"They recognized him in the breaking of the bread" (code for Eucharist)
Recently, I read an interesting article in the magazine called "America." This magazine is known to be a bit progressive and liberal. I remember a parishioner advising me not to subscribe to this magazine. But I told her that another parishioners subscribed it for me. Also, I don't mind expanding my knowledge and seeing what each side is focusing on.
In the last few pages of the magazine contain article reviews of certain books. This is one way for the magazine to promote and sell books. One particular book caught my attention. It's called: Eucharist as Meaning by Joseph C. Mudd. The full title: "Eucharist as Meaning: Critical Metaphysics and Contemporary Sacramental Theology." (As you can see, this book is not heady at all. It's a no-brainer. :) ).
Mudd, the author traces back our understanding of the Eucharist to scholastic metaphysics. For instance, the words "substance" and "accidents" are from the development of thought shared by St. Thomas Aquinas. Substance is the essence of something. Accidents are the outward physical properties. After the consecration, the bread and wine remain the same but the substance is altered. The Church taught that this is the Doctrine of Transubstantiation. After the consecration, the bread and wine becomes the body and blood of Christ.
One theologian shared it this way: it's not uncommon that one of our senses may deceive us. For instance, I remember this one time being invited for breakfast at a parishioner's home, and the family was serving sausages, bacon and eggs. The sausages look like regular, ordinary sausages, but the taste was very different. After the breakfast, the husband told us that the sausages were deer sausages. It looked and felt like regular sausages, but it was actually made of deer. Because one or more of our senses can deceive us, we can rely upon our other senses. In the Eucharist, we don't rely upon the sense of sight because it looks like ordinary bread and wine. We rely upon the sense of sound. Because we hear Christ's words: "This is my body and this is my blood."
The author of this book proposed this question: does the influence of scholastic metaphysics in our understanding of the Holy Eucharist, applicable for us today? Or is it outdated, obscure and lack relevancy for us today? Not only that, the Author does he reintroduce some theologians that have shared their thoughts on the Eucharistic understanding, but there's quite a bit of deconstruction in his writing.
There was also an interesting question posed: what would happen if an animal like a mice, happens to eat the Eucharist? St Thomas Aquinas from the 13th century answers: the mice would eat the Eucharist "accidentally and not sacramentally." Because the animal has no understanding of the metaphysical concepts. For the animal, it is just plain bread. How interesting that when receive Christ in the Eucharist, it also requires a certain understanding and spiritual disposition.
A story was shared about St Faustina. When she received the Eucharist, she noticed that the host she received glows brightly and is different from the hosts that others receive. She understood that she has been gifted to see Christ more clearly in the Eucharist, and it was her mission to help others see it too.
I shared the article with a fellow priest, and he proposed an antithesis. Let's say if something were to happen to me, and an animal happens to consume my body as food, (I know it sounds graphic and gross), but following the line of reasoning, since the animal doesn't know who I am, it wouldn't actually be consuming me. He thinks that despite the animal's lack of understanding, the animal would still be consuming me.
A good response is from the article itself. The article gives us a helpful clue using insights from Joseph Ratzinger, otherwise known as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. The Holy Father said that: the body gets its identity not from matter but from the person, the soul. The physiology becomes truly 'body' through the heart of the personality. Bodiliness is something other than a summation of corpuscles."
So in other words, the animal could be consuming me, but it actually doesn't because it is not consuming my soul. It's like the Lord says: Do not be afraid of those who can kill your body, but not the soul." (Matthew 10:28).
But when we consume the Eucharistic Host, we are taught that we consuming not just Christ's body and blood, but also his soul, and his divine self (body, blood, soul and divinity). We are ingesting his soul and divine self and divine life into our own. "In the materiality of Eucharistic bread and wine, Jesus as the Word, becomes a human person, makes present and gives his living self, in his risen bodiliness - all that he was and became, as embodied and alive in his earthly ministry, his dying on the cross and his resurrection.
When we eat the bread and drink the cup, there is a lot more that is happening beyond the surface. He gifted us with his entire self. May the Eucharist transform your life. Amen.
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