By Bob Sullivan
Sometimes knowing what is not happening helps you understand what is happening.
This is a fact with regard to many things in our life, but most certainly within the Catholic faith. There is an abundance of misinformation about the Catholic faith. Some of it is intentional myth developed to attack the faith of Catholics and some of it comes from superstition, laziness, ignorance, or confusion.
Unfortunately, some of this misinformation has come from within the Church. In fact, we are dealing with a lot of confusion within the Church these days, from blatant to subtle.
It is often the subtle temptations of the Devil which most effectively suck us into sin while the blatant works of the Devil can actually send us running to the confessional, the altar, or to the chapel. One of the more subtle mixed messages goes right to the source and summit of our faith: The Eucharist. We know there is an enormous misunderstanding of the Eucharist in the faith today. Satan wants us to be confused about who the Eucharist is.
Yet, there are even confusing things which can take place during Holy Mass, which undermine the teaching of transubstantiation through what we say, what we sing, and what we do.
What We Say: We casually refer to the Eucharist as the “host,” “communion,” or the “bread” when we talk about the Mass with other Catholics. We can also fall into the habit of referring to the Precious Blood as “wine.” Granted, we even have a Memorial Acclamation the Church has approved for the Mass:
“When we eat this BREAD and drink this CUP, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.”
Therefore, while words such as bread and wine are not sinful, heretical, or wrong, it may simply be prudent to speak about the Eucharist in more explicit and consistent terms. Instead of saying “I received communion,” I try to say, “I received the Eucharist.” Instead of referring to the chalice of Christ’s blood as wine, I intentionally call it “His Precious Blood.”
By using these explicit words, I remind myself and others, that it is not just bread and wine after the consecration.
What We Sing: In your parish, there is a good chance that you have a music issue in which you will find an abundance of hymns which refer to the Eucharist as “bread” and “wine” and which emphasize social justice as the ultimate mission of Christians.
It may contain hymns written by non-Catholics such as Martin Luther or by a musician who recently wrote a song celebrating LGBT Pride month. It may also contain a Mass setting which appears to be written to the tune of “My Little Pony” by the same musician who once wrote the refrain of one of his most popular hymns eerily similar to the tune of the theme song for “The Brady Bunch.”
If Holy Mass is as important as we are told (and I believe it is), liturgical music should not be ambiguous or misleading, heavily focused on us, or imitate the music we hear on our television and radio. This only trivializes the worship we give to God in the Eucharist and at Holy Mass.
What We Do: Simply put, actions speak louder than words. So when we say the Eucharist is Jesus, but behave like it is common food — if we perhaps receive the Eucharist without its due reverence — what are our children going to believe?
These ambiguities and inconsistencies have found their way into our faith, including the Mass, but they do not have to remain. Some easy changes can be done at the personal and parish level without requiring any new Church traditions or a return to an old tradition.
I believe every Catholic, and therefore the body of Christ — His Church — would benefit greatly from three easy changes.
First: Avoid potentially misleading words in our conversations with others. Try to refer to the Eucharist as the Eucharist or the Body of Christ and refer to what was once wine as “The Precious Blood.” Also, when the celebrant or the cantor selects the memorial acclamation which uses the words “bread” and “cup,” intentionally remind yourself that you are saying or singing about the body and blood of Christ, not simply bread and a cup of wine. Second: Find better liturgical music. Third: Encourage the use the communion rail, possibly even using intinction, (See GIRM No. 287) while retaining the current practice as an option as well.
If you offer these suggestions in your parish, you could receive some pushback. Can you think of a better reason to suffer a little than to suffer for Jesus?
But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. 1 Peter 2:20
As they left the council, they rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer dishonor for the sake of the name. Acts 5:41
If you do not receive pushback, you may be helping your parish family understand and believe in the Eucharist, which is the source and summit of our faith.
By reminding us what is NOT happening at Mass, and by being clear and consistent about what IS happening and who the Eucharist is, there will be less confusion, doubt, and disbelief in the Eucharist and more faith in the Eucharist glorifies God.
