October 2007

Stories Seldom Heard

89th Edition

The Eucharist Has a Long History

Welcome to Stories Seldom Heard.  Like many of you I did some summer reading.  One of the books I read was written by Kevin W. Irwin who teaches at Catholic University of America.  The name of the book is Models of the Eucharist.  The other book was one I read many years ago by Avery Dulles Models of the Church.  I know this sounds rather heady and you might be thinking: “What does this have to do with me?”, but bear with me.  I would like to whet your appetite for them by giving you a small insight into both of these books.  I would also like to encourage anyone who ministers in the church and desires a better understanding of the church and/or Eucharist to read them.  They are very insightful and informative and would be great books for a Renew group (or any other) discussion group. ⁽¹⁾

 Years ago following the Second Vatican Council, Avery Dulles wrote a book called Models of the Church. In this book Dulles offered five basic models of church.   Then he explored how these models have influenced our theology, prayer life and the way we think about ourselves as Catholics and how we understand ourselves as church.  It is not necessary that we know these models, but when we do, it helps us clarify our own theological perspective and expectations.  Put in more ordinary language, it not only helps us understand ourselves, but also helps us to understand other people in our congregation and their expectations and desires.

 You see, it is not just the presider and daily lay ministers at Mass who have theological perspectives.  Each of us does and our diverse theological points of view show themselves in a variety of ways.  Many people tell me how they travel a distance to participate in a particular parish because of its family religious education programs, outreach to the poor, good preaching, selection of music and well planned liturgies.  As Catholics we come to church and want to participate as fully as possible in the life of the church.  But sometimes, without knowing it, we also come with unspoken expectations about how we want to be church together.  The more we understand our own expectations and desires the fuller we can participate in every aspect of the church.

 To give a specific example and to illustrate the influence that just one of the models of which Dulles speaks has had on our lives, we can look at the model of a pilgrim church.  In this model we image ourselves as a community of people, as pilgrim people on a journey.  Just think of the prayers we say and the songs we sing at Mass.  How often have we sung Tom Conroy’s “One Church”?  The first line begins, “We are a pilgrim people on the way to something more.”  Paul Hillebrand also uses this same image in the song he wrote: “The Body of Christ”.  This model as well as each of the other models carries with them a certain theological slant.  In this model we envision people who are on the move guided by God’s loving providence.  There is no abiding city here on earth for pilgrim people.  The community of pilgrim people is made up of women, men and children of all ages.  The words we use and the rituals we choose to express our faith during liturgies are very important.  Even something as simple as the procession to and from communion and the fact that we stand while receiving communion resonant a theology.  These rituals symbolize and remind us of the readiness of the pilgrim church.  This might sound obvious, but our prayers, rituals and songs continue to form us and our beliefs about God and church.  

 Many of us remember our religious and liturgical practices before Vatican Council II.  Since that time we have seen many changes. There has been a rise in lay participation in a diversity of parish activities.  Many new programs have been developed - Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), Marriage Encounter, the Cursillo Movement - to name just a few.  The way we celebrate and participate in Eucharist also has gone through many changes that reflect the theology that was promulgated at the Vatican Council and through its teachings.

 Kevin Irwin’s book Models of Eucharist offers ten different models of the Eucharist.  He has no intention of pitting them against one another.   Rather his hope is that together they will “offer rich insights into the reality that is the Eucharist.” ⁽²⁾   Irwin has researched the history of the Eucharist.  He includes many often lost pieces of information concerning the ancient Eucharistic practices of the church that even to this day help form our theology and rituals.  As he gives this history he alludes to the practical, social, cultural and theological reasons for the practices.   At the end of each chapter he has questions that are helpful both for personal reflection and group discussion.  He also suggests further reading for each model.

 I thought Irwin’s book might be particularly pertinent and interesting to us at this time since Irwin also explores topics that come up in “parish/church” conversations: the benefits and difficulties of private devotions, Sunday celebrations in the absence of a priest (communion services) and the fact that ritual change has a multi level - “emotional, psychological, spiritual and yes, theological” effect on those who participate.  ⁽³⁾   To use just one example: early on in the book there is a brief discussion of the “Use of the Tridentine Mass”.  His insights concerning the Tridentine Mass are not limited to this section.  They are woven throughout the book.  But in this beginning section Irwin gives the background and the distinguishing characteristics of this Mass.  He points out that it is not the fact that the Tridentine Mass is in Latin, but that “its rites and prayers” differ from the directives that are the norms for the post Vatican Council II church.  He goes on to explain that the deeper issue as to why certain groups in the church have been allowed to use the Tridentine Mass is the church’s concern for unity. ⁽⁴⁾

 This concern for unity has shown itself in many different facets of church life and sacramental practice throughout the centuries.  Irwin reminds us of some of the early rituals at Mass that fostered the sense of unity among the churches from the very beginning.  In the early days of the church when there were only a few churches in Rome, deacons who were attending the Mass at which the Pope presided, would approach the altar after the consecration, take a small piece of the consecrated bread and bring it to each of the other nearby churches.  This ritual underscored the unity of all of the churches.  “The whole church is always in union with the Eucharist of the Pope.” ⁽⁵⁾

 Later when there were too many churches to continue this practice the ritual was revised and another ritual was adopted.   This time a piece of consecrated bread from the previous Mass was left on the altar.  At the next Mass, this sacred bread was then placed into the chalice and in turn a piece of the newly consecrated bread, of the Mass that was being celebrated, was left for the Mass that followed.   Even though this new custom differed from the former one, the themes of unity and continuity were still clearly apparent.  Furthermore, it also reminded those who were participating in the Eucharistic celebration that every Eucharist extends beyond the moment and is connected to the next.   This ancient custom might seem rather foreign to us, but it still has its place in a modified form in our present day Eucharistic celebrations.  It doesn’t look exactly the same, but for those who have eyes to see that is why the presider at the Eucharist takes a piece of the large consecrated host and drops it into the chalice. ⁽⁶⁾

 This book might not be light reading, but I promise you even reading a small amount of it will be very enriching.  Because it is historical, informative and a subject that is extremely important to all of us, it will no doubt evoke some new questions for each of us.  What we believe about Eucharist and how our beliefs affect our lives and our faith are extremely important issues.  Our beliefs, the way we ritualize them and the prayers we say have deep religious, social and psychological implications.  They affect how we live our lives and what we teach our children and grandchildren about God and our faith. 

 So why not study this book as part of a parish program, book club or study group so that we will be better informed about the Eucharist and our faith?  There is no doubt in my mind that as we read and discuss the history, insights, theological perspectives and questions that Irwin’s book presents we will not only have a more mature understanding of our faith, but also be able to celebrate the Eucharist more fully.