Fully Experiencing the Eucharist requires work

BISHOP ROBERT N. LYNCH

Issue 02 | March & April 2009

t the heart of every parish and, in reality, its major reason for existence is the celebration of the Eucharist, on Sundays and even daily throughout the week. We do not assemble simply to sing; we do not assemble simply to listen to a sermon; we do not assemble simply to feel good with our neighbors and others in fellowship; we do not assemble simply to provide a place for our kids to play basketball, soccer, baseball or football; we do not assemble simply to give back to God one hour of our week or 30 minutes of our day. All these things for which we do not assemble are not bad and many of them are constitutive of what it means to assemble for Eucharist, but we assemble to celebrate the passion and death of Jesus Christ and to welcome him into our own bodies for however long we can be in communion with him.

We are also in communion with others when we gather to celebrate the Eucharist and we offer ourselves to be transformed, changed if you will, from living a life of lonely spiritual isolation to becoming enlivened members of a community of believers who can never get enough of the presence of Christ, in the sacrament and also in one another.

For this reason, whatever time we give to Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist should be marked by a number of things which, sadly, are not always present in every celebration of Mass: We should be recollected and at peace, ready to hear his word and enter into his presence. If our mindset is anything like “I need to get this over and get out of here,” we pay short shrift to the Lord and to the Mass. We should be ready to fully participate in the Mass, entering into the spirit of spoken prayer and even singing when led to do so.

Many Catholics have not been well served by speedy Masses, short homiletic reflections known more for their brevity than their content, and seating choices dictated more by an inclination to want to leave early than remain until the Mass is ended.

In this year when we celebrate the theme of “Nourished” as a part of our three-year reflection on the gift of Christ in the Eucharist, it is a good time to check ourselves on several important questions: Why do I go to Mass? What do I do when I am at Mass? What do I take with me from Mass? What do I give to the community at Mass?

This burden of reflection is not only on those who attend Mass, but also is incumbent upon us whose privilege it is to celebrate the Eucharist, to preside at each eucharistic liturgy. My father used to remind me of the saying “Familiarity can breed contempt,” and while I know of no priest who holds contempt for good liturgy, all of us at one time or another have experienced a liturgy celebrated by a priest who seems to be moving just mechanically through it. One has a hard time being nourished by this experience.

So on both sides of the altar this year, we intend to focus on what makes for really good eucharistic celebrations. Since it is Christ himself who is present at each Mass, he deserves our best habits of mind, body and soul. If we ourselves are attuned to and searching for good liturgy, we know it when we experience it.

We also know when we do not find it and it leaves a hollow feeling in our hearts and minds.

My prayer is that a year from now we can all say our experience of the Eucharist is improving, from our own expectations and offerings to the work. Speaking for myself, I know that from time to time I need a liturgical “tuneup,” and a liturgical “mechanic” needs to evaluate my celebrations. It is so easy for things of which we are not aware to creep in. Or perhaps we make a decision that we know better than the Church what should or should not happen at Mass.

The Eucharist is too much at the heart of our Catholic faith for any of us to tamper with it. It belongs to the Church.

Each time we enter fully into its almost unfathomable mystery, we experience what it means to be truly nourished by it. That is the work of this second year, which is the challenge for those of us who lead the celebration and those of us who are invited to full and active participation.