Fr. Richard McBrien: Another Baby Boomer Who Doesn't Get It...Sorta

I must've been sleeping throughout September because this article crept past me by the esteemed Professor at Notre Dame Richard McBrien.

Notwithstanding Pope Benedict XVI's personal endorsement of eucharistic adoration and the sporadic restoration of the practice in the archdiocese of Boston and elsewhere, it is difficult to speak favorably about the devotion today.

Now that most Catholics are literate and even well-educated, the Mass is in the language of the people (i.e, the vernacular), and its rituals are relatively easy to understand and follow, there is little or no need for extraneous eucharistic devotions. The Mass itself provides all that a Catholic needs sacramentally and spiritually.

Eucharistic adoration, perpetual or not, is a doctrinal, theological, and spiritual step backward, not forward.

McBrien is showing his crotchety old demeanor here and is a good example of someone who throws the baby out with the bathwater.

Especially amongst the young eucharistic adoration has become a practice that many have found to be worthy of their time. The larger question that most baby boomer Catholics don't ask is why? If I had a dime for every baby boomer campus minister who gets alarmed at the fact that young people are choosing to do this devotion, I'd be a rich man.

Send your dimes ASAP by the way.

So why are young people liking this particular devotion more and more? It is not out of literalism, but more out of a need for contemplation, tangibility and belonging.

1) Contemplation: In a world filled with noise where a moment's peace is never found, why would we not be surprised to find young adults flocking to a place where they can simply have one hour of peace to clear out the cobwebs? By the way the last time i checked the Eucharist was in fact, the source and summit of our faith. So again why are we surprised that young people flock to a moment's peace with the central element of our faith visible to them?

2) Tangibility: The Eucharist is tangible. Jesus understood this better than anyone. He provided us with a ritual that tells us that we. as Catholics do the hard things first. If we can indeed understand how GOD can unite with a piece of bread and a cup of wine and that when we consume it we remind ourselves of a presence within us that was already there, though hidden. If indeed when we are reminded of that WE are transformed, we become what we receive, then we are truly living the body and blood of Christ.

But sometimes that become route. We consume and do not transform. We eat but do not reflect. We receive but are not changed because we have no time to be mindful of what we are doing. We are off to the next thing to do and take no time to think about what we are doing then the Eucharist becomes another empty ritual (at least internally for us). Adoration provides that mindfulness that we often miss.

3) Belonging: When people leave the church they often point to the Eucharist as the thing they miss the most. It is the Eucharist that many consider the very essence of Catholicism.

And it is. Without the Eucharist we long for it. We consecrate more hosts to insure that people have access to it. We hold communion services and call them that because people want Christ in the Eucharist, that tangible reminder of Christ's presence already within us. They may love scripture, but they want the Eucharist. And they miss it when it is not there.

Now I think Richard McBrien is far from a dumb man, and I can even appreciate his thought on the over-literalism that many take on when it comes to the Eucharist and even with adoration. But that is far from the norm and to lump most of those who practice Eucharistic Adoration into one boat is at best short sighted and at worst, prejudicial.

"Give Us This Bread Always"

My wife makes me dinner often. She gets home much earlier than I do and she takes a lot of care to put together a meal for us to share in the evening hours. She never complains about doing this and I always try to appreciate her work and not take her for granted.

But I have to admit, sometimes I do.

Much like the Israelites who grumbled against Moses and the crowd at Capernaum who followed Jesus after he had fed the multitude, I don't always have the right intentions. The crowd showed up and found Jesus because they had been fed by him and they figured that if they kept following Him that they would always have plenty of food. in a society where the majority of people were extremely poor--you could only imagine that people became quite desperate and when Jesus shows up and provides a feast their natural inclination is to stick close to the meal ticket.

And I do the same thing to my wife. I take her work for granted, assuming that her good food will always be there if I just stick close and show up hoping to find dinner on the table.

But what makes those meals great? I've taken to saying to my wife that her meals are great because they are made with just the right amount of love.

And that is the point that Jesus is making as well. Like the Eucharist that we eat each and every week it is that little bit that goes a long way. It is not the feast that Jesus provides that He expects us to long for--but it is the love that God gives to us, the gift of His own Body and Blood, the self-offering of God for all of creation that is what Jesus wants us to remember.

It is the meal that is made with just the right amount of love.

It is in that offering for us that we need to recall. It is that offering that we often forget. We don't always become what we receive for others. Much like I don't always show gratitude for my wife's efforts how much more do I fail to show gratitude for what God has provided.

I sin and yet, God offers me not only His unconditional forgiveness but then offers His own Body and Blood that I may turn from my sin and offer myself for the sake of the world.

If I can't even show my wife how thankful I am for her dinner, what chance do I have of keeping God in mind--of being thankful for an even greater gift, the greatest gift?

And that is why my friends, that we need the Eucharist. And God knows it. We need a physical, tangible, intimate reminder of how much Jesus loves us. Jesus was more mindful of our brokenness than we are. He knows that we really need Him, that too often we are going to forget Him. Like the disciples, those closest to him we all abandon Him time and time again. It's so easy to forget what God has done for us, so easy to long for something more than what we perceive is a simple meal that we often take for granted.

We need to recall the words of the crowd today, "Give us this bread always." We long for simple bread and then God gives us so much more. "I myself am the Bread of Life" Jesus tells us. It is what lies beyond the simplicity of this bread that we share, that Jesus makes into Himself that we need to long for always.

The meal which is not just made with the right amount of love...but that God offers to us as all that He has.

May we offer God all that we can be in return.

Corpus Christi

An outstanding thought from Msgr. Michael Hardiman at St. Sebastian today on the Feast of Corpus Christi, where they have a procession through the streets of Woodside. I will paraphrase:

"We actually have this procession every week. When we receive the Eucharist we become what we receive and we walk out the doors into the streets of Woodside, bringing Christ into the lives of all those we meet! For WE ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST!"

Indeed! And to further Msgr's point...

If we become what we recieve, if we are truly changed by this moment, if we really take this change seriously, then what are we compelled to do with our lives? This "encounter" with Jesus is truly intimate and truly merits much reflection on our part. How are we changed by the fact that God chooses us, God feeds us with His very self?

How are we becoming the body of Christ in the world today? Or are we just going through the motions?

Eucharist During the Swine Flu

The Diocese of Dallas has issued some statements regarding mass attendance and receiving the Eucharist with the outbreak of Swine Flu causing grave concerns for the area.

Father Michael Dugan, Director of the Office of Liturgy for the Diocese of Dallas, offered some reminders and recommendations to be consulted in the event of a significant outbreak.

Fr. Dugan said that the obligation to attend Mass on Sunday and Holy Days of Obligation is the “ordinary expectation” for Catholics. However, “extraordinary circumstances” including sickness excuse the faithful from the obligation.

“If you are not feeling well, especially during this time of concern, please stay at home and do not risk spreading infection to others. Please stay at home and do not attend Mass,” he wrote.

He said congregants should not be offended if someone chooses not to shake hands during the sign of peace.

“If you are ill, the appropriate response to someone extending a sign of peace might be to bow to them and say, ‘Peace be with You,’ to avoid bodily contact or one might wave slightly at the other person.”

Regarding the reception of Holy Communion, he advised those feeling sick to receive communion in the hand and to refrain from receiving communion under the form of the Blood of Christ.

With the reception of communion--there's probably a greater chance of someone being infected by receiving the body of Christ on their tongue or even by hand than there is from drinking out of the cup. Anything with that amount of alcohol in it anyway should be enough to kill any viruses! Someone else touching my hands or having their hands touching the host I'm about to put in my mouth is probably more likely to pass the flu to me, thinkest I.

Any health experts wish to weigh in?

Daily Inspiration: In the Breaking of the Bread

The Emmaus Retreat Program meant a lot to me in college and this song is very touching.