In this column over the last few weeks, we have reflected on the Eucharist. For us as Catholics, the Eucharist is “the source and summit of the Christian life” as the Second Vatican Council has taught us. (Lumen Gentium, 11). For that reason, the Catholic Church in the United States is focusing on reviving our faith in the Eucharist in a special way over the next three years.

 

Last week, we reflected on some aspects of the reception of the Eucharist. Specifically, we considered the meaning of the brief dialogue that takes place at the moment of receiving holy Communion. 

 

The priest or extraordinary minister says “The Body of Christ.” That is a statement summarizing the reality that, despite the appearance and taste of bread, during the Mass through the words and actions of the priest it has ceased to be bread and has become truly the Body of Christ. 

 

The words of the priest or minister are also a question for the one who is asking to receive Holy Communion. Our response before receiving the host is to respond, “Amen.” That is to say, “Yes, I believe it to be truly the Body of Christ.”

 

There is a temptation for us to allow that dialogue to become a mere formality. Like hearing “The Lord be with you” throughout the Mass and responding without much thought, “And with your spirit,” the exchange before receiving Holy Communion risks becoming routine. Here is an element of the needed revival of Eucharistic faith that each of us can strive for.

 

Every one of us makes a personal act of faith in the Eucharist each time we receive the Body or the Blood of Christ. In that simple word “Amen,” we profess what we hold in our hearts and souls. We acknowledge to ourselves, to the Church, and to the world that we accept the divine reality in which we are about to participate.

 

“Amen” acknowledges that the all-powerful and eternal God has humbled Himself to the point that He places Himself on our tongue or in our hand. That brief moment of first contact with the host, perhaps even glancing quickly at the Eucharist being placed reverently in our hand, should arouse that acknowledgment of the presence of Him who is greater than any or all of us. 

 

That should be a moment of both humility and great exaltation. We should recall how much God must love us to give Himself to us time and again. We might stir up our faith by reminding ourselves that this reception of the Body and Blood of Jesus joins us to the Apostles at the Last Supper. They join us to all the martyrs who were strengthened in their witness by the Eucharist. And we are joined in Christ to all of the silent, uncanonized, but real saints of all time who lived a simple but deep faith in the power of the Eucharist.

 

This moment of reception of Communion should be marked by external reverence. Prior to receiving our Lord, on the tongue or in the hand, we should bow our head, recognizing His presence. If we receive on the hand, we should do so in a reverent and not a casual gesture with our hands cupped. Then, we should take one step to the side, immediately consume the host, and make the sign of the cross before returning to our pew. We should not walk away and consume the host after that moment. 

 

The dignity of Christ’s presence is enhanced that way. But also, by receiving this way, we contribute to the safety of the Sacred Host. Too often some, for various reasons, have walked away with the host, leading to the possibility of desecration. Our collective reverence makes that possibility much more difficult and so protects the integrity of the Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.

 

“The Body of Christ.” “Amen.” That exchange sums up our faith, our reverence and Jesus’s love for us expressed in the reception of holy Communion.