This weekend several of the children of our extended St Martin de Porres family will be making their First Holy Communion. This sacrament is one of the sacraments of initiation of the Church. Through it they become increasingly part of the body of Christ, part of the community that we call Church.
In the liturgy of the Church, we pray that we may become what we consume, that is, we eat his body and drink his blood so that we may become more Christ-like. The eucharist that we take part in helps us in several ways. Firstly, there is the direct spiritual help of receiving physically the body of Christ. Then there is the growth in knowledge that we receive through our participation in the eucharist, by listening to the scriptures and the homily, and being formed through our participation. We are helped by being part of the community and taking part in the life of the community.
You may have noticed that I am using “eucharist” as both noun and verb. This is an important distinction. When we use eucharist as a noun we are referring to the “thing”, the consecrated species which is the body of Christ, the blood of Christ. It is what we expose in a monstrance for adoration and benediction. It could also refer to the mass itself as a discrete entity or “thing” just as would use the word opera to describe a thing.
But the eucharist is also, and I think more importantly, a verb. It is something that we “do” as the community of faith when we gather in worship. It is something that can only be done in the presence of a community faith, and with the pastor or shepherd of that community. The eucharist is just as intensely communal as it is personal. The consecrated host, the body of Christ that we consume is not magic, nor does it do what we say it does by magical, wishful thinking.
The body of Christ makes us the body of Christ, or put differently, taking part in the life of the faith community, which includes the liturgy of the eucharist, makes us part of the community and deepens and enriches the bonds of love which bind us together. In other words, it we who decide whether we want to be part of the body, we who will through our commitment of time and resources put flesh and blood onto the words we speak of love, family and community.
This is why I always encourage the parents of those being baptised or making first holy communion to model what it is they want their children to have and be. If you want your children to grow to be men and women of strength and integrity, honest and true, then you must be that yourself, you must model that for them. If you want your child to be Catholic not only in name but in truth and fact, then bring them to church so that they can learn about the wonderful, holy and crazy family that they are part of. Bring them to catechism classes so that they can learn the truths of the faith. Be part of the body so that they can be part of the body.
