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. 

Church as Mission: Towards an Ecclesiology of Mission

In his article “Mission as the Nature of the Church: Developments in Catholic Ecclesiology,” theologian Stephen Bevans addresses the impact that Second Vatican Council is having in the understanding of Church. Bevans argues that Vatican II redefined ecclesiology through missiology. Vatican II defined the Church by what the Church is called to do: mission. The claim comes from the Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity, Ad Gentes that reads, “The pilgrim Church is missionary by her very nature, since it is from the mission of the Son and the mission of the Holy Spirit that she draws her origin, in accordance with the decree of God the Father” (AG 2).

Bevans argues that Vatican II defines Church by mission because the entire Council places mission as its unifying theme among all of its documents. Bevans claims that the Four Constitutions drafted at Vatican II, mainly, The Constitution on the Church, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, 

The Constitution on Divine Revelation and The Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, begin with mission related statements. Lumen Gentium, The Constitution on the Church, states the missionary commission in its opening paragraph. It reads: “Christ the light of the nations and consequently this holy synod, gathered together in the Holy Spirit, ardently desired to bring to all humanity that light of Christ which is resplendent on the face of the church, by proclaiming his Gospel to every creature” (LG 1). In Sacrosanctum Concilum, The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, we hear that the purpose of the council is to propel the Church into mission by increasing vigor in Christian life, encouraging change among institutions, promoting unity among believers, and welcoming all into the Church:

The sacred council has set out to impart an ever-increasing vigor to the Christian lives of the faithful; to adapt more closely to the needs of our age those institutions which are subject to change; to encourage whatever can promote the union of all who believe in Christ; to strengthen whatever serves to call all of humanity into the church’s fold’ (SC 1).

In Dei Verbum, the Constitution on Divine Revelation, the council, in its opening paragraph, also announces a call to mission for all the faithful: “it (church) wants the whole world to hear the summons of salvation, so that through hearing it may believe, through belief it may hope, through hope it may come to love” (DV 1). And finally, in Gaudium Spes, The Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, the Council declares an encounter between the Church bearing salvation through its mission to all of humanity: “...for theirs is a community of people united in Christ and guided by the holy Spirit in their pilgrimage towards the Father’s kingdom, bearers of a message of salvation for all humanity”(GS 1).   

Having proposed that the Council be interpreted in a missiology-theology approach, the article then mentions the advancements made by the Church in this regard. Bevans quotes, Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975), Redemptoris Missio (1990) and Evangelii Gaudium (2013) as post Council papal exhortations that shape the same understanding of Church defined by mission. In Evangelii Nuntiandi, Bevans claims that the message is reiterated: “evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, its deepest identity. It exists to evangelize” (EN 13). In Redemtoris Missio, John Paul II claims that while the Church is not separate from God’s Reign, it is distinct from it. The task of the Church is to announce and inaugurate God’s Reign. In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis reiterates once more the same understanding of Church by describing the Church as a community of missionary disciples, an evangelizing community and a missionary communion.

Bevan’s article continues to speak of church-as-mission beyond a Post Vatican II period. It draws from Hans Kung’s work The Church, wherein he claims that the Church is not to be identified with the Reign of God—it is rather its servant. Richard P. McBrien and Anglican John A.T. Robinson follow the same mission-theology approach to ecclesiology. Bevans references Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutierrez in his work Liberation Theology, a work that describes a totally new ecclesiology perspective that ‘un-centered’ the Church from preoccupation with itself and centered it on God’s saving work. This theological perspective was pushed further by US theologian Roger Haight, quoting British Theologian Adrian Hastings, claims: “It is somewhat misleading to speak about the Church as having a mission—as if the existence of the Church comes first; on the contrary it is because of the mission that there is a church” (Bevans 194).

            Bevan’s “Mission as the Nature of the Church: Developments in Catholic Ecclesiology” is extremely influential to my own understanding of church not only because it provides a thorough examination of Vatican II’s understanding of church-as-mission, but also because it provides a continuation of this interpretation that we still see today.

In addition, Bevan’s church-as-mission provides a life-giving definition that is rooted in Trinitarian theology. This means that the very identity of God is not in Himself—but in the activity of going out to the other. It is because God sends the Son, and the Son sends the Spirit, that the Trinity is mission. God’s own self is defined by His ‘going out’ to Himself and to the world. Hence, in my personal belief and reflection on this concept, the understanding of church-as-mission is one that is rooted in the Trinity itself and in the very identity of who God is.

Bevan’s article also provides me with a broader understanding of church. To understand church-as-mission, the question is not where or who is the Church? Although this question is at the heart of ecclesiology, it secludes and excludes. Instead, church-as-mission is more concerned with asking: is the Church faithful to its mission? Or put simply, are we really being the Church? This model of church is less concerned with setting rigid parameters of membership and truth and more concerned with propelling itself outwardly in service and love. This model does not ignore the question: where is the Church? It rather answers it by saying, the Church is any place where the Gospel is proclaimed and the Kingdom of God is lived.

Church-as-mission also reshapes the structure of the Church to better suit the mission which it has been entrusted by Jesus Christ. Any structure of the church should aim at contributing to its mission. Often, the structure of the Church has led many to believe that the Church exists for its own self-preservation and self-aggrandizement. This model has led to the problem of clericalism for instance, where the religious are perceived as academics distant from the everyday life of the faithful. Mission-as-church departs from this model and challenges any structure to be a means and not an end in itself. This includes the Church itself and any structure or system of governance it declares.

By placing mission over church, a church-as-mission understanding of church reshapes the nature of ministries. Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium claims, “the Church herself is a missionary disciple” (EG 40), and calls the Church and therefore all ministries within it, to “be in a permanent state of mission” (EG 25). The exhortation invites the Church not only to rethink its structure as it facilitates its mission, but also every ministry it professes in virtue of belonging to the Church. Evangelii Gaudium asks for an ecclesial renewal of ecclesial ministries and encourages and inspires lay ministry to live out their baptismal call—echoing Lumen Gentium.  This renewal must be marked by the Church’s fidelity to her very unique calling.