In
a letter written to his son, J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote that he believed the
Reformation, which he called “the revolt,” was really launched against the
Eucharist itself, against “’the blasphemous fable of the Mass’ – and faith/
works a mere red herring.”1 For us Catholics who believe in the Real
Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, under the species of bread and wine, we
know that it is the source of our unity. The Eucharist is what draws us up into
Christ’s one body. To make any sort of separation or fracture of that one body
is to tragically sin against and wound Christ. Tolkien knew this fact. He
called the Reformation a revolt, precisely, because he knew that it was a
rebellion, intentional or not, against our source of unity – Christ himself,
present in bread and wine.
“The
cup of blessing, which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of
Christ? The bread, which we break, is it not a participation in the body of
Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all
partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel; are not those who eat
the sacrifices partners in the altar?” (1 Cor. 10:16-18 NRSV) St. Paul in
these last verses shows us exactly the matter so clearly. He goes so far as to
say that the blessed bread and wine are a participation in Christ and his
sacrifice.
The
Eucharist, the Church tells us, is the source and summit of our Christian life.
Why? Because it is a participation in the sacrifice of Christ. What else is the
body and blood of Christ, but that which was broken, that which was poured out
for us? The Sacrifice of the Mass is our highest form of worship, because it is
with him, in him and through him that we make our worship, any worship. This is
why it is called the summit of our Christian life. All worship is made possible
through Christ and his cross, and that mystery is made present in the
consecrated bread and wine. This is why it is called the source of our
Christian life. This is also why the Church says that all other worship is (and
should be) just an extension of the liturgy of the Mass. “Without Me, you can
do nothing.” Mother Church truly realizes the reality and depth of the revealed
truth of the Eucharistic Presence.
The
words of the common, Catholic prayer of morning offering are so clear in light
of this: “O my Jesus, … I offer to you all my prayers, works, joys and
sufferings in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.…” The Sacrifice of the
Mass is the one bread, the one and only bread. It is the one Sacrifice that
happened in history 2,000 years ago and is made available to us each day in the
Mass. And by it, we are caught up into the unity of the Spirit, and become
participants in Christ’s redeeming work.
In
Ephesians 1:20-23, St. Paul tells us that the Father has made Christ to sit at
his right hand, after having raised him up, far above all rule and authority.
He goes on to write that the Father “put all things under [Christ’s] feet and
has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the
fullness of him who fills all in all” (22, 23 NRSV). Two things are impressed
upon me in this passage. The first is that Christ, as the Church tells us, was
raised in his glorified flesh and then seated at the right hand of the Father. He
is still in the flesh, glorified nonetheless. Let me repeat: Christ is still in
the flesh, a human being. The second is that the church is his body, even the
fullness of the Son of God.
In
light of these, can we ever really say again, having known the Real Presence,
that Christ, still living in the flesh, wills his people to be separated all
over the face of the earth in disagreement and division on teachings that were
handed down by himself? “I will not leave you orphan.” Can we really say that
he who is in heaven, in the flesh, and will return again does not “mind” (or
worse, even wills it) that some of those members of his body have torn it into
pieces by division? Or, instead, would we say with St. Paul, “any one who eats
and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself”
(1 Cor. 11:29). Some Christians seem to act, as I did at one time, like Christ died and went away in
spirit for a really long time, and has nothing to do with shepherding his Church: “Alright,
guys, you’re on your own. Don’t make too much mess, and try to remember the
things I told you as best you can.”
No,
instead, we know that he left us the apostles. They in turn left us those whom
they chose to faithfully continue the ministry of Christ, down to our own age,
keeping the continuity of his authority. And Christ is still in control. Christ
is still living in the flesh. He did not leave us orphan. He is not separated
from us. He is very close to us, and even in our midst. His authority is still
on this earth, and his unity is in his one holy, catholic, and apostolic
Church. We are one body only because we have one bread, one communion, one Lord.
Let us not break communion with that one body. Let us, instead, honor and adore
the source and summit of our Christian life, our salvation – the Most Holy
Eucharist – and remain wherever that one Bread is.
Let
us pray, too, that we may recognize with our Catholic brother, Tolkien, the indivisibility between the
Eucharist and Christ’s Church: “… but I now know enough about myself to be
aware that I should not leave the Church for any such reasons [of scandal]: I
should leave because I did not believe, and should not believe anymore … I
should deny the Blessed Sacrament, that is: call Our Lord a fraud to His face.”1
1 Tolkien, J. R. R. The Letters of J.R.R.
Tolkien: A Selection. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
2000. 338-39. Print.
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