I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
G.K. Chesterton once observed of the United States, "It's a very Protestant country. In the United States, even the Catholics are Protestant." To their horror, the bishops of the United States discovered how Protestant we are when they surveyed American Catholic beliefs about the Eucharist. Not many believe it is the Real Presence of the Lord, his actual Body and Blood.
They have called for a three years revival of study and prayer about the the Most Blessed Sacrament, and we're now in the second year. They plan a massive Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis next year, July 17-21, 2024.
I'm sure there are more ways to begin a reflection on the Eucharist than there are Catholic priests, deacons, and catechists to reflect on it. But Holy Thursday is a very good day to start.
Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. Take to heart these words which I command you today. Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
As the Shema is to the Jewish people, the Eucharist is for us. We are not God's people without it.
As I've studied the Book of Deuteronomy, I've been especially impressed by Moses' insistence that God's people must drill the Law into their children. If the next generation does not embrace the faith, then their escape from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea and destruction of Pharaoh and his army, the sojourn in the desert, and the renewed covenant with Abraham mean nothing. If the children do not learn the stories, or forget them, and do not teach their children, it was all for nothing. History will forget it; it never happened.
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget.
May my tongue stick to my palate
if I do not remember you,
If I do not exalt Jerusalem
beyond all my delights. Psalm 137: 5-6
Likewise, if we don't believe that the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Jesus, then God should not have gone to the trouble of being born of the Virgin Mary, dying on the cross, and being raised in glory. In fact, human life with all its triumph and tragedy, its glory, joy and sadness, will have been a waste of evolutionary energy. It was all for naught. The final word will be God's contempt,
"You are dust, and to dust you return."
Although we hear it daily, on Holy Thursday we listen to Jesus's command as if for the first time, "Do this in memory of me." Jesus might have commanded that we read the bible, sing a song, watch a movie, or attend a concert in his memory, but he said, do this, eat, and drink.
No sooner was he raised on that Easter Sunday than he was breaking bread although he had to retrieve two errant sheep from Emmaus. Immediately after Pentecost,
They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers. Acts 2:42
We have never missed a Sunday since then.
Holy Thursday's "Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper" began in prehistoric times, with the Hebrew's last supper in Egypt. They ate it quickly, with staffs in their hands and shoes on their feet; the bread was unleavened because there was no time to wait. The Jews have celebrated that meal without fail ever since that anxious night; and Jesus took his last paschal meal on the night before he died.
Because God is faithful and his Spirit remains always with us, the Church will always remember that day. We will always celebrate the Mass and believe in the Eucharist. But it might disappear in the United States, as parents fail their children and children dishonor their parents. It is disappearing in some European communities. But God's word abides forever and God's spirit will continue to gather courageous men and women to the Body and Blood of Jesus. We are assured of that.
No one is guaranteed salvation but we pray that we and our children might be found worthy when the trumpet sounds and God's kingdom appears. On that Great Day we will dance for joy with all God's faithful children.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.