In April 2003, Pope John Paul II released the fourteenth encyclical of his pontificate, Ecclesia de Eucharistia. It focuses “on the Eucharist in its relationship to the Church.”
The importance of the topic for all Catholics, the Pope explains, is that “the Church draws her life from the Eucharist . . . The Second Vatican Council rightly proclaimed that the Eucharistic sacrifice is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’ ‘For the most holy Eucharist contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth: Christ himself’” (EDE 1; cf. Lumen Gentium 11; Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5). He emphasizes that “the Eucharist, as Christ’s saving presence in the community of the faithful and its spiritual food, is the most precious possession that the Church can have in her journey through history” .
Yet today correct doctrine and practice regarding the Eucharist is threatened. While noting positive signs of eucharistic faith and love in the Church, he acknowledges that “unfortunately, alongside these lights, there are also shadows” , which are his reason for writing.
THE SACRIFICE OF THE MASS
One Catholic doctrine that has been under threat is the sacrificial nature of the Mass. Some have tried to portray the Eucharist simply as a fellowship meal among Christians in which we receive Jesus. But it is more. The Pope stresses:
“The Eucharist is a sacrifice in the strict sense, and not only in a general way, as if it were simply a matter of Christ’s offering himself to the faithful as their spiritual food. The gift of his love and obedience to the point of giving his life is in the first place a gift to his Father. Certainly it is a gift given for our sake, and indeed that of all humanity, yet it is first and foremost a gift to the Father” .
Against the horizontal or community-centered approach taken in many parishes, the Pope reminds us that the primary dimension of the Eucharist is vertical or God-centered: The Eucharist makes present ChristÂ’s sacrifice in which he gives himself in love to the Father for our sake.
Christ clearly intended the Eucharist to be understood as a sacrifice, as the Pope points out: “In instituting it, he did not merely say: ‘This is my body,’ ‘this is my blood,’ but went on to add: ‘which is given for you,’ ‘which is poured out for you.’ Jesus did not simply state that what he was giving them to eat and drink was his body and his blood; he also expressed its sacrificial meaning and made sacramentally present his sacrifice which would soon be offered on the Cross for the salvation of all” .
THE REAL PRESENCE
Another doctrine that has been under threat is the Real Presence of Christ and, in particular, the fact that the bread and wine are transubstantiated. In some places the Real Presence is affirmed while transubstantiation is ignored or denied, leading the faithful to think that Jesus is merely present “in the bread and the wine.” Other times the uniqueness of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is subverted by emphasis on Christ’s presence “in the community,” as if this were equal to his presence in the Eucharist.
To counter these, the Pope emphasizes: “The sacramental re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice . . . in the Mass involves a most special presence that—in the words of Paul VI—‘is called “real” not as a way of excluding all other types of presence as if they were “not real,” but because it is a presence in the fullest sense: a substantial presence whereby Christ, the God-Man, is wholly and entirely present’” (15; cf. Mysterium Fidei, 39).
Further, at the consecration the bread and wine cease to exist, leaving only their appearances cloaking the Real Presence of Christ. John Paul II explains: “There remains the boundary indicated by Paul VI: ‘Every theological explanation that seeks some understanding of this mystery, in order to be in accord with Catholic faith, must firmly maintain that, in objective reality, independently of our mind, the bread and wine have ceased to exist after the consecration, so that the adorable body and blood of the Lord Jesus from that moment on are really before us under the sacramental species of bread and wine’” (EDE 15; cf. Solemn Profession of Faith, 25).
ADORATION AND EXPOSTITION
At times the horizontal emphasis on “community” and the subversion of the Real Presence have led to an emphasis on the Mass as “an action of the community” to the exclusion of traditional forms of eucharistic devotion outside the Mass. In many places, eucharistic adoration has been discouraged, whether in the form of praying before the tabernacle or before the host in eucharistic exposition.
Against these tendencies, the Pope reminds us that “the worship of the Eucharist outside of the Mass is of inestimable value for the life of the Church” .
He exclaims: “It is pleasant to spend time with him, to lie close to his breast like the beloved disciple and to feel the infinite love present in his heart. If in our time Christians must be distinguished above all by the ‘art of prayer,’ how can we not feel a renewed need to spend time in spiritual converse, in silent adoration, in heartfelt love before Christ present in the Most Holy Sacrament? How often, dear brother and sisters, have I experienced this, and drawn from it strength, consolation, and support!” .
The Pope underscores that “this practice, repeatedly praised and recommended by the Magisterium, is supported by the example of many saints” and states that pastors must encourage it, including by their own example: “It is the responsibility of pastors to encourage, also by their personal witness, the practice of Eucharistic adoration, and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in particular, as well as prayer of adoration before Christ present under the eucharistic species” .
The fact that there is bacteria there does not disprove that that is the flesh and blood of Jesus. Do you think the bacteria would flow like blood? Red bacteria does not trickle the way that blood does. Bacteria like that grows over time and it would be completely evident if something had been growing on the host which during that time was baked fresh for each Mass.
Miracle of Bolsena