Faith and the Eucharist

Faith in the Real Presence is a gift, as all faith is. However, we also must do our part in working with the gift: being open to it and ultimately accepting it, even though we cannot fully see or understand what this gift is.

Think about the Gospel of John, Chapter 6. Jesus tells the crowd that "the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh" (John 6:51), but after some explanation, many of Jesus' disciples respond "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"(John 6:60). This teaching caused many of the disciples to stop following Him: "After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him" (John 6:66). Jesus then turns to His most trusted disciples, the Twelve. He asks them: "Will you also go away?" But Peter responds for them: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." (John 6:67-69).

Peter and the rest of the Twelve did not understand what Jesus was telling them any more than those disciples who left Jesus. However, what Peter and the Twelve did understand better than those other disciples was who Jesus was and the reliability of His word. Whereas the disciples who left sought to use understanding as the criterion for whether or not they would follow Jesus, Peter and the Twelve instead based their decision to follow Jesus on faith. Not that faith and reason are opposed. They are not. Faith without reason allows one to be easily led astray. However, reason without faith causes one to believe only what one's senses tells him or her.

St. Cyprian of Carthage wrote a treatise called The Death-Rate (ca. 252-253). Although he wrote this work in response to a plague and used the occasion to get Christians to think about their attitudes towards death, the passage can help us understand the attitude we should take towards the Eucharist, especially in light of John 6:

If a staid and praiseworthy man should promise you something you would have faith in his promise, and you would not believe that you would be cheated or deceived by one whom you knew to be steadfast in his words and deeds. God is speaking to you, and do you waiver faithlessly with your unbelieving mind? God promises that when you leave this world you shall have immortality in life eternal, and do you doubt? This is to know God not at all. This is to offend Christ, the Teacher of belief by the sin of disbelief. For one established in the Church, this is not to have faith in the house of faith. (The Faith of the Early Fathers by William A. Jurgens, Vol. I, #562, p. 224).

Peter and the Twelve (except for Judas Iscariot) understood that Jesus was "steadfast in his words and deeds." To doubt that what Jesus promises is true "is to know God not at all."

Later, St. Anselm of Canterbury (ca. 1033-1109), building on writings of St. Augustine, stressed the importance of faith as foundational to understanding. Anselm wrote, "Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam. Nam et hoc credo, quia, nisi credidero, non intelligam." ("Nor do I seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that, unless I first believe, I shall not understand.") If we are open to faith, we come to understand certain things that are not available to us outside of faith.

We will never understand the Eucharist this side of Heaven. It is indeed a hard saying. However, we must trust the One saying it, for He is steadfast in His words and deeds.

Why Have a Eucharistic Procession?

Before we talk more about the mechanics of having a Eucharistic procession, let's back up for a moment and look at why have one in the first place.

Here are my top 6 reasons for having a Eucharistic procession:

1. It reminds us that the Eucharist is the "source and summit of the Christian life." This comes from Vatican II's Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church), no. 11. Our lives as Christians flow from the grace provided by Christ in the Eucharist, and the Eucharistic celebration of the Mass is the highest expression of our Christian lives on earth because it prefigures the wedding banquet of the Lamb in heaven as described in the Book of Revelation.
2. It enhances our belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Vatican II's Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution of the Sacred Liturgy) gives four modes of Christ's presence: a) the priest acting in persona Christi, b) the Eucharist, c) Scripture, and d) the assembly of the faithful (no. 7). While Jesus is actually present in all these modes, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (no. 1374) reminds us that "The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique" because, quoting the Council of Trent, there "the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained."
3. It emphasizes that we are not simply a community of like-minded people, like the Rotary Club, but we are quite specifically a Eucharistic community. The Eucharist brings us closer as a parish, monastery, convent, religious organization, etc. As in a wheel, the Eucharist is the hub and we are spokes.
4. It promotes a Catholic culture. As Catholics, our faith should be on view in the world, not hidden under a bushel basket. Our faith has sacraments, sacramentals, liturgies, rituals, devotions, etc. which mark us, which consecrate us, which set us apart. The more distinct we are from everyday life, the more attractive Christ's message will be to others. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. In addition, a vibrant Catholic culture nourishes the spiritual life of Catholics and keeps them Catholic, because they see why they should be Catholic.
5. It evangelizes others. When people see a priest holding the monstrance containing the Eucharist followed by a stream of the faithful, those bystanders take notice. They know something different is happening. They may have no clue as to what that something is. They may be indifferent to it, or they may deride it. But for at least a moment they have seen it. And because the Eucharist is Christ, we also believe that his mere presence can in his good time change the lives of those who are unconscious of his presence.
6. It is an important means of praying for vocations. Without priests, there is no Eucharist.

To be sure, there are other reasons for holding a Eucharistic procession. But these will do for now.

CARA Study of the Sacraments - Belief in the Real Presence

It's been too long, but it's good to be back. Let's take a final look at the CARA study of the sacraments as it relates to the Eucharist. This time we will examine attitudes towards the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

While the overall numbers are distressing, again we see that regular mass attendance makes the difference.

• In 2001, 63% of those surveyed said that the sentence "Jesus Christ is really present in the bread and wine of the Eucharist" best described their belief. That number dropped to 57% in 2008.
• In 2001, 37% agreed with the statement "Bread and wine are symbols of Jesus, but Jesus is not really present." This number rose to 43% in 2008.

Therefore, more than 4 of 10 Catholics reject a central doctrine of the Church and receive the Eucharist without the correct belief and proper disposition. They are unable to receive the infinite grace of the sacrament through their closed disposition. For some, this is due to a poor formation of their faith. For others, it is an inability to believe this profound mystery (think of the John 6:52-69). For others, I suppose, it is an obstinate rejection of magisterial teaching. We should pray for all those who do not accept that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist.

And apparently, we should pray that they go to mass, which will greatly increase the likelihood of their belief in the Real Presence. For those who believe in the Real Presence, the breakdown by mass attendance is:

• For those attending mass weekly or more - 91%
• For those attending mass less than weekly but at least monthly - 65%
• For those attending mass a few times a year or less - 40%

Some of the most heartening news comes when we look at the generational breakdown.

Of those believing in the Real Presence and attending mass at least monthly:

• Pre-Vatican II - 86%
• Vatican II - 74%
• Post-Vatican II - 75%
• Millennials - 85%
  

As a reminder, the generation breakdowns are:

• Pre-Vatican II (Born in 1942 and earlier, or 66 years old and older in 2008)
• Vatican II (Born between 1943 and 1960, or 48 to 65 years old in 2008)
• Post-Vatican II (sometimes called "Generation X," born between 1961 and 1981, or 27 to 47 years old in 2008)
• Millennial Generation (Born between 1982 and 1990, or 18 to 26 years old in 2008)

Millennials believe in the Real Presence at very nearly the same rates at Pre-Vatican II Catholics. That would seem to give us significant hope, and I think it does. However, we need to heed the reminder of the CARA report that Millenials get to mass less often than any other group. The breakdown by generation of those attending mass at least monthly is:

• Millenials - 36%
• Post-Vatican II - 39%
• Vatican II - 42%
• Pre-Vatican II - 65%

The breakdown by region for those believing in the Real Presence is:

• Northeast - 48%
• West - 53%
• Midwest - 59%
• South - 69%

The Northeast, which was once a stronghold of Catholicism, is now the region least likely to believe in the Real Presence. It should cause us grave concern to see that less than half of all Catholics attending mass at least monthly in the Northeast believe in the Real Presence. Here is an indication of the luke-warmness of Cultural Catholicism at its most pronounced in the U.S. I'm sure that in the Northeast, the more people go to mass, the more they believe in the Real Presence. However, even going to mass is not enough; that can be simply doing the exterior actions without the interior conversion and faith.

Clearly, the CARA study shows us that there is much work to be done catechizing the Catholic faithful on the Eucharist. We need to start with ourselves, then pass that catechesis on to our family, and then our parish.

In that spirit, my next post will be about the Corpus Christi procession we had at our parish a couple of weeks ago.