By DON FIER
Bread and wine, as we saw last week, are “at the heart of the Eucharistic celebration” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], n. 1333).
As succinctly summarized by Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ, these two elements are significant for several reasons: bread and wine are expressive of the goodness of creation; they witness the fulfillment of Melchizedek’s offering in the Old Law; bread commemorates the Passover of the Israelites; manna in the desert prefigures the bread of the Eucharist; bread is representative of God’s pledge of fidelity to feed His people; and the cup of blessing symbolizes the New Jerusalem at the end of time (cf. The Faith, p. 118).
St. Thomas Aquinas further elaborates on the fittingness of Christ’s choice of bread and wine to be the matter of the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
First of all, just as water is used in a natural sense for cleansing, bread and wine are staples for physical nourishment. Thus, “as water is used in the sacrament of Baptism for the purpose of spiritual cleansing, since bodily cleansing is commonly done with water, so bread and wine, wherewith men are commonly fed, are employed in this sacrament for the use of spiritual eating” (Summa Theologiae [STh] III, Q. 74, art. 1).
Secondly, bread and wine signify Christ’s Body and Blood — their separate sacramental consecration represents the separation of His Body and Blood in His Passion (cf. ibid.).
Thirdly, teaches St. Thomas, bread and wine are fitting signs with regard to their effect on those who partake: “This sacrament avails for the defense of soul and body; Christ’s body is offered under the species of bread for the health of the body, and the blood under the species of wine for the health of the soul” (STh III, Q. 74, art. 1).
Finally, bread and wine are made out of many grains of wheat and many grapes, respectively. This is symbolic of a principal effect of the Eucharist with regard to the universal Church, composed of many members who are bound together in charity in the communion of one Body (cf. ibid.). As St. Paul proclaims, “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread” (1 Cor. 10:17).
The Catechism now treats the actual institution of the Holy Eucharist by Christ at the Last Supper. As explained earlier in this series, the fact that Christ Himself instituted each of the seven sacraments during His visible stay on Earth is an infallibly taught dogma of our faith. The institutional details are perhaps more clear for the Eucharist than for any other sacrament in that Sacred Scripture provides four parallel accounts: in each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-20) and again in a letter of St. Paul (1 Cor. 11:23-26).
While details differ to some extent in the four accounts, the essential nucleus of each is the same. In her liturgical practice, the Church combines the various accounts to form a whole.
The Gospel of St. John, however, does not provide a descriptive narrative of the sacrament’s institution. “St. John, for his part,” states the Catechism, “reports the words of Jesus in the synagogue of Capernaum that prepare for the institution of the Eucharist” (CCC, n. 1338). Rather than providing another account, the Evangelist records for us the “Bread of Life” discourse (which was discussed last week) and an account of the washing of the feet at the Last Supper, both of which shed additional light on various aspects of the Eucharist.
In fact, Fr. Paul Haffner submits that “while St. John’s Gospel does not carry an account of the institution of the Eucharist, nevertheless in many ways it can be said that the whole of the Fourth Gospel is Eucharistic” (The Sacramental Mystery [TSM], pp. 92-93).
The Catechism provides an outstanding summation of the Eucharist’s institution that bears repeating in its entirety for our reflective consideration:
“Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the passover lamb had to be sacrificed. So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare the passover meal for us, that we may eat it. . . .’ They went . . . and prepared the passover. And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I tell you I shall not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God’. . . . And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood’” (CCC, n. 1339).
What about the precise date of the institution of the Eucharist? “On the surface,” states the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible — New Testament (ICSB-NT), “the Synoptic Gospels appear to contradict the Gospel of St. John concerning the date of the Last Supper” (p. 188).
As explained by Dr. Lawrence Feingold, STD, “There is a question of whether the institution of the Eucharist was set in the context of the Passover meal, or was an anticipation of the Passover meal that was to be properly celebrated on the following evening” (Eucharist Course Notes [spring 2012], p. 66). He goes on to note that “the Synoptic Gospels all state that the Last Supper was a Passover meal. . . . John’s account also favors the idea that the Last Supper was a Passover meal. . . . However, John’s account also suggests that the Jewish authorities were celebrating the Passover on the evening after the Crucifixion” (see John 18:28; 19:14).
There are various hypotheses held by scholars on how to resolve this apparent conflict, an analysis of which is beyond the scope of this series (for a good summary, see ICSB-NT, p. 188). Pope Benedict XVI spoke of his preferred solution in his Holy Thursday homily on April 5, 2007, a solution which benefits from scholarship gained from the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran (this theme is also treated on pages 106-116 of Part Two of his three-volume work entitled Jesus of Nazareth).
Nonetheless, as Fr. Haffner rightly affirms, “Whatever opinions one may take concerning the timing of the Last Supper in relation to the Passover meal, Jesus gave the Passover its definitive meaning” (TSM, p. 92).
Indeed, “Jesus’ passing over to his father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom” (CCC, n. 1340).
The Catechism now focuses on the Lord’s command to His apostles at the Last Supper: “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24, 25). In giving this command, “Jesus includes the apostles in his own offering and bids them perpetuate it” (CCC, n. 611). Christ’s solemn dictate not only asks the faithful to remember Jesus and what He did, but “is directed at the liturgical celebration, by the apostles and their successors, of the memorial of Christ, of his life, of his death, of his Resurrection, and of his intercession in the presence of the Father” (CCC, n. 1341).
This memorial, the liturgical celebration of the events of Christ’s sacrificial offering, then, is not merely the recollection of past events: “When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she commemorates Christ’s Passover, and it is made present: the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains ever present” (CCC, n. 1363).
As recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, the Church has been faithful to the Lord’s command since her very beginning: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and the prayers….Day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people” (Acts 2:42, 46-47).
It is above all on Sunday that Christians throughout the world continue to celebrate the Eucharist with the same fundamental structure — the Holy Eucharist remains the center of the Church’s life (cf. CCC, n. 1343).
The Work Of Our Redemption
The Catechism closes its section on the institution of the Holy Eucharist by referring to a proclamation by St. Paul. “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
Although the ultimate destination toward which we journey is “the heavenly banquet, when all the elect will be seated at the table of the kingdom” (CCC, n. 1344), the Christian faithful know with the certitude of faith that “the Lord comes even now in his Eucharist and that he is there in our midst” (CCC, n. 1404), even though His presence is veiled.
“When the Church celebrates the Eucharist, the memorial of her Lord’s death and resurrection,” explains St. John Paul II, “this central event of salvation becomes really present and the work of our redemption is carried out” (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, n. 11).
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(Don Fier serves on the board of directors for The Catholic Servant, a Minneapolis-based monthly publication. He and his wife are the parents of seven children. Fier is a 2009 graduate of Ave Maria University’s Institute for Pastoral Theology. He is doing research for writing a definitive biography of Fr. John A. Hardon, SJ.)
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