Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on Divine Mercy Sunday.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are fourteen (14) *In Brief8 passages in the Catechism of the Catholic Church regarding the Sacrament of the Most Holy Eucharist. The following is a reflection on article 1409.
Four (4) considerations regarding the Eucharist as a memorial should be considered in order to help us appreciate our Eucharistic faith.
The Eucharist is the memorial of the Passover of Christ. It was at the Last Supper (or First Mass) that Jesus said: “Do this in memory of Me” (cf. Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25). The Greek word anamnesis is sometimes translated as “commemoration” or “recollection” or “remembrance.” The Hebrew words zekher and zikkaron are translated as “memorial.” The memorial sacrifices go both ways, bringing the worshiper before God and God to the worshiper. For Christians there are two (2) major commemorations of Passover, the Old and the New. To read about the Old Passover we look at Exodus 12 about the Passing over of the angel of death and the liberation of the Jewish people from slavery to Pharaoh. When considering the New Passover we look to Jesus, the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” who died once for all (cf. John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Peter 3:18).
The Eucharist is the memorial of the work of salvation. The Eucharist is a continuation of the mighty words and deeds done by Jesus Christ (cf. Luke 24:19; John 6:27–28). The notion of the Greek and Hebrew words (anamnesis and sekher, zikkaron respectively) makes present the past with a view to the future. Our faith in the Eucharist is faith in Jesus Christ sent by the Father for our salvation (cf. John 6:29). This sending was not only at Nazareth when He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, nor only at Bethlehem where He was born in the fullness of time but at each and every Mass when the bread and wine are changed into Christ Himself, body, blood, soul, and divinity, Christ is present (cf. Matthew 2:1; Luke 1:26; 2:4–7; Galatians 4:4).
The Eucharist memorializes the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Christ lived a human life like all of us. As each of us will die, unless Christ returns in glory first, Christ Himself died on Good Friday. As Christ rose again from the dead on the first Easter Sunday, so we will rise again on the last day, even though we have already been raised with Him in Baptism (cf. Romans 14:9; Colossians 2:12).
The Eucharist makes present, via the liturgical action, the work of salvation, namely, the life, death and resurrection of Christ. The sacraments have power as conduits of God’s grace. The Eucharist all the more so since it is Christ Himself. The liturgical rites themselves also have a power proper to them in making present the redemption wrought by Christ. We have access to Christ’s life, death and resurrection through the liturgy.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr