s the Mass a Meal?

by Charles Gusmer Like the American flag a few years ago, even the Eucharist can be an emotional sign waved differently by two opposing viewpoints. To some, sacrifice is the proper description of the Mass; to others, it is a meal. And neither party wants any facile solution that says it is both. The roots of the argument lie deep in the hostility between rotestants and !atholics over the past "## years. $f rotestants emphasi%ed a doctrine or practice, we were cool; if they denied it, we gave it headlines. The things we agreed on &charity, of course' almost got lost in the smoke of battle. rotestants shuddered at the thought of novenas, vigil lights, monsignors and Mass stipends. (o the )altimore !atechism had eight pages about indulgences and nothing about the priesthood of the faithful, a fre*uent rotestant theme. Likewise, as rotestant reformers continued to stress, at times one+sidedly, the meal aspect of the Lord,s (upper, -oman !atholic theologians felt compelled to respond with a lopsided concentration on the Mass as sacrifice and real presence. This e.plains the continued reluctance in -oman !atholic circles to recogni%e the Eucharist as a ritual meal and to accept this emphasis in the liturgy today. /hat is needed is a complete theology of the Eucharist which, first of all, presumes the presence of the Lord in what we are doing0otherwise everything else collapses0and, secondly, takes as its starting point the words and actions of the Mass. $n this way we can easily see that1 2' the actions of the Mass are those of a sacred meal; 3' the words are a thanksgiving prayer &eucharist'; 4' and the Mass, ultimate meaning is that of a memorial sacrifice, a representing of the Lord,s death and resurrection. Therefore, to emphasi%e the meal aspect, as does the rest of this article, is not to deny the Mass as a thanksgiving or the Mass as a sacrifice. All three aspects are present and deserve recognition.

Scripture Portrays the Eucharist as a Meal

/hat do the sources of revelation0the )ible and tradition0 tell us about the basic shape of the Eucharist as meal5 The original accounts of aul, Mark, Matthew and Luke show the Eucharist originating at the Last (upper as a meal within a meal. The sacred actions of 6esus with the bread and wine take place during a 6ewish assover seder supper, or at least a festive meal. Many of the resurrection appearances of 6esus involve partaking in a meal. The most important statement about the Eucharist in (t. 6ohn treats it as the bread of life living and life+giving bread. And the most ancient name for the Eucharist was 7the breaking of the bread7 &Acts 31"3, "8; 3#19', a designation that highlights the ban*uet aspect. :ence, many (cripture scholars today see the Eucharist of the early !hurch as a continuation of the table fellowship 6esus shared with his disciples and followers during his earthly life. $t should be no different today. $ndeed, we must not only assert the real presence of !hrist in the Eucharistic bread and wine, but also the reason for that presence1 !hrist is the head of a family who graciously invites us, his followers today, to share a pleasant meal with him. (ome years ago ;om <regor ;i. demonstrated that all liturgies of both the Eastern and /estern !hurch e.hibit a four+fold action1 the taking of bread and wine, the blessing or giving thanks, the breaking of the bread, and the sharing of the bread and wine. These four+fold Eucharistic actions are obviously those of a meal. :ere,s how they translate into today,s liturgy1 taking of bread and wine = preparation of gifts blessing or giving thanks = Eucharistic prayer

breaking of the bread' sharing of bread and wine'

= communion rite

Thus, a meal structure forms the basis of our Mass.

The Symbolism of Eating Together

)esides being true to the !hurch,s earliest tradition, recovering the sign value of the Eucharistic meal could also enliven the much+neglected devotional aspects of Eucharistic piety. $t is not words which appeal most deeply to the religious dimension of the whole person. The liturgy is not >ust words; least of all is it a lecture. ft is actionprayer in action, ritual prayer. The forms of bread and wine are not things isolated in themselves, but part of the whole symbolic action whereby the risen !hrist continues to give himself to his !hurch. They should be eaten and drunk as bread and wine, as 6esus offered them to his friends at the Last (upper. To the e.tent that this eating?drinking+in+friendship is made apparent, the meaning of our encounter with the Lord will be more readily grasped. /e are dealing with real symbols &signs, sacraments' which bring about what they symboli%e. 7The <ood @ews implicit in the Eucharist is that <od offers men redemption through common meals. The marvelous may happen when people eat together. Eating itself is redemptive in the sense that here a man acknowledges his need of food and, hence, of other peopleA.$f we consider how a meal shared with others offers men redemption from their pride and individualism and opens them to the human community,Awe see that eating may indeed be sacramental.7 These words of <regory )aum (Man ecoming! describe the phenomenon of sharing a meal as a medium for celebrating the mystery of 6esus, dying and rising. $n other words, we may , appreciate the meaning of the Eucharistic meal in proportion to our ability to share any human meal.

Improving the Meal Symbolism

:ere are some of the ways in which the meal dimension of the Eucharist may be recovered in our day. /e are basing these suggestions on the !hurch,s tradition as continued in the General "nstruction and #evised $rder of the Mass &2B8B', issued by ope aul C$. &This is the official statement on the proper celebration of the Eucharist, and is the result of four centuries of liturgical science and the mandate of Catican $l for the revision of the Missal.' 1) Visibility of the Brea an !ine $t goes without saying that if the bread and wine are important, they should be placed in a position of prominence both on the offertory table before the presentation of gifts and afterwards on the altar. This means they should be plainly visible to the congregation and not obscured by the sacramentary or microphone. $t may help to use a large paten in the form of a plate and a glass flagon for the wine. ") Brea Blesse at the Same Mass This has been a constant e.hortation of every Eucharistic instruction since ius D$$,s Mediator %ei in 2B"9. $t stands to reason that if the Eucharist is a meal as well as a sacrifice, then the food we eat should be present to us on the table from the beginning of Mass. Erdinarily, it should not be the consecrated bread reserved in the tabernacle far communicating the sick and the dying and for Eucharistic worship apart from Mass.

A little planning and forethought regarding the number of communicants can normally assure enough bread consecrated for each celebration of Mass. #) $ommunion %n er Both &in s The meal symbolism of the Mass appears more clearly when communion is received by eating the consecrated )read and drinking the &recious lood. From the institution of the Eucharist at the Last (upper, eating and drinking have always been a part of every Mass. :owever, by about the ninth century, the laity began to be refused the cup and only the priest received communion by eating and drinking. This greatly diminished the meal aspects of the Mass. The (econd Catican !ouncil restored the cup to the laity. As with many of the liturgical reforms, :oly !ommunion from the cup was introduced gradually1 At first it was permitted only on special occasions when the groups were small and the restored practice could be ade*uately e.plained. <radually the practice was e.tended. En Ectober 24, 2BG", the :oly (ee confirmed the decision of the bishops of the Hnited (tates to e.tend communion from the cup to all Masses, even on (undays and holy days of obligation. At that time, the bishops stated in 'his (oly and )iving *acrifice &the official document confirmed by the :oly (ee which accompanied this e.tended permission', 7!ommunion under both kinds is to be desired in all celebrations of the Mass.7 The General "nstruction &no. 3"#' gives three reasons why !ommunion is more complete when both the bread and wine are received1 a' 7The sign of the Eucharistic meal appears more clearly7 &6esus instituted the Eucharist under the forms of bread and wine!; b' 7the intention of !hrist that the new and eternal covenant be ratified in his blood is better e.pressed7 &the words of the institution narrative1 7This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant7'; c' the 7relation of the Eucharistic ban*uet to the heavenly ban*uet7 is better e.emplified. ') Brea That (esembles Brea This is a provision of the General "nstruction &@o. 3G4' which has been little heeded1 7The nature of the sign demands that the material for the Eucharistic celebration appear as actual food. The Eucharistic bread, even though unleavened and traditional in form, should therefore be made in such a way that the priest can break it and distribute the parts to at least some of the faithful7 &emphasis added'. )ut, sadly, the situation has not changed much since a report published in +orship maga%ine two years ago1 7The fact is that, four years after the "nstruction, B2 per cent of parishes in this country are continuing with the conventional bread which is stark white, paper thin, often shiny and plastic+like. $n addition, very few celebrants are breaking the large host for distribution, even when it is practical.7 Maybe one reason why celebrants are not breaking the large host for communion is that there simply is not much to breakI Even if it,s impossible to buy hosts that 7resemble bread7 as they should, a community can always resort to Mid+eastern bread, readily obtainable commercially, or bake their own unleavened bread, for which recipes abound. )) (ite of Brea*ing Ef the four Eucharistic actions of taking, blessing, breaking and sharing, the breaking of the bread has fallen into almost complete de+emphasis, or at times even misinterpretation. The time for the breaking of the bread is not during the recital of the consecratory words of institution, but during the communion rite. Ence again, the Genera, "nstruction &@o. J82c' catechi%es us on its meaning1 7)reaking of bread1 this gesture of !hrist at the Last (upper gave the entire Eucharistic action its name in apostolic times. $n

addition to its practical aspect, it signifies that in communion we who are many are made one body in the bread of life which is !hrist7 &2 !orinthians 2#129'. $t is not the body of !hrist that is broken. $t is rather a multiplication of the loaves all over again1 Many people share one meal, one !hrist, one love. They stop being isolated grains and become one bread in the )read of Life. The General "nstruction further advises that the Lamb of <od may be sung with repeated invocations for as long as necessary to accompany the breaking of the bread. Ene of the most successful collections of e.perimental liturgies, read lessed and roken, edited by 6ohn Mossi &2B9"', has creatively introduced prayers to be proclaimed while the Eucharistic bread is being broken. To these prayers the people respond with a sung 7Lamb of <od7 or another song containing a bread motif. Making more of a ritual of it would restore the meaning of the rite of 7breaking70one of the four principal actions of the Eucharist. +) $ommunion in the ,an Ef all the features which could lead to a recovery of the meal dimension of the Mass, the recent restoration of communion in the hand is most promising. Enly misunderstanding and a lamentable absence of catechesis make this manner of communion controversial. !ommunion in the hand is the most ancient practice of receiving communion and persisted in the !hurch for the first G## years of its e.istence until a general liturgical decline forced its discontinuance.

Transforming the -ssemble .Bo y.

erhaps the foregoing seems to be e.cessively preoccupied with rubrics and ceremonial details. Therefore, let us recall that the greatest liturgical symbol of all is the actual !hristian community at worship. Moreover, the biggest change is not only that of the bread and wine into the sacrament of the Lord,s )ody and )lood, but the transformation of the Eucharistic assembly into the )ody of !hrist which is the !hurch. @onetheless, it is through the symbolic actions of the liturgy that our worship happens. A balanced Eucharistic theology which keeps the meal dimension in perspective can serve to restore or intensify the other aspects of the Mass1 the meaning of the community of the faithful; the cal" to action as an outgrowth of the Eucharist; and the eschatological dimension, that is, its reference to our final and eternal salvation. 1) The Meaning of the $ommunity of the /aithful The recent instruction "mmensae Caritatis &2B94' recogni%es the Mass,s role in creating a community when it gives the reason for not receiving communion twice in the same day1 The sacrament of the Lord,s )ody and )lood unites us not only with !hrist but with one another as the fullest form of liturgical participation. Through communion we take on a new relationship with the other members of the Eucharistic assembly. Eur 7Amen7 at communion is thus an affirmation of two things1 first, belief that this is the living body of !hrist and that he is (avior; second, that we hereby become !hurch, the whole )ody of !hrist, head and members. As (t. Augustine once said, 7)y the grace of the redemption, you yourselves are what you receive. Kou acknowledge this when you respond, ,Amen., /hat you witness here is the sacrament of unity.7 Eur reverence should e.tend not only to the Eucharistic bread and wine, but also to our brothers and sisters with whom we are made holy and sanctified at communion. ") Impetus to -ction for 0thers

-ecovery of the sign value of the Eucharistic meal could also preserve us from an overly individualistic Eucharistic piety1 me+and+6esus to the e.clusion of others. Maybe we should reread the Acts of the Apostles in order to grasp the strong sense of social action and concern verging on the point of primitive communism1 7They devoted themselves to the apostles, instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and the prayers7 &31"3'. @o one can wholeheartedly enter into the Eucharistic spirit of this community without becoming more aware of the great community 7out there70a world which cries for bread and >ustice, for healing and love. Ether features of the revised order of Mass0the general intercessions, gifts for the poor, the sign of peace0also call us to social action insofar as these can e.press our responsibility to feed the hungers of the human family. #) - Sign of Eternity Beginning Ene reason for communion under both species is that it relates the Eucharistic ban*uet more closely to the heavenly ban*uet. $n other words, there is more to come. The greatest things !hrist has promised us have yet to be fully revealed. (urely, it is no coincidence that both the :ebrew )ible and the @ew Testament describe the >oy of heaven with the imagery of a sumptuous messianic feast. The salvation we await and which is already at work in the world is depicted in terms of intimate union with the Lord at a meal where all will be assembled together1 7:ere $ stand, knocking at the door. $f anyone hears me calling and opens the door, $ will enter his house and have supper with him, and he with me7 &-evelation 413#'.

The Eucharistic Meal in the 1e2 Testament

The risen 3or brea*s brea at Emmaus4 7@ow while he was with them at table, he took bread and said the blessing; then ne broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recogni%ed him....They had recogni%ed him in the breaking of the bread7 &Luke 3"14#ff'. The early $hristian community4 7They went as a body to the temple every day but met in teir houses for teh breaking of bread7 &Acts w1"8'. St5 Paul.s e6pressions for the Eucharist4 2' 7The Table of the Lord7 &2!orinthians 2#133' 3' 7the Lord,s (upper7 &2 !orinthians 2213#' 4' 7the breaking of bread7 &2 !orinthians 2#128'

Rev. Charles W. Gusmer is chairman of the Newark Archdiocesan Commission for Divine Worship. With a degree in theology from the Canisianum in Inns ruck! Austria! and a doctorate and liturgisches diplom from the "heological #aculty of "rier! West Germany! he presently teaches sacramental theology and liturgy at Immaculate Conception $eminary in New %ersey! and is president of the North American Academy of &iturgy.