Father Kevin Laughery's Weblog

The year 2005 was designated by Pope John Paul II as the "Year of the Eucharist."

It is utterly evident to us that the Holy Eucharist is foundational in our lives as Catholic Christians.

The importance of food and drink: absolutely obvious to us as human beings.

What is our understanding of God? We, as Christians, who enjoy the heritage of the people of Israel, do not perceive God in detached philosophical terms. We understand our God as a passionate, emotional God who is involved in human history. Our God makes his dwelling place among us: "The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs."

We may think of the intimacy of the act of giving food and being fed. Think of a mother providing nourishment to her child, both before and after birth. Sharing a meal, even with social etiquette and conventions, is likewise still a very intimate act. For people to be at the same table together means that there is a bond among them.

The liberation of the people of Israel from their slavery in Egypt is commemorated every year in the Passover meal. Easter is the Christian Passover. Jesus is the Lamb slain for us.

We understand our union with Jesus Christ in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, to be utterly personal and intimate.

The Gospels are consistent and unambiguous in affirming that Jesus wanted his people to commune with him by eating his body and drinking his blood. The scoffers of John 6 may express a feeling we may have had – that such a practice would be barbaric – but again, we can turn to the intimacy of the mother and child, and have some appreciation of what Jesus is actually calling for.

The term eucharist is not found in the Bible. Epistles refer to "the Lord’s Supper." Luke’s Gospel, in the Emmaus incident, refers to "the breaking of bread." Likewise in the Acts of the Apostles.

Eucharist is Greek for "thanksgiving." Mass is derived from Ite, missa est, the dismissal at the very end of the Eucharistic celebration.

The sacrament of the Eucharist is:

– a meal

– the sacrifice of Jesus (Passover Lamb)

– a memorial – let us be clear on the meaning of memorial here. It is not a mere recollection; it is the breaking of barriers between the past and the present.

– communion: individuals communing with God, of course, and individuals discovering their bond with other human beings who are hungry and thirsty for meaning and seeking to love one another.

Our faith in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Over the centuries, the Church has attempted to explain philosophically how a thing could be transformed into something completely different and yet retain its original appearances. Most people today are not conversant in such concepts as substance and accidents. These are concepts presupposed by the term transubstanti-ation. In Catholic Christian theology, the tendency is simply to state that "the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ" without trying further to analyze how this change comes about.

When someone says, "The Eucharist is a symbol," is this a degrading of the full meaning of the Eucharist? The meaning of symbol.

Why bread and wine? The Gospel accounts of the Last Supper. Bread and wine were, of course, common elements in the Passover meal, and we have indications, again from the Gospels, that the Last Supper was a Passover meal (seder). We as the Church understand that we are to have continuity with the practice of Jesus. We hold that bread made only of wheat and wine made from grapes constitute valid matter.

Both bread (celiac disease) and wine (alcoholism) present potential problems to partakers. How the Church has addressed these problems.

Who can preside at Eucharist and consecrate the sacrament? We know very well that only a bishop or presbyter (what we commonly call a "priest"), empowered by the sacrament of holy orders, can so preside and consecrate.

Catholic Christians’ participation in the Eucharist is mandatory on Sunday, the day of Jesus’ resurrection, and on a few additional "holy days of obligation." Our liturgical calendar is set up with the expectation of a celebration of the Eucharist every day of the year except Good Friday, when we have the Easter Triduum "celebration of the Lord’s Passion" and distribute communion from hosts consecrated at a previous Mass.

Who may receive the Holy Eucharist? Baptism confers a right to the sacrament. Children must be old enough to have some understanding and appreciation of the sacrament.

We do not extend a general invitation to non-Catholic Christians to receive the Eucharist. The reasons for this:

– Eucharist is the ultimate sacrament of unity. Those who come to the Eucharistic table must truly be united with one another. Disunity among Christians must be overcome. We must achieve the unity that Jesus intends for all his people.

– Unity presupposes that all partaking in that unity have a shared understanding of the passing on of the faculty to consecrate the Eucharist. In the Catholic Church, we understand that Jesus entrusted the apostles with the ministry of "doing this in memory of me." We understand that, by apostolic succession, the apostles (the first bishops) ordained bishops who in turn have ordained bishops for all succeeding generations. A presbyter validly ordained by a validly ordained bishop is the only one who can validly preside at Eucharist. Is this understanding of apostolic succession overly literal? (Bishops’ "genealogies" – see http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org.) The Catholic Church recognizes that Eastern Orthodox churches have a valid episcopacy, valid priests, and therefore a valid sacrament of the Eucharist.

The efforts for unity among Christians are marked by a deep and indeed pained longing for gathering at one Eucharistic table. Our Church, in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, calls upon each of us to exercise our responsibility to be in dialogue with fellow Catholics and with other Christians.

We do recognize that there are situations in which non-Catholic Christians may find themselves drawn to receive the Eucharist. It is not the right or duty of any eucharistic minister to judge on what a person’s conscience is prompting him or her to do.

Withholding the Eucharist from Catholics: a bad idea. Rome told American bishops 100 years ago not to do this; they were contemplating withholding the Eucharist from parents whose children were in public schools.

Those who receive communion must not be in a state of serious sin. There is also a (minimal – one hour) Eucharistic fast.

Our practice of offering a Mass for a particular intention and having a monetary offering attached to the intention. The pastor’s duty to offer Mass "for the people of his parish/es" (pro populo).

Hungering in such a way as to long to feed the people in the Eucharist: priestly vocations. Who will come forward in our locality to feed the local People of God?

Let us appreciate our hunger for meaning and for what is good. Let us remember that, in the Holy Eucharist, we are united in the mystery of the crucified and risen Savior, and we are united with people all over the world who know what to be hungry for and who recognize the Eucharist to be the food that is proper to the project of eternal life.