J.M.J.
Such a marvelous treasure as the Most Blessed
Sacrament demands that we use accurate language when describing this incredible
Sacrament.
For some years, there was a hymn used in some Catholic
parishes that began: “Precious body, precious blood, here in bread and wine . .
. .” (Thankfully, the composer later revised the text.)
This hymn with the original words, and others like it,
should not be sung by Catholics.
Sadly, the original text’s assertion is contrary to
the teaching of the Catholic Church. Jesus’ Body and Blood are not present in
the bread and wine used for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. If bread and wine
are present on an altar in a Catholic church, then the Consecration of the Mass
has not yet occurred, and the Body and the Blood of Christ are not yet present
on that Altar.
But if the Body and the Blood of Christ are present on
an altar in a Catholic Church, then the Consecration has happened. Bread and
wine no longer exist.
The first line of this hymn bespoke of Consubstantiation, which is the position
that the Body and the Blood of Christ are present along with the bread and
wine.
The Catholic Church rejects Consubstantiation. Rather,
she holds Transubstantiation, which
means that the bread and wine are changed into the Body and the Blood of
Christ.
Hence, the first line of the original hymn is patently
false—it is heresy. I make no judgment as to the intention of the composer,
thereby casting no aspersions on him.
An article in a Catholic magazine that is geared
towards the Catholic laity made the following four statements.
I. The Eucharistic action—Vatican II reminds
Christians—is not only the experience of Jesus as bread and wine, but also of
Jesus present in the Word and in the assembly.
II. The liturgy of the word and the liturgy of the
bread and wine constitute a unity, but there are differing ways to enter more
fully into each. As Jesus becomes present to us in the bread and wine, Jesus
also is present in the proclamation of the word of God.
III. The Carmelite contemplative tradition has wisdom
about the journey to the Beautiful, a journey made possible by presence at the
table of the word and at the table of bread and wine.
IV. We are called upon at the Eucharist to become, as
Jesus has become for us, bread and wine for our neighbor.
Perhaps unwittingly, the author identified Jesus as
“bread and wine” (I., IV.). II. is especially redolent with the theory of
Consubstantiation, which, as mentioned above, is in opposition to
Transubstantiation.
I confess that I have never heard the expression, “the
liturgy of the bread and wine” (II.) I contend that this is at least
misleading, if not fraught with serious error. So is “the table of bread and wine.”
(III.)
Of course, Jesus has not become bread and wine for us
(see IV.). Instead, the bread and wine have become Jesus for us.
If you are looking for a book that explains well just
what the Church proclaims concerning the Most Blessed Sacrament, then A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist
by Abbot Anscar Vonier, O.S.B. (Bethesda, Maryland: Zaccheus Press, 2003) is
for you.
We must use precise language when referring to the
Most Holy Eucharist. This magnificent Sacrament deserves nothing less.
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