The Eucharist and Justice

In 1963, Vatican II produced The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.  This document identified the Eucharist as the source and summit of Christian life, and called for “full, conscious and active participation” of the faithful.  Gone were the days when people just watched the liturgy and read in their prayer books or prayed the rosary during Mass.  The liturgy was to be celebrated in the language of the people and adapted to the culture.  God, we were told, was present in the liturgy in several ways: in the assembled community of believers; in the Word of God proclaimed; in the priest who presided in Jesus’ place; and, in fullness, in the elements of the consecrated bread and wine.  Today, we celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

While some Christian denominations believe that the bread and wine are merely signs or symbols of Christ, we Catholics hold that they are actually what Jesus said they were: His Body and Blood.  It is an act of faith to believe this, but, in believing it, we know that this food transforms and energizes us.  But why?  For what purpose?  Why are we commanded to “eat His Body, and drink His Blood?”  It is because we are being fed to go out into the world and do the amazing and challenging things that the Gospels inspire us to do: to continue the work of Jesus in the world, especially with the poor and vulnerable.

Liturgy and justice are intimately connected.  At liturgy, we listen to the Word of God, and Christ speaks to us.  We hear the homily and we are motivated to put the Gospel into action – to make justice reign on earth.  We cannot be transformed through the liturgical actions of the Mass unless we are open to working for justice on earth.  Justice and Eucharist go hand-in-hand.

In 2004, Pope John Paul II reminded us of this connection: If our communal sharing in the Eucharist is authentic, it will inspire us to build a more just society.  “It is not by chance,” Pope John Paul says, “that the Gospel of John contains no account of the institution of the Eucharist, but instead relates the “washing of feet”: by bending down to wash the feet of his disciples, Jesus explains the meaning of the Eucharist ...”

And Pope Benedict said: "All who partake of the Eucharist must commit themselves to peacemaking in our world scarred by violence and war, and today in particular, by terrorism, economic corruption and sexual exploitation.”

As we celebrate this feast of Corpus Christi, we understand that our responsibilities as Christians go beyond this table.