We hear God's word in the Eucharist

June 13, 2004 -- The Body and Blood of Christ

By Bishop Robert Morneau

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. What does the Eucharist mean to you? 2. How do you "appropriate" (make your own) the mysteries of our faith? 3. In what sense is gratitude at the heart of the Eucharist?

One of my favorite authors in regard to prayer is Brigid E. Herman (1876-1923). In the early years of the 20th century she wrote a book, Creative Prayer. Here is a passage that speaks to our feast for this Sunday: "To have the will of God, the mind of Christ, concerning ourselves and the world, and to have them not merely by way of intellectual assent or moral appreciation, but by a vital appropriation that assimilates us to our Lord, is to have the key to apostolic power" (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 1998, p. 134).

The Eucharist is so much more than intellectual assent and moral appreciation. The Eucharist, our prayer of thanksgiving for Christ's self-giving, must be appropriated, must be made our own if we are to have the power of the Gospel active in our lives. It is in the Eucharist that we hear God's word and come to the altar to receive Jesus himself. Our challenge is one of faith and openness; faith that this sacrament is truly the body and blood of Jesus; openness to a whole new way of life that takes us out of ourselves into the life of God.

Like Melchizedek of old, we bring our bread and wine to the table. We bring our lives - the joys of birth and the deaths of loved ones, the hope for employment and the discouragement of a broken relationship, the dream of peace and the harsh reality of war. We present all this to our God who unites our lives with Jesus for affirmation and challenge, for transformation and acceptance. In the Eucharist the bread and wine become the food and drink unto eternal life.

St. Paul tells us of the origin of the Eucharist. He recounts the scene from the Last Supper and speaks about our duty to remember and proclaim the mystery of Jesus. Thus the Eucharist is a memorial. We remember all that Jesus did for us. His self-giving love and redemption is the heart of our Christianity. We proclaim his death and resurrection and come to experience the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In the Gospel passage we are given an entire theology of Eucharist in one verse: "Then, taking the five loaves and the two fishes, Jesus raised his eyes to heaven, pronounced a blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to his disciples for distribution to the crowd." Take! Bless! Break! Give! In the Eucharist we are chosen, gifted, broken, and given for others. This is the underlying pattern of the life of Jesus and Mary. Through baptism we are caught up into this dynamic and thus become a Eucharistic people.

Our opening prayer summarizes what we celebrate on this feast: "Lord Jesus Christ, we worship you living among us in the sacrament of your body and blood. May we offer to our Father in heaven a solemn pledge of undivided love. May we offer to our brothers and sisters a life poured out in loving service of that kingdom where you live with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

Jesus lives among us in this Holy Sacrament. The Eucharist is all about undivided love and a life poured out for others. The Eucharist is about the Kingdom, God's reign in the hearts of us all.

How fitting it is that between the second reading and the Gospel we have a "sequence," a special hymn of praise for the gift of the Eucharist. For those who move beyond intellectual assent and moral appreciation of the Eucharist, this sequence expresses vital appropriation. It was written by one who had made his own the mystery of Eucharist, God's self-giving in Jesus.

(Bp. Robert Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay.)