Rite and Reason: We are the body of Christ, writes Fr John O 'Connell, in a reflection at the close of the Year of the Eucharist. It is the food of sinners, not prize of saints.
Sacraments are meeting places with God. Just as time spent with friends strengthens our friendship, sacraments strengthen our friendship with God. In the Eucharist, Christ is not physically present; he is sacramentally present.
At the Last Supper Jesus sat down with his disciples to celebrate the Passover. This was the ritual meal which the Jews celebrated each year to keep alive the memory and relive the great event in their history - their liberation from the slavery of Egypt.
So Jesus adopted a rite already full of meaning and gave it a new dimension, which would bring the theme of liberation to its fulfilment. Jesus took the bread and said: "This is my body given for you." At the end of the meal he said: "This is my blood poured out for you." Then he added: "Do this in memory of me."
Mysteriously, his death the next day would effect reconciliation between God and humankind.
The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, laid down his life so that we may live. It is in that sense that the Mass is a sacrifice. We, too, in the living out of the Mass, are called upon to give our lives in imitation of Jesus.
In the early days the Christians gathered together often in private houses to do what Jesus asked to be done in his memory. Christians who came together for the Eucharist were conscious that the risen Lord was in their midst - encouraging, challenging, supporting them.
They didn't wonder when Christ became present or how. It was enough to know that he was with them. After the eucharistic prayer all shared in this divine encounter. Communion was taken, often by lay people, to the absent sick. Communion was reserved for the sick and later for private prayer
In the centuries after Constantine made Christianity the religion of the Roman Empire, house churches gave way to cathedrals and basilicas. The celebration became less personal.
Arius denied the divinity of Christ. There was such a strong reaction that the humanity of Jesus was almost forgotten. He became an awesome distant figure. Great emphasis was placed on reverence and unworthiness. People looked at the elevated host, but seldom received.
Lay people were not allowed to touch the host and communion in the hand was eliminated. The communion bread became a thin white wafer. The cup was withdrawn. Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Mass was in Latin. The priest celebrated Mass with his back to the people, who were occupied with their private devotions.
Vatican II tried to return the Eucharist to what it had been in the beginning: an assembly of God's people come together, under the leadership of a priest, to praise God, to hear his word, to give thanks, to break bread, to go out to love and serve the Lord. "The full and active participation of all the people is the aim to be considered before all else."
When the priest holds up the host and says: "The body of Christ", our "Amen" (yes, I believe) is not just: "Yes, I am truly receiving Christ in this host." It is also saying: "Yes, I am the body of Christ . . . all of us here sharing in this Eucharist are the body of Christ . . . all people, especially those in need, are the body of Christ."
Sharing in what Herbert McCabe called "the coming banquet of heaven" involves sharing our lives and gifts with others. It is important to listen after communion. Christ wants us to open our eyes and see his broken body all around us.
He is saying: 'You cannot have holy communion with me if you don't have communion with your sisters and brothers. You cannot love God without loving your neighbour. On the last day I won't ask how many times you attended Mass; that is not your holiness. I will ask how your family and neighbours fared, how your spouse and children grew in love and faith. If you love me, feed my sheep, my starving sheep. And start in your own home.'
John O'Connell DD is parish priest of the Church of the Most Holy Redeemer in Bray, Co Wicklow