Faith and Reception: Different Ways of Partaking

I was reading in Laurence Paul Hemming's book Worship as a Revelation this morning and came across an interesting number of points concerning communion. The different ways of receiving has many pastoral implications when seeking to help the people of God understand the effectual benefits of the Eucharist as opposed to simply the objective sacramental elements without positive benefit. What is important to understand is that the faith or worthiness of the receiver does not affect the objectivity of the sacrament but it does affect whether or not the recipient receives the benefits of the sacrament. God is not arbitrary in his promises concerning the Eucharist and we can trust what he has laid down in Holy Scripture and the teaching of the Church concerning the way we approach the altar. The practical benefit is as Hemming says, 'towards the deification of the soul.' So, what ways are possible for reception? He writes,

To summarize: first, the sacramental conversion of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ takes place through the infinite power of God; second, this conversion is known only through faith; third, what faith knows remains based on the persistent appearances of bread and wine; fourth, there are two ways of receiving Holy Communion--spiritually, which means perfectly, and sacramentally, which means imperfectly. The other way of receiving the sacrament, 'accidentally', means that although the sacrament remains what it is in reality, to the one receiving only accidentally, this reality is withheld; fifth, not everyone who eats the sacrament will receive it perfectly; sixth, there are some who receive the sacrament spiritually--that is perfectly--who do not have physically to eat it to do so. Every one of these considerations is held to this day by the Catholic Church.

Sacramental eating does not guarantee spiritual eating and there are a number of people who sadly remain quite confused about this. Last Friday I gave a Quiet Day talk to the local SSC chapter. In that talk I discussed the sacrifice of the Eucharist and its connection to the priestly life. What was central to the reflection was what the Eucharist proclaims as the self-offering of Christ, not as a mere commemoration in the sense of bringing the Christ-event to the mind, but the actualisation of the cross-event on our altars. This actualisation is represented by Jesus who is both Priest and Victim.

We live in a day where this Catholic expression of Christianity is under attack. Not only by secularists and other anti-Christian organisations but also by some who are ordained to bring these fruits of the cross to God's people whom he loved enough to be placed upon the altar of the cross. St. John Vianney once said,

When men want to destroy religion they begin by attacking the priest, because where the priest is no more, there is no more sacrifice, and where there is no more sacrifice, there is no more religion.

The Eucharist absolutely requires a sacrificial priesthood. Within the foundational bedrock of all sacraments rests the principle of complete alteration or change. The Christian faith is a religion of change. It is a faith that is transformative and that is a radical call that bases its call to holy living on this change. S. John Vianney so rightly said, 'If we really understood what the Mass was, we would die of love.' Real change involves the cross and our crosses do come and they vary from one person to another. What crosses do come bring us to trust deeply in our Father who gives us the strength to accept what crosses come our way.

This is why the cross and the Eucharist are inseparable. The priesthood is a calling to order our entire life towards this Eucharistic mystery or the priesthood is dispensable. The mystery within the priesthood and its union with the Eucharistic offering is in the words of JPII, 'communion with Christ in being and doing, which must be translated into a spiritual life imbued with faith in and love for the Eucharist.' Why does our Lord dwell there? S. John Vianney tells us,

Our Lord is hidden there, waiting for us to come and visit him and ask for what we want. He is there, in the Sacrament of his love, sighing and interceding unceasingly for sinners before God his Father. He is there to console us. To what outrages has he exposed himself that he might remain thus in the midst of us. See how good he is! he adapts himself to our weakness...In heaven, where we see him in all his glory; if he had appeared before us now in all his glory, we should not have dared to approach him; but he hides himself like one in prison, saying to us, 'You do not see me, but that does not matter; ask me for all you want and I will grant it to you.'

Come my soul, redouble your ardour! You are here alone to adore your God! His look rests on you alone! Ah! If we only had the angels' eyes! Seeing our Lord Jesus Christ here, on that altar, and looking at us, how we should love him! We should want to stay always at his feet; it would be a foretaste of heaven; everything else would become insipid to us.

Priests and people do not embark upon this ministry in carrying our crosses alone. We share the cross and the victimhood with Mary who stood at the foot of the cross of her Son Jesus, who assists us by her prayers as she helps us to live out the Eucharistic, and hence sacrificial life of the Church, telling us to 'do whatever he tells us to do.' What privilege priests have in carrying out this vocation for the Church! I pray that all men who have been given the gift of priesthood consider what a privilege and responsibility it is to take the Lord of glory into their hands and give him to his people. Perhaps we might consider again how extraordinary the priesthood is and the huge responsibility to not mess this up with our own private opinions that get into the way of Christ's sacrificial offering.

This reflection is a portion of my talk offered to the local SSC chapter. As priests renew their vows at the Chrism Mass and the people gather to pray for them, may the effect of Christ's sacrifice become the hope of all God's people that restores to us a perfect reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus!