Eucharist

In the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to more fully look at one empowering part of Christian faith traditions specifically. This focus has been on liturgy. Even more specifically I have been able to read about the Eucharist as a place and source of empowerment for Christians to live a more just and honoring life.

Part of what has been interesting about all this is the reading, but I would be lying if I said that is what has kept me going in the last little while. With three weeks of the quarter left and two other classes, it is safe to say that fervor for all academic subjects has waned a bit.

The thing that brings me back to focusing on this class and topic tonight is the fact that in the past few weeks, I have not only read about the Eucharist but I have participated in it.

In her essay Liturgy Reshaping Society Dr. Cynthia Moe-Lobeda says "The sacraments, then, are God's way of getting through to us in at least two ways. They open our eyes to reality, even when reality may seem to painful to face. And they bring us faith, hope and love, the ingredients of agency for responding to reality in ways that reflect and serve God's mission to heal and liberate the world. The sacraments "open our eyes" and bring us the capacity to respond as God's "hands and heart." She goes on to say that "In the eucharist we are fed to live into th[e] true reality of challenge and change" (p.165, 168).

Attending a Jesuit school means that I am lucky enough to have a mass to go to on campus. Recently I have found myself at the Chapel of St. Ignatius preparing with the rest of the congregation for the Eucharistic. Now, unless I am mistaken, the statement "If you will not be receiving the Eucharist . . . " is directed at people like me, who not being within the Catholic tradition are asked by the larger church, if not explicitly by Seattle University, to abstain from taking the elements.

When I first heard this I was offended, feeling rejected. My underlying thought was that in some sense the kind Jesuit in front of me was saying "No Jesus for you today". What betrayal!

However, the sting of that perceived rejection has softened as I have continued to attend mass. The Eucharist (or communion as I am used to calling it) has always confused me, being one of those rituals of faith that is steeped in meaning, but is just beyond my ability to comprehend. Yet since I started reading about it my understanding of this ritual has begun to grow. My most recent thought is that perhaps the Eucharist is not so much something that I get, as one would get a parcel or package. Perhaps as Dr. Moe-Lobeda says, it is a place and process of transformation.

I used to sit nervously in my seat, whipping out the hymnal, praying increasingly quickly, all with the feeling that I had to get ready, because I was only moments away from "receiving Jesus". Yet in the last few weeks I have learned to look around at the progression of the Eucharist, from the choir signing, to the front rows rising, each individual walking slowly to the front and the sweet opportunity to kneel in prayer. In these last few moments of prayer I can raise my empty hands, and ask God for eyes to see, and for "hope and love" to transform me.

This new experience has been incredibly life giving for me. I am still unaware of the vast depth of meaning within a ritual such as the Eucharist, however it is empowering just to begin learning about it. The powerful thing here is that this ritual requires me to use my body. It asks that I rise from my seat, walk to the front of the chapel, physically tear the bread from the loaf and physically drink from the cup or dip my bread into it. Then I must walk slowly behind other people and before other people to my seat where I kneel (specific to Catholic mass I think) and have the opportunity to pray until the whole congregation has partaken.

This physical movement, although it is no cardiovascular workout requires that I am physically engaged, and can physically take in the body and blood of Christ. For me, this works to slowly break down my idea of God being 'somewhere out there' rather than present in the elements, chapel, myself and the community. God is present in the Eucharist and I can feel it because I have to use my senses to partake of the ritual.

These are my thoughts. In what ways, if any, do rituals bring you empowerment? They need not be Christian or even specifically religious.

Blessings and peace,

mikaila