Daily Retreat 09/13/08
2008 Sep 13 Sat: John Chrysostom, bp, dr M
1 Cor 10: 14-22/ Ps 115(116): 12-13. 17-18/ Lk 6: 43-49
From today’s readings: “ You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.... My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all His people.... Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?”
Communion in the Body of Christ
Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians includes his most detailed reflections and instructions about the Eucharist, particularly in chapters 10-11. This is one of the primary reasons this letter is my favorite NT epistle!
It’s no accident then that part of today’s reading is also read at the great solemnity of Corpus Christi. In verse 16, Paul remarks, “The Cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The Bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?” The word “participation” can also be translated as “communion,” because that’s what communion means: intimate sharing, participation, unity.
Paul insists that “you cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons” - you cannot be in communion with Christ, and be in communion with those who oppose Him! This is part of the explanation offered by the Church in issuing guidelines for receiving Holy Communion.
Whenever a person is in the state of a serious sin (e.g., having deliberately missed Sunday mass obligation, living together outside of marriage, having committed a weighty crime, etc.), it would be an offense to pretend that such a situation is congenial for Communion with Christ. Certainly the Lord reaches out to sinners even in their sinfulness, but it stands to reason that the sinner must then confess and renounce the sinfulness he bears in order to be free to embrace Christ totally! Likewise, whenever a person rejects an element of the Church’s solemn teaching (e.g., the sanctity of life, the Eucharistic Real Presence, the leadership of the Pope, etc.), it would be an act of dishonesty to participate in Communion, when communion is objectively lacking.
It’s not a matter of the Church coldly forbidding Communion to anyone who desires such sacred sacramental unity with Christ; rather, it’s a matter of the Church warmly explaining and insisting that anyone who desires such unity with Christ also must be completely resolved to living such full communion with the Body of Christ.
1 Cor 10: 14-22/ Ps 115(116): 12-13. 17-18/ Lk 6: 43-49
From today’s readings: “ You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.... My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all His people.... Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?”
Communion in the Body of Christ
Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians includes his most detailed reflections and instructions about the Eucharist, particularly in chapters 10-11. This is one of the primary reasons this letter is my favorite NT epistle!
It’s no accident then that part of today’s reading is also read at the great solemnity of Corpus Christi. In verse 16, Paul remarks, “The Cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The Bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?” The word “participation” can also be translated as “communion,” because that’s what communion means: intimate sharing, participation, unity.
Paul insists that “you cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of demons” - you cannot be in communion with Christ, and be in communion with those who oppose Him! This is part of the explanation offered by the Church in issuing guidelines for receiving Holy Communion.
Whenever a person is in the state of a serious sin (e.g., having deliberately missed Sunday mass obligation, living together outside of marriage, having committed a weighty crime, etc.), it would be an offense to pretend that such a situation is congenial for Communion with Christ. Certainly the Lord reaches out to sinners even in their sinfulness, but it stands to reason that the sinner must then confess and renounce the sinfulness he bears in order to be free to embrace Christ totally! Likewise, whenever a person rejects an element of the Church’s solemn teaching (e.g., the sanctity of life, the Eucharistic Real Presence, the leadership of the Pope, etc.), it would be an act of dishonesty to participate in Communion, when communion is objectively lacking.
It’s not a matter of the Church coldly forbidding Communion to anyone who desires such sacred sacramental unity with Christ; rather, it’s a matter of the Church warmly explaining and insisting that anyone who desires such unity with Christ also must be completely resolved to living such full communion with the Body of Christ.
posted by FrPitstick | 9/11/2008
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