ARTICLES

Power of the Eucharist is ‘Source and Summit’

By Steve Neill
Of The Catholic Virginian

While almost all Catholics would agree that Christ is present in the Eucharistic elements of consecrated bread and wine, some might find it a difficult concept that Christ is present equally in the Word at Sunday Mass.

But this has always been the case, says Mark Hoggard, minister of stewardship and worship at St. Therese parish, Chesapeake. He made his comments during a talk at the Source and Summit Conference, a Region 4 gathering, Sept. 8 at St. Jerome Church in Newport News.

“Christ WAS the Word long before he was made flesh,” Mr. Hoggard said.

As he led the group in singing Psalm 33, “Taste and See (the goodness of the Lord)” he reminded them that in the Liturgy of the Word “we experience a true Communion with Christ as in the Liturgy of the Eucharist.”

In speaking about the creedal nature of the subsequent Liturgy of the Eucharist, he discussed “What gets changed?”

Certainly the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ definitely occurs during the great Thanksgiving, “but if we’re not changed, then for what purpose?” Mr. Hoggard asked rhetorically.

He cautioned Catholics not to limit their understanding of consecration to just the bread and wine.

“We become what we eat and drink,” he said.

“Most of us know the true presence of Christ in the consecrated bread and wine, but some have difficulty believing Christ is present in the priest and the assembly,” he said. “We need to have full awareness that we, too, are the body of Christ.”

In his assertion of this, Mr. Hoggard quoted St. Augustine who said of the mystery of the Eucharist: “be what you see; receive what you are.”

The weekly profession of faith Catholics say at Mass through the Creed is “really equivalent to a weekly marriage vow,” Mr. Hoggard said.

“This is exchanged between an eternal spouse, whom we know loves and prizes us, and whom, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, we promise to honor and love every day of our lives.”

On the previous night Father Michael Renninger, diocesan Vicar for Vocations, addressed the subject of the Eucharist by first exploring the Jewish roots of Jesus’ teaching and preaching. He said that it is impossible to understand the meaning of the Last Supper “unless we appreciate the meaning which the Passover meal had for faithful Jews in the time of Jesus.”

Father Renninger went on to explore the Eucharist as it is described in the New Testament.

“The earliest Christians had a powerful experience of Christ’s presence when they gathered together to do what Jesus had asked them to do ‘in memory of me,’” he said.

Christians who gather for Sunday Mass should be present with their hearts and minds on what happens on the altar and with the people around them.

“The celebration of the Eucharist is not an historical re-enactment at which we are passive spectators,” Father Renninger said.

“The Eucharist is an action by which the mystery of Christ’s real presence is made incarnate here and now in order to transform the lives of believers.”

Father Renninger invited the audience to think about what happens when they come forward to receive Communion. Those who say “Amen” are affirming the Real Presence of Christ as they receive Communion and their later actions should reflect Christ’s presence in their lives.

“If I hold Christ in my hands on Sunday, how can I use those same hands to strike another in anger, or push someone away in judgment, or grasp at the world’s resources with greed or selfishness?” he asked rhetorically.

“If I really do believe that the Lord’s presence touches my tongue on Sunday, how can I use that same tongue to speak harsh words on Monday, or angry words on Tuesday, or untruthful words on Thursday?

“If the Lord’s presence enters my body on Sunday, how can I use my body — or the bodies of others — in a way that is not Christ-like?”

Christians who receive the Eucharist should find unity within themselves, within the Church and with the Risen Lord, Father Renninger asserted.

“The world is hungering for the presence of the living God,” he said, “and the Eucharist is the privileged place where Catholics are nourished to become effective bearers of Christ’s love to the world.”

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