what is being accomplished in
the Eucharist through Jesus Christ.
There are various ways in which the symbolism of eating bread and drinking wine
discloses the meaning of the Eucharist. For example, just as natural food gives
nourishment to the body, so the Eucharistic food gives spiritual nourishment.
Furthermore, the sharing of an ordinary meal establishes a certain communion
among the people who share it; in the Eucharist, the People of God share a meal
that brings them into communion not only with each other; but with the Father;
Son, and Holy Spirit. Similarly, as St. Paul tells us, the single loaf that is
shared among many during the Eucharistic meal is an indication of the unity of
those who have been called together by the Holy Spirit as one Body, the Body of
Christ (1 Cor 10:17). To take another example, the individual grains of wheat
and individual grapes have to be harvested and to undergo a process of grinding
or crushing before they are unified as bread and as wine. Because of this, bread
and wine point to both the union of the many that takes place in the Body of
Christ and the suffering undergone by Christ, a suffering that must also be
embraced by his disciples. Much more could be said about the many ways in which
the eating of bread and drinking of wine symbolize what God does for us through
Christ, since symbols carry multiple meanings and connotations.
7.
Do
the consecrated bread and wine cease to be the Body and Blood of Christ when the
Mass is over?
No. During the celebration of the Eucharist, the bread
and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, and this they remain. They cannot
turn back into bread and wine, for they are no longer bread and wine at all.
There is thus no reason for them to change back to their "normal"
state after the special circumstances of the Mass are past. Once the substance
has really changed, the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ "endures
as long as the Eucharistic species subsist" (Catechism, no.1377). Against those who maintained that the bread
that is consecrated during the Eucharist has no sanctifying power if it is left
over until the next day, St. Cyril of Alexandria replied, "Christ is not
altered, nor is His holy body changed, but the power of the consecration and His
life giving grace is perpetual in it" (Letter 83, to Calosyrius, Bishop of Arsinoe [PG 76, 1076]). The
Church teaches that Christ remains present under the appearances of bread and
wine as long as the appearances of bread and wine remain (cf. Catechism,
no. 1377).
8.
Why are some of the consecrated hosts
reserved after the Mass?
While it would be possible to eat all of the bread that is consecrated
during the Mass, some is usually kept in the tabernacle. The Body of Christ
under the appearance of bread that is kept or "reserved" after the
Mass is commonly referred to as the "Blessed Sacrament." There are
several pastoral reasons for reserving the Blessed Sacrament. First of all, it
is used for distribution to the dying (viaticum),
the sick, and those who legitimately cannot be present for the celebration
of the Eucharist. Secondly, the Body of Christ in the form of bread is to be
adored when it is exposed, as in the Rite of Eucharistic Exposition and
Benediction, when it is carried in Eucharistic processions, or when it is simply
placed in the tabernacle, before which people pray privately. These devotions
are based on the fact that Christ himself is present under the appearance of
bread. Many holy people well known to American Catholics, such as St. John
Neumann, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Katharine Drexel, and Blessed Damien of
Molokai, practiced great personal devotion to Christ present in the Blessed
Sacrament. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, devotion to the reserved Blessed
Sacrament is practiced most directly at the Divine Liturgy of the Presanctified
Gifts, offered on weekdays of Lent.
9.
What are appropriate signs of reverence with respect to the Body and
Blood of Christ?
The Body and Blood of Christ present under the
appearances of bread and wine are treated with the greatest reverence both
during and after the celebration of the Eucharist (cf. Mysterium Fidea, nos. 56-61).
For example, the tabernacle in which the consecrated bread is reserved is
placed "in some part of the Church or oratory which is distinguished,
conspicuous, beautifully decorated, and suitable for prayer" (Code
of Canon Law, Can. 938, §2). According to the tradition of the Latin
Church, one should genuflect in the presence of the tabernacle containing the
reserved sacrament. In the Eastern Catholic Churches, the traditional practice
is to make the sign of the cross and to bow profoundly. The liturgical gestures
from both traditions reflect reverence, respect, and adoration. It is
appropriate for the members of the assembly to greet each other in the gathering
space of the Church (that is, the vestibule or narthex), but it is not
appropriate to speak in loud or boisterous tones in the body of the Church (that
is, the nave) because of the presence of Christ in the tabernacle. Also, the
Church requires everyone to fast before receiving the Body and Blood of Christ
as a sign of reverence and recollection (unless illness prevents one from doing
so). In the Latin Church, one must generally fast for at least one hour; members
of Eastern Catholic Churches must follow the practice established by their own
Church.
10.
If someone without faith eats and drinks the consecrated bread and wine,
does he or she still receive the Body and Blood of Christ?
If "to receive" means "to consume,"
the answer is yes, for what the per-son consumes is the Body and Blood of
Christ. If "to receive means "to accept the Body and Blood of Christ
knowingly and willingly as what they are, so as to obtain the spiritual
benefit," then the answer is no. A lack of faith on the part of the person
eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Christ cannot change what these are,
but it does prevent the person from obtaining the spiritual benefit, which is
communion with Christ. Such reception of Christ's Body and Blood would be in
vain and, if done knowingly, would be sacrilegious (1 Cor 11:29). Reception of
the Blessed Sacrament is not an automatic remedy. If we do not desire communion
with Christ, God does not force this upon us. Rather; we must by faith accept
God's offer of communion in Christ and in the Holy Spirit, and cooperate with
God's grace in order to have our hearts and minds transformed and our faith and
love of God increased.
11.
If a believer who is conscious of having committed a mortal sin eats and
drinks the consecrated bread and wine, does he or she still receive the Body and
Blood of Christ?
Yes. The attitude or disposition of the recipient
cannot change what the consecrated bread and wine are. The question here is thus
not primarily about the nature of the Real Presence, but about how sin affects
the relationship between an individual and the Lord. Before one steps forward to
receive the Body and Blood of Christ in Holy Communion, one needs to be in a
right relationship with the Lord and His Mystical Body, the Church - that is, in
a state of grace, free of all mortal sin. While sin damages, and can even
destroy, that relationship, the Sacrament of Penance can restore it. St. Paul
tells us that "whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord
unworthily will have to answer for the Body and Blood of the Lord. A person
should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup" (1 Cor
11:27-28). Anyone who is conscious of having committed a mortal sin should be
reconciled through the Sacrament of Penance before receiving the Body and Blood
of Christ, unless a grace reason exists for doing so, and there is no
opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the
obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, that is, an act of sorrow for
sins that "arises from a love by which God is loved above all else" (Catechism,
no.1452). The act of perfect contrition must be accompanied by the firm
intention of making a sacramental confession as soon as possible.
12.
Does one receive the whole Christ if one receives Holy Communion under a
single form?
Yes.
Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, is wholly present under the appearance either
of bread or of wine in the Eucharist. Furthermore, Christ is wholly present in
any fragment of the consecrated Host, or in any drop of the Precious Blood.
Nevertheless, it is especially fitting to receive Christ in both forms during
the celebration of the Eucharist. This allows the Eucharist to appear more
perfectly as a banquet, a banquet that is a foretaste of the banquet that will
be celebrated with Christ at the end of time when the Kingdom of God is
established in its fullness.
13.
Is Christ present during the celebration of the Eucharist in other ways in
addition to His Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament?
Yes. Christ is present during the Eucharist in various ways. He is present
in the person of the priest who offers the sacrifice of the Mass. According to
the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Christ is
present in His Word "since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy
scriptures are read in the Church." He is also present in the assembled
people as they pray and sing, "for He has promised 'where two or three are
gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them' (Mt 18:20)."
Furthermore, He is likewise present in other sacraments; for example, "when
anybody baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes."
We speak of the presence of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine as
"real" in order to emphasize the special nature of that presence. What
appears to be bread and wine is in its' very substance the Body and Blood of
Christ. The entire Christ is present, God and man, body and blood, soul and
divinity. While the other ways in which Christ is present in the celebration of
the Eucharist are certainly not unreal, this way surpasses the others.
"This presence is called 'real' not to exclude the idea that the others are
'real' too, but rather to indicate presence par excellence, because it is
substantial, and through it Christ becomes present whole and entire, God and
man."
14.
Why do we speak of the "Body of Christ " in more than one sense?
First, the Body of Christ refers to the human body of
Jesus Christ, who is the divine Word become man. During the Eucharist, the bread
and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. As human, Jesus Christ has a human
body, a resurrected and glorified body that in the Eucharist is offered to us in
the form of bread and wine.
Secondly, as St. Paul taught us in his letters, using the analogy of the human
body, the Church is the Body of Christ, in which many members are united with
Christ their head (1 Cor 10:16-17, 12:12-31; Rom 12:4-8). This reality is
frequently referred to as the Mystical Body of Christ. All those united to
Christ, the living and the dead, are joined together as one Body in Christ. This
union is not one that can be seen by human eyes, for it is a mystical union
brought about by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Mystical Body of Christ and the Eucharistic Body of Christ are inseparably
linked. By Baptism we enter the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church, and by
receiving the Eucharistic Body of Christ we are strengthened, and built up into
the Mystical Body of Christ. The central act of the Church is the celebration of
the Eucharist; the individual believers are sustained as members of the Church,
members of the Mystical Body of Christ, through their reception of the Body of
Christ in the Eucharist. Playing on the two meanings of "Body of
Christ," St. Augustine tells those who are to receive the Body of Christ in
the Eucharist: "Be what you see, and receive what you are." In another
sermon he says, "If you receive worthily, you are what you have
received."
The work of the Holy Spirit in the celebration of the Eucharist is twofold in a
way that corresponds to the twofold meaning of "Body of Christ." On
the one hand, it is through the power of the Holy Spirit that the risen Christ,
and his act of sacrifice become present. In the Eucharistic Prayer, the priest
asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit down upon the gifts of bread and wine to
transform them into the Body and Blood of Christ (a prayer known as the epiclesis
or "invocation upon"). On the other hand, at the same time the
priest also asks the Father to send the Holy Spirit down upon the whole assembly
so that "those who take part in the Eucharist may be one body and one
spirit." It is through the Holy Spirit that the gift of the Eucharistic
Body of Christ comes to us, and through the Holy Spirit we are joined to Christ,
and each other as the Mystical Body of Christ.
By this we can see that the celebration of the Eucharist does not just unite us
to God as individuals who are isolated from one another. Rather, we are united
to Christ together with all the other members of the Mystical Body. The
celebration of the Eucharist should thus increase our love for one another, and
remind us of our responsibilities toward one another. Furthermore, as members of
the Mystical Body, we have a duty to represent Christ, and to bring Christ to
the world. We have a responsibility to share the Good News of Christ not only by
our words, but also by how we live our lives. We also have a responsibility to
work against all the forces in our world that oppose the Gospel, including all
forms of injustice. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us:
"The Eucharist commits us to the poor. To receive in truth the Body and
Blood of Christ given up for us, we must recognize Christ in the poorest, his
brethren."
15.
Why do we call the presence of Christ in the Eucharist a
"mystery"?
The word "mystery" is commonly used to refer to something that
escapes the full comprehension of the human mind. In the Bible, however, the
word has a deeper and more specific meaning, for it refers to aspects of God's
plan of salvation for humanity, which has already begun, but will be completed
only with the end of time. In ancient Israel, through the Holy Spirit, God
revealed to the prophets some of the secrets of what He was going to accomplish
for the salvation of his people. Likewise, through the preaching and teaching of
Jesus, the mystery of "the Kingdom of God" was being revealed to his
disciples. St. Paul explained that the mysteries of God may challenge our human
understanding, or may even seem to be foolishness, but their meaning is revealed
to the People of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
The Eucharist is a mystery because it participates in the mystery of Jesus
Christ, and God's plan to save humanity through Christ. We should not be
surprised if there are aspects of the Eucharist that are not easy to understand,
for God's plan for the world has repeatedly surpassed human expectations and
human understanding. For example, even the disciples did not at first understand
that it was necessary for the Messiah to be put to death, and then to rise from
the dead. Furthermore, any time that we are speaking of God we need to keep in
mind that our human concepts never entirely grasp God. We must not try to limit
God to our understanding, but allow our understanding to be stretched beyond its
normal limitations by God's revelation.
Conclusion
By his Real Presence in the Eucharist, Christ
fulfills his promise to be with us "always, until the end of the age".
As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "It is the law of friendship that friends
should live together .,. Christ has not left us without his bodily presence in
this our pilgrimage, but He joins us to himself in this sacrament in the reality
of his body and blood." With this gift of Christ's presence in our midst,
the Church is truly blessed. As Jesus told his disciples, referring to his
presence among them, "Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous
people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you
hear, but did not hear it." In the Eucharist, the Church both receives the
gift of Jesus Christ, and gives grateful thanks to God for such a blessing. This
thanksgiving is the only proper response, for through this gift of himself in
the celebration of the Eucharist under the appearances of bread and wine, Christ
gives us the gift of eternal life.
"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 ... 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."
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