JOHN 6:51-58
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN
THE DAYS BEFORE VATICAN II, I WAS AN ALTAR SERVER. BEFORE WE COULD
SERVE WE HAD TO MEMORIZE A LOT OF LATIN, AND BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHAT
IT MEANT. SERVING MASS WAS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED IN THOSE DAYS, AND
THE ALTAR BOYS MOVED AROUND A LOT FROM ONE POSITION TO ANOTHER. WE
HAD TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE PRIEST FOR CLUES ABOUT WHEN WE CHANGED
THE GOSPEL BOOK FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER; WHEN WE LIFTED THE
CHASUBLE AT THE END OF THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER. AFTER GOING THROUGH
ALL THAT TRAINING, WE WERE ALLOWED TO SERVE WITH A SENIOR ALTAR
SERVER, UNTIL WE GOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE ON OUR OWN. I STILL REMEMBER
MY FIRST TIME, AND MY COACH, A FIFTH GRADER, PRETTY MUCH KEPT ME OUT
OF TROUBLE.
BUT WHAT WAS DRUMMED INTO
US WAS THE REAL PRESENCE. WE COULDN'T BE ALTAR SERVERS UNLESS WE
UNDERSTOOD THAT JESUS WAS REALLY PRESENT IN THE EUCHARIST. THERE
WERE LOTS OF REMINDERS. THE SANCTUARY WHERE MASS WAS SAID WAS A
SACRED PLACE; IT WAS FENCED OFF BY THE ALTAR RAIL. THE ALTAR WAS
ELEVATED ABOVE THE FLOOR OF THE CHURCH. AT OUR CATHEDRAL CHURCH THE
SANCTUARY WAS TWO STEPS UP FROM THE FLOOR, AND THE ALTAR WAS THREE
MORE. ALTHOUGH WE WEREN'T FLUENT IN LATIN, WE DID APPRECIATE THAT
THE MASS WAS IN LATIN BECAUSE ORDINARY ENGLISH WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR
SO SOLEMN AN OCCASION. WE ALTAR SERVERS HELD A SPECIAL PATEN UNDER
THE CHINS OF THE COMMUNICANTS, IN CASE THE PRIEST DROPPED THE HOST.
AND AFTER MASS, NO ONE TOUCHED THE CHALICE AND THE PATEN EXCEPT THE
PRIEST.
I REMEMBER THAT THE ONLY
SOUNDS YOU WOULD HEAR IN THE CHURCH WOULD BE A CRYING BABY, OR A
COUGH; EVEN WHEN MASS WASN'T GOING ON COMMUNICATION WAS IN HUSHED
WHISPERS. EVERYTHING REMINDED US, THIS WAS SACRED SPACE, THIS WAS
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, HERE WAS THE REAL PRESENCE.
THERE WAS AN OLD CUSTOM
CALLED A “VISIT”. SOME PEOPLE STILL DO THAT, I KNOW, BUT WHEN I
WAS GROWING UP, EVEN WE KIDS WOULD MAKE VISITS, SOMETIMES BY
OURSELVES, BEFORE A TEST, OR AFTER SCHOOL WHILE WAITING FOR OUR
PARENTS TO PICK US UP. IT WAS NATURAL; JESUS WAS REAL TO US, REALLY
PRESENT, AND WHO WOULD NOT WANT TO BE WITH JESUS WHEN YOU COULD BE?
LONG BEFORE THERE WAS A
BIBLE, THE CHURCH BELIEVED IN THE REAL PRESENCE. WE HAVE WRITINGS
FROM THE FIRST CENTURY ATTESTING TO THIS. AND TODAY YOU HAVE JUST
LISTENED TO THE SHOCKING WORDS OF JESUS, ON WHICH OUR BELIEF IS
BASED, WORDS WHICH MANY OF HIS FOLLOWERS, THEN AS WELL AS NOW, COULD
NOT ACCEPT. HOW CAN THIS MAN GIVE US HIS FLESH TO EAT? MANY
CHRISTIANS, IN AND OUT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, HAVE DECIDED THAT THIS
MAN CAN'T DO THIS. SOME GO AWAY, SADDENED. SOME DECIDE THAT THESE
UNEQUIVOCAL WORDS OF JESUS, THE BELIEF OF THE EARLY CHURCH, THE
TESTIMONY OF THE GOSPELS – ARE ALL RELICS OF A MORE PRIMITIVE TIME
WHEN PEOPLE ACTUALLY BELIEVED SUCH THINGS, AND CERTAINLY YOU DON'T
NEED THAT TO BE A CHRISTIAN. AND FOR MANY OF OUR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS
AND SISTERS WHO CONTINUE TO CARRY OUT A COMMUNION SERVICE AS A
MEMORIAL TO JESUS, PER HIS COMMAND, IT'S JUST A RITUAL. I WAS
READING AN ARTICLE BY A MINISTER ABOUT HOW IN HIS CHURCH HE WOULD USE
DIFFERENT THINGS DURING THEIR COMMUNION SERVICE – TORTILLAS ONE
TIME, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE BREAD OF MEXICO. ANOTHER TIME HE BROUGHT
IN PITAS, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE BREAD OF THE MIDDLE EAST. ONCE HE
EVEN SERVED LITTLE PAPER CUPS OF RICE, BECAUSE RICE IS THE BREAD OF
HALF THE HUMAN RACE. AND HE STATED, HALF JOKINGLY, THAT ONE DAY HE
MIGHT SERVE CROISSANTS OR IRISH SODA BREAD. IF THERE IS NO REAL
PRESENCE, IT DOESN'T MUCH MATTER WHAT YOU USE.
THE REAL PRESENCE HAS
ALWAYS BEEN A CHALLENGE TO CHRISTIANS. IT'S BEEN AN INTELLECTUAL
CHALLENGE. THEOLOGIANS HAVE ASKED, HOW CAN THIS BE, AND TRIED TO
EXPLAIN IT. THOMAS AQUINAS WAS THE ONE WHO FORMULATED THE
EXPLANATION WHICH THE CHURCH ADOPTED AS “OFFICIAL”. IT IS BASED
ON ARISTOTELIAN PHILOSOPHY, WHICH HELD THAT EVERYTHING COULD BE
DIVIDED INTO SUBSTANCE AND ACCIDENTS. SUBSTANCE WAS WHAT MADE A
THING TO BE WHAT IT IS; AND ACCIDENTS WERE ATTRIBUTES LIKE COLOR,
TASTE, SMELL, AND SO ON, THAT DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO BE THERE FOR A
THING TO BE WHAT IT IS. THOMAS SAID THAT THE SUBSTANCE OF BREAD AND
WINE BECAME THE SUBSTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST, WHILE THE ACCIDENTS OF
BREAD REMAINED. THE ORTHODOX CHURCHES, WHICH ALSO HAVE THE REAL
PRESENCE IN THEIR EUCHARIST, DON'T HAVE AN “OFFICIAL”
EXPLANATION.
BESIDES THE INTELLECTUAL
CHALLENGE, THERE IS THE MORAL CHALLENGE. IF JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT
IN THE EUCHARIST, WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE? MOST OF US WOULD SAY THAT WE
BELIEVE. BUT I THINK THERE IS A GOOD ANALOGY. TWO YEARS AGO ONE OF
MY FAVORITE PROFESSORS CAME TO TOWN AT MY INVITATION TO GIVE A TALK
ON HIS RESEARCH. I SAT IN THE AUDIENCE WITH A HUNDRED OTHER PEOPLE,
LISTENING ATTENTIVELY. THAT WAS GOOD, THAT WAS WHY HE CAME, THAT WAS
LIKE THE HOLY MASS. BUT I TREASURED THE PART LATER, WHEN I DROVE HIM
BACK TO THE AIRPORT, AND WE HAD A CHANCE TO CATCH UP ON THINGS, TO
COMPARE NOTES, TO JUST ENJOY EACH OTHER'S PRESENCE. THAT IS LIKE A
VISIT TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. IF JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT IN THE
BLESSED SACRAMENT, OUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE TO VISIT HIM. IF WE
BELIEVE THAT THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIS PRESENCE THERE AND
HIS PRESENCE ANYWHERE ELSE, THEN WHY BOTHER MAKING TIME TO COME INTO
THE CHURCH FOR A VISIT?
A VISIT TO THE BLESSED
SACRAMENT HAS MANY BENEFITS. IT IS CALMING AND HEALING; WE LEAVE OUR
LIVES FOR A FEW MINUTES AND REST. IT ALLOWS US TO REFLECT ON HOW OUR
LIVES ARE GOING, IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS, WHO CALLS US TO BE BETTER
VERSIONS OF OURSELVES. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DEEP PRAYER, FOR
OURSELVES, FOR OTHERS, FOR SPECIAL INTENTIONS. IT'S A GREAT WAY TO
MAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS. AND IT STRENGTHENS OUR FAITH. IF WE GO A
LITTLE OUT OF OUR WAY SO THAT WE CAN BE IN THE SPECIAL COMPANY OF
JESUS, JUST AS THE APOSTLES WERE, WE REINFORCE OUR BELIEF IN THE REAL
PRESENCE. AND AS THIS BELIEF GETS STRONGER, WE BEGIN TO REALIZE THAT
GOD IS INDEED WITH US, THAT THERE IS SUCH A THING AS INCARNATION,
THAT GOD IS ALWAYS BREAKING IN TO THE WORLD AROUND US, AND THAT WE
ARE PART OF GOD'S PLAN FOR THE WORLD.
BECAUSE JESUS IS GOD,
MANY OF THE THINGS HE SAID, WHICH WE MIGHT AT FIRST GLANCE THINK OF
AS FIGURES OF SPEECH, ARE INDEED REAL AND CONCRETE. HE SAID, “THIS
IS MY BODY” AND “THIS IS MY BLOOD.” HE ALSO SAID, “I AM WITH
YOU ALL DAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE WORLD.” AND “MY FATHER AND
I WILL DWELL WITH HIM.” THE EUCHARIST, HIS REAL PRESENCE, IS THE
SOURCE OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE, WHERE IT BEGINS; AND IT IS THE SUMMIT,
WHAT WE ARE DRAWN TO, THE GOAL OF OUR LIFE.
PLEASE CONSIDER WORKING
IN A VISIT TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT THIS WEEK.
