Maybe You Should Sit This One Out

Corpus Christi Procession in Italy

This weekend the Church celebrates the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the celebration of the Body and Blood of the Lord: the true presence of the Lord in the Eucharist. This special celebration is typically marked by solemn Eucharistic Processions, Eucharistic Adoration, and other devotions. All of this calls to mind the great gift Christ has given us in the Eucharist. But are we equally concerned with living that which we adore, worship, and receive? In the Pastoral Constitution for the Church, Gaudium et Spes, we find the following: “The truth is that only in the mystery of the incarnate Word does the mystery of man take on light. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of Him who was to come, namely Christ the Lord. Christ, the final Adam, by the revelation of the mystery of the Father and His love, fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear” (GS 22). Only in Christ, does man find the full revelation of himself. Adam was created in the image and likeness of God. We believe in a Triune God, a trinity of persons forever united in an eternal, and mutual relationship of self gift. They give themselves totally and completely to one another as gift. If man is made in his image, then man too must be able to do the same. So God creates Eve, another person with whom to enter into relationship. In their mutual sharing of the gift of self they are able to discover the true meaning of their humanity. Hence, Gaudium et Spes goes on to say further: This likeness reveals that man, who is the only creature on earth which God willed for itself, cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself” (GS 24). What does this have to do with the Eucharist? Everything. In the great gift of his son, God completely empties himself – as gift- to come among us as a man. Christ empties himself wholly and entirely on the cross – the ultimate gift- and again throughout time and history in the Eucharist we adore. Every time we receive that Eucharist we respond to the minister “amen” when we receive that host. That declaration is our own repeating of what John Paul II called Mary’s “decisive yes” (RM 15). We are assenting to our desire and promise to empty ourselves in return for him, in a total and complete gift of self! Mary empties herself with her yes, and the new Eve comes together with the new Adam to undo the damage caused in Eden. Today the Church as the new Eve again unites with her spouse the new Adam…or at least we promise to…but do we do it? Kneeling before the Lord in the Eucharist proud of our “rightness,” proud of our position, proud of our accomplishment, or proud of our title does not accomplish this emptying. Quite the opposite. Everyone who follows this blog is aware that I made a significant change in my ministry recently. This change has included a reality that is painfully obvious to me now: my lack of communion. On this Corpus Christi, I will be unable to receive the Lord in the Eucharist, as is the case every Sunday until my transition is complete. As you can imagine, this Eucharistic fast is difficult, but at the same time it continuously yields new lessons for me to pour over in my heart. At the core of that lesson: how do I live my “amen”? How do I live my “yes”? The truth of the matter is every single one of us could likely ask ourselves the same question. Every Independent Catholic clergy person should ask themselves “am I doing this just because it’s a way to do it that I couldn’t do in the mainstream Church?” A reason like that uses the word “I” way too many times, because the Eucharist and the Priesthood (which are intrinsically bound together) is not about “I”, it’s about “others”. Do I move from Church to Church seeking leadership roles to fill a void? If the motivation is not service, and those we serve, our “yes” is insincere. What about the other side of the coin? What about the individual sitting in the pews who wonders “I come to Church all the time, and I like it well enough, but I don’t feel fulfilled.” Perhaps the Lord is calling you deeper. Maybe the Lord is calling you to empty yourself in service more deeply. The challenge is that both of these take a remarkable amount of courage. It takes incredible courage to stand up and say “yes” like Mary – to empty ourselves wholly and entirely for the Lord who did the same for us. It likewise takes a remarkable amount of energy to admit when we are not emptying ourselves at all, and that in fact our “amen” is potentially insincere. So what am I learning about my own “yes”? From what I hear, there are some who feel that my “yes” was insincere. So it goes. I don’t feel the need to defend myself against such childishness because when someone points at you with one finger, three more point back at the accuser. Scripture called Satan “the accuser”…that should tell us something. In all things we must consider the source. I think above all what I HAVE learned about my “yes” is that the Lord wants it to be complete and total. He wants us all to recognize that sometimes our self-emptying is going to involve suffering, hardship, and hurt. You all know of my devotion to Saint Anthony, which admittedly came to light even for myself only less than a year ago. In this blog, I was posting faithfully a nine day Novena leading up to his Feast. The big day came – and I had nothing to say. That is because on his Feast Day I was hit with a terrible flare up of my Crohns Disease, and was laid up in bed for a couple of days as a result. As I looked over at my statue of Saint Anthony, I thought to myself, “gee buddy, this is quite a way to celebrate…take this away!” It wasn’t until the next day I realized the important lesson Anthony was trying to show me. We carry devotions to Saints so we can be more like Christ, whose total gift of self necessarily involved suffering. Our gift is given no differently. The greatest gift a beloved Saint can get us is a lesson in willingness to make our “yes” count. So on Sunday we will celebrate Corpus Christi. Perhaps we will attend a Eucharistic Procession, or an hour of Eucharistic Adoration. At the least, we will attend Mass and most of us will receive him in the Eucharist. The multi-million dollar question is: are we living that “amen”??? If we aren’t, maybe we should sit it out. Join me in reflection in the pews. Pray for your enemies, those who persecute you, or those who slander you…be grateful for them…because they are helping to make you into a Saint.