Day 192: Unity in the Eucharist (1396-1401)

• It’s Day 192!!

• We are continuing with more of THE FRUITS OF HOLY COMMUNION

• We will also talk about the Eucharist and the unity of Christians

• What about the Eucharist and those who aren’t Roman Catholic?

• What do we do about that?

• What does it mean for them and for all of us?

• So let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise. We thank you. Thank you for this day. Thank you for, once again, coming to meet us by the Power of your Holy Spirit and the person of your Son, Jesus Christ. Thank you for speaking your Word to us. Your Word made Flesh-giving your Word to us, your Word made Flesh, your Only Begotten Son so that all those who believe in you might not perish, but might have eternal life. Lord God, this day, we pray for the unity of all Christians. We pray that one day, once again, all those who follow after Jesus may one day be united around the table, one day be united around the Altar of the Lord. Lord God, we pray, right now, that what divides us as Christians may be overcome by what unites us as Christians. We pray that in your mercy, and in your great will, and your great providence, in the miracle that only you can render, that you bring unity once again to all those who profess faith in your Son, Jesus Christ. Make us one, as you are one. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• Today is some big topics and they all circle around the unity of the Mystical Body

• THE EUCHARIST MAKES THE CHURCH!!

• Paragraph 1396 says, “The unity of the Mystical Body: the Eucharist makes the Church, Those who receive the Eucharist are united more closely to Christ.”

• When it comes to Holy Communion, it unites us in LOVE

• It is meant to be a SIGN OF UNITY

• St. Paul says in Paragraph 1396, “The cup of blessing we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?...Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”

• St. Augustine’s quote is SO POWERFUL because what happens?

• We come forward and the priest, deacon, or bishop holds that Body of Christ aloft and says those words, “The Body of Christ”

• And we respond, “Amen”

• YES IT IS TRUE!!

• We are going to talk about intercommunion

• Is it possible that those who are not Catholic, could they receive Holy Communion?

• It seems, in so many ways, why not?

• If they believe that Jesus is truly Jesus…

• (SQUIRREL!! 😉)

• Remember how St. Justin Martyr had some conditions for receiving Holy Communion?

• Among those conditions were that they are baptized, that they believe Jesus is Lord

• BUT…

• Also among those conditions is a level of UNITY

• The Early Church Fathers, such as St. Ignatius of Antioch, specified that it is NOT MERELY PROFESSING FAITH IN JESUS

• BUT…

• It is also BEING UNITED WITH ONE’S BISHOP 

• IT IS NOT JUST JESUS AND ME!!

• There is a certain sense of UNION if we are in FULL COMMUNION WITH THE CHURCH

• THEN…

• We may receive Holy Communion

• If we are not in full communion with the Church then we may not receive Holy Communion

• THIS GOES FOR CATHOLICS AS WELL!!

• Maybe we are in mortal sin or some irregularity in our lives

• Even as Catholics, then we may not receive Holy Communion

• At the heart of this, we may say, isn't this inhospitable?

• Isn’t it just mean to say someone can’t receive Holy Communion?

• Let’s listen to Fr. Mike’s story about a deacon who was raised by a Lutheran…

• Do Lutherans believe that the Eucharist REALLY IS the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ?

• No

• So here’s the thing

• When we come forward to receive Holy Communion, that minister holds THE BODY OF CHRIST and says, “The Body of Christ”

• THE BODY BLOOD SOUL AND DIVINITY OF JESUS

• When we say, “Amen” we are saying “YES, IT IS TRUE!!”

• YES, I BELIEVE THAT!!

• Essentially we are saying, “I STAKE MY LIFE ON THAT!!”

• When the Chalice of Blood is handed to us, “The Blood of Christ,” and we say, “Amen”

• YES, IT IS TRUE!!

• I STAKE MY LIFE ON THIS!!

• If you DO NOT BELIEVE THAT then the Church DOES NOT WANT YOU TO LIE just for the sake of WHAT LOOKS LIKE UNITY

• It would only be unity on the surface

• It would only be a cosmetic unity

• The Body of Christ is divided in a painful and horrible way

• At the Last Supper, when Jesus gave us the Eucharist in John’s Gospel He also prays

• He begs his Father what WE WOULD BE ONE

• Jesus says, “Father, may they be one as you and I are one.”

• And what happened?

• We are not one

• We have Christians who are divided

• We have a number of ecclesial communities

• Thousands and thousands of Christians and denominations and we are all divided

• AND YET…

• Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper was that we WOULD NOT BE DIVIDED

• His prayer at the Last Supper was that WE WOULD BE ONE

• Here’s the crazy thing…

• For the most part, we don’t care 🙁

• When it comes to division among Christians, we don’t really care 🙁

• People think yeah, whatever

• Variety is the spice of life 🙄

• We have more options so no big deal, right? 

• Until when?

• UNTIL WE GET TO THE MASS

• In the Mass we have friends who are there who are not Catholic 

• We have family members who are there who are not Catholic

• We experience the pain of division

• Rather than saying, “Let’s heal then and work towards unity again”

• We say, “Oh no let’s just extend the offer of Holy Communion to ANYONE”

• That would be a cosmetic unity

• It would not get to the HEART OF OUR DIVISIONS

• What we experience now with different denominations IS NOT GOD’S WILL

• Pay attention to Christ’s prayer at the Last Supper

• “MAY THEY BE ONE”

• Yes, it is painful when we have friends and family members who are not Catholic who come to Mass with us

• They have to either sit in the pew or come up for a blessing 

• When you can’t receive Holy Communion, it is painful

• Those are the times we transform our pain into prayer

• Those are the times we say, “Yes, I am experiencing a slight fraction of the pain that, in some mysterious way, God must experience looking at the division of the Church.”

• WE ARE MEANT TO BE UNITED!!

• WE ARE NOT UNITED!! 🙁

• So, painfully, we are not able to offer Holy Communion to all those who are not Catholic or to non-practicing Catholics

• AND YET…

• There is something really powerful about this

• Back to the story about the Deacon and the Lutheran mom…

• It has a happy ending…

• Something changed…

• Where there was disunity, there became REAL UNITY

• WHICH IS INCREDIBLE!!

• St. John Chrysostom says in Paragraph 1397, “The Eucharist commits us to the poor…”

• God feeds us and frees us

• Therefore, we are called to go and FREE OTHERS AND FEED OTHERS

• HUGE!!

• The Eastern Orthodox Churches are not in full communion with the Catholic Church

• AND YET…

• Because they have apostolic succession they have the priesthood and THEY HAVE THE EUCHARIST

• So in the Orthodox Churches, their Eucharist is VALID

• That TRULY is Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity because they have apostolic succession

• Because they have TRUE Holy Orders, they TRULY have the Eucharist

• Paragraph 1399 says, “A certain communion in sacris, and so in the Eucharist, ‘given suitable circumstances and the approval of Church authority, is not merely possible but is encouraged.’”

• This is a CHALLENGING THING

• BUT…

• This is a GOOD THING

• Their receiving Holy Communion in the Catholic Church is not merely possible, BUT IT IS ENCOURAGED

• The Church wants there to be UNITY

• The Church wants everyone who longs for Jesus to receive Jesus

• Paragraph 1401 says, “When, in the Ordinary’s judgment, a grave necessity arises, Catholic ministers may give the sacraments of Eucharist, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick to other Christians not in full communion with the Catholic Church, who ask for them of their own will…”

• The Ordinary in this case is the bishop

• So think of someone who has been discerning over the course of their lives whether to become Catholic

• Or even on their deathbed, they hear about Jesus Christ and they hear about the gift of the Truth of the Catholic Church

• Even outside of RCIA, under the ordinary’s judgment, they may receive the the Sacraments of Eucharist, Penance, and Anointing of the Sick when in danger of death when grave necessity arises

• The Church does not want to withhold grace from anyone who is asking for it in a time of need

• This isn’t a down note

• It’s an up note

• This is a POWERFUL TRUTH 

• This is a POWERFUL THING that we need to hold onto

• THE EUCHARIST IS THE SACRAMENT OF SACRAMENTS!!

• It is a sign of unity and it brings about a certain degree of unity

• BUT…

• THE EUCHARIST IS NOT A REWARD FOR THE PERFECT, BUT IT IS MEDICINE FOR THE SICK!!

• It is not medicine for the dead

• We do not give medicine to the dead

• In the same way, if we experience that division we want to HEAL THAT DIVISION BEFORE WE CAN RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION AS ONE BODY

• We need to become one body in order to receive Holy Communion as one body, if that makes sense

• If today has been challenging or difficult for you, take a moment and pray for the UNITY OF ALL CHRISTIANS

• Every Sunday Mass, there is always a moment where we pray for the UNITY OF ALL CHRISTIANS

• One day, what divides us as Christians may be overcome by what unites us as Christians

• One day, maybe even in our lifetime, every disciple of Jesus can be gathered around ONE ALTAR, ONE TABLE, with ONE SHEPHERD

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!