Sacraments, Sacramentality and Eucharist as Holy Communion

Everything is a sacrament or everything can be a sacrament. One can experience anything in creation as created and sustained by the love of God. Fr. Michael Himes profoundly explains a sacrament in his video lecture, “Why are we a Sacramental People?” In this lecture, Himes teaches an understanding of sacraments through two simple ideas. With the first idea Himes links sacraments with creation--He explains that the universe was created so that God could give God’s self to the universe, the reason there is something rather than nothing is so that God can give God’s self to the universe and fill it with his grace. Himes claims that the universe exists because God loves it, and because God loves and sustains the universe, everything that exists is a sacrament or an expression of God’s love. Second, Himes unfolds the sacramental principle- “what is always and everywhere true must be noticed, accepted and celebrated somewhere and sometime” (“Sacramental”). Therefore, a sacrament is a tangible and physical expression of the love of God, and because the love of God is always and everywhere true, it must be noticed, accepted and celebrated somewhere and sometime.

            Understanding that anything and everything can be a sacrament has implications on the life of a Christian that extend outside of the great seven communal sacraments of the church. A Christian lives most of his or her life outside of most of the great seven sacraments. For example, of the seven sacraments of the church, only three may be recreated: the eucharist, reconciliation and anointing of the sick. The rest of the great seven sacraments are only re-lived through the commitment of others entering into the sacrament for the first time. Drawing from Himes’ understanding that the love of God must be “noticed, accepted and celebrated somewhere and sometime” allows every Christian to give meaning to the great seven sacraments every time these happen in our lives, and to look for meaning outside of the rituals and liturgies that establish the sacraments. Himes sacramental principle gives the faithful a sacramental way of viewing the world, where sacraments are not isolated events, with this understanding they can be perceived and experienced anytime and anywhere.

Of the seven great communal sacraments of the church, the sacrament of the eucharist is particularly significant. The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to the eucharist as “the source and summit of the Christian life” (Catechism #1324). The church proclaims the eucharist as instituted by Christ and as the real bodily presence of Christ—hence the immense significance of the sacrament of the eucharist (Catechism #1374). The sacrament can be approached in many ways, but under Himes’ definition of a sacramental principle, a sacrament is a real physical expression of God’s love, hence the eucharist becomes the real expression of God’s love to a community.

In the eucharist, we celebrate God’s love and dwelling among us, which is everywhere and always true, with bread and wine, as a community. The eucharist is the only sacrament of the seven great sacraments of the church where many (all the faithful) partake at once. Under Himes’ broad understanding of sacraments and sacramentality a Christian acknowledges the eucharist first and foremost as a communal event. Secondly, a Christian acknowledges that the sacrament of the eucharist encourages the faithful to accept that people of faith belong to one another—it is the acceptance that God loves us as a people. As a people of God we are intertwined in the journey of salvation. Lastly, by emphasizing and prioritizing community in the sacrament of the eucharist, a Christian understands the sacrament of the eucharist as an invitation to celebrate the relationships that result from forming a community. Drawing from Himes’ insight, a Christian understands the sacrament of the eucharist by noticing and acknowledging the love of God for all peoples, accepting that he or she is not in the journey of faith alone and that his/her salvation is intertwined with the salvation of others, and by celebrating the fruits born of relationships that arise from belonging to the Body of Christ.

A communal understanding of the eucharist is not different from how the early church understood the sacrament. In his book “History of the Relationship between Eucharist and Communion,” Dr. Nathan D. Mitchell explains that for early Christians the eucharist was an event that centered on community. According to Mitchell, Jesus changed the Jewish paradigm of sacrifice and replaced it with table fellowship. In a sense, the new sacrificial act was now a communal meal (Mitchell 58). Dr. Robert A. Ludwig, in his video lecture “Eucharist and Community,” corroborates the view that in the early church the eucharist was centered on an inclusive meal and the fellowship of peoples. Ludwig states that for the early Christians eucharist meant to partake in table fellowship (“Eucharist”). In his video lecture “The Eucharist,” Theologian Bernard Cooke maintains that the initial celebration of the eucharist was simply a meal. The early Christians would gather together around a meal to talk about the events around the death and resurrection of Jesus they called this the breaking of the bread. Sometime later in history, the meal which people shared in community becomes an altar with a bishop presiding over it to signify explicitly the death and resurrection of Christ (“The Eucharist”). The eucharist became an inclusive meal that broke cultural, religious and ethnic boundaries. With this understanding of eucharist it is hard to imagine a community that would partake in such a close and intimate meal without forming a close and loving community.

This understanding of eucharist places real demands on the life of a Christian. Far more than just going to mass and participating in the eucharist—the meaning of eucharist truly lies in the nature of our relationships. As Mitchell states, “communion can happen apart from eucharist, but eucharist can’t happen apart from communion” (Mitchell 63). For a Christian, communion with God is contingent on communion with the Church community (Didache Bible, Mt. 5:23).

In his article, “Good Liturgy: The Assembly,” Robert D. Duggan addresses a challenge that many parishes face when it comes to understanding and celebrating the eucharist. Duggan explores a problem that many churches still face today with “the disenfranchisement of the laity in the celebration of the eucharist.” This exclusion of laity from the liturgy of the eucharist is mainly due to the emphasis that is placed on the rite of consecration itself and how it is performed. Mitchell addresses this challenge in his article by explaining the shift of emphasis that occurred in the seventh century, wherein the presiders and the way the ritual was performed became synonymous with the sanctity of the sacrament itself (Mitchell 62). Today, despite the reformations of Vatican II, the faithful are still subjugated to this understanding and practice of eucharist.

I do not work out of parish, but if I was leading a group in preparation for the sacrament of the eucharist I would address Duggan’s concern for the “disenfranchisement of the laity” in the celebration and participation of the eucharist, and I would seek to share my own understanding of the sacrament that results from scripture and the early church’s understanding of the eucharist. If the sacrament of the eucharist is understood as the acknowledgement of the love of God for us as a people, the acceptance that we belong to one another as people of faith, and the celebration of the relationships stemming from of a communal belonging to the Body of Christ, then the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (R.C.I.A) preparation for the sacrament of eucharitst must address this understanding.

I would begin by choosing to use the name of ‘holy communion’ rather than ‘eucharist’ when referring to the sacrament. By ceasing to refer to the sacrament as eucharist, a term that is mostly misunderstood, the emphasis shifts to an understanding of community and togetherness. The sacrament is already known as holy communion, but this term is rarely used. For a group of Christians getting ready to receive the sacrament, the term holy communion will facilitate themes that surround community and spark the imagination and curiosity of how the sacrament itself is linked to the understanding of communion. I believe that participants would associate eucharist with holy communion by the repetitive usage of the term.

In the preparation for the sacrament, my first step will involve guiding participants to understand the sacrament of eucharist as eucharist-as-communion with a purposeful pedagogy (teaching and learning). The theme of eucharist as communion will be explored through metaphors, symbols and imageries using sacred scriptures and other theology sources. In the journey preparing to the sacrament, there will be regular communal activities and group-sharing around the theme of eucharist-as-communion. In order to accomplish this, I will engage participants with one another, where my role becomes that of a facilitator rather than an instructor. Examples include: Exploring scripture which addresses the eucharist with the understanding of communion. Some passages include: The story of the disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24: 13-35) The Washing of the Feet (John 13: 1-17) The Example of Communal Living in the early church, (Acts 2:42-46), Paul’s instructions to the communal meal of the eucharist in (1 Corinthians 11:17-34) and other bible passages that highlight the communion aspect of the eucharistic meal as well as exploring broader theology sources that addresses eucharist as communion.  

 The second step will address the prayerful journey of preparation. This phase will encourage participants to look for sacramental communal signs of the love of God. The challenge will be for the group to identify themselves as a people loved by God who are encountering God together, as opposed to single individuals who happen to be in a group ready to receive the sacrament. I will encourage the group to accept that they belong to one another, as people of faith. This echoes Mitchell’s “communion can happen apart from eucharist, but eucharist can’t happen apart from communion” (Mitchell 63). Examples include: sharing intimate and personal joys and struggles and finding common ground in these experiences, reciting the Liturgy of the Hours, cooking and sharing a meal together, meditating with lectio divina, making a trip to encounter nature as group; singing hymns or songs as a group, and other methods that encourage a community to enter into communal prayer.  

The final step in the preparation of a group for the sacrament of holy communion will entail directly addressing the challenge of the “disenfranchisement of the laity” in the participation of the eucharist. It is a challenge to think and experience the sacrament as, of and for a community if the liturgy excludes the community that celebrates it. In the R.C.I.A preparation group, I would aim to move away from the understanding that the celebration of sacraments is something performed only by the presider. Duggan suggests that in order for the assembly to feel as true members of the church, the structure and governance of the church must change so that an “ecclesiology of belonging” is incorporated. This mirrors a Vatican II approach to church and to sacraments. Sacrosanctum Concilium states “that all faithful should be led to take that full, conscious and active part in the liturgical celebrations,” (SC #14) meaning that from the liturgy to governance, the laity is called to participate fully. I will share this news and encourage the participants to fully participate in the liturgy. Examples include: the discernment of personal gifts to be shared with the broader community, the discernment of vocations as our first communities, the invitation to participate in the liturgy as lectors, altar servers, hospitality ministry, cantors and/or music ministry or any other ministries needed in the parish.

I return to my opening statement: Everything can be a sacrament if it reminds us of the overflowing and everlasting love of God. A Christian is to live his or her life in a way that honors everything created—since everything has been embedded with grace. With this understanding, the church elevates seven communal sacraments to help the faithful understand their vocation and the journey of salvation. And of these seven, it is holy communion that allows us to notice, accept and celebrate the love of God together—as a people. If the sacrament of the eucharist is understood as the acknowledgement of the love of God for us as a people, the acceptance that we belong to one another as people of faith because the journey of salvation intertwines us together, and the celebration of the relationships stemming from of a communal belonging to the Body of Christ—then truly God is among us when we break the bread and raise the cup.