The Host

I posted THIS the other day on my facebook, about a Catholic priest in Orange County (surprise!) who concelebrated mass with a protestant minister, allowing him not only to receive communion but to distribute it, too. The outraged parishioners, of course, petitioned the Bishop... we'll see what happens. (Note, this morning, as I finish up this blog, the Bishop has put said priest on leave.) The comments on my post were outraged too... and rightly so. But I had a friend write and ask me the following question, and it made me think that maybe a lot of my non-Catholic friends might have the same question, too: 

"Hey! I have a question about the article you posted about the Protestant minister who concelebrated (what does that word mean?) Mass and took Holy Communion.My first question is right there, about that word. Is that something more than just attending Mass? My second question is about Communion, I know that Prottys can't take it in a Catholic church, but I was wondering why?"

The answer to the first question is that to "concelebrate" means to co-celebrate the mass. In modern Catholic terminology, the "Celebrant" is the priest. Because now more than one priest can say mass at the same time (not just lead, but officiate) we have what's called a "concelebrant." This is an ordained priest in good standing (they literally have to be card-carrying) who can come up and do the priest thing with the priest who is there. Sometimes, there are literally dozens of priests "concelebrating." There will be one who leads and the other(s) participate in various parts, and always mouth the words of consecration along with the leading priest at the point where the bread and wine are transsubstantiated.


Where they are whaaaaaat???


More on that in a moment.


I remember once having a family member attend mass with us, who wasn't Catholic. He was interested in the experience, since he was working through his opinions and ideas about the Catholic Church. Everything was fine for him, and reconcileable with scripture, until he got to the part where we go up for communion. That's when we reminded him that he was not able to partake of the communion with us, but that he was certainly welcome to come up and get a blessing from the priest. Of course, this threw him for a huge loop and he became indignant, disrupting the serenity and reverence of the mass and storming out. Was he wrong to do so? Of course, but he was also considerably confused and frustrated-- he had just been refused admission to the communion table, when all the time we kept telling him that he and we served the same Lord and Savior. What was up?

In order to understand why we do not allow anyone but Catholics to recieve communion, you need to understand what communion is for us, and what the Mass actually means.


First, we believe that the body and blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ are LITERALLY there, "disguised" under the appearance of ordinary, unleavened bread and wine, brought there by the action of the Holy Spirit through a properly ordained priest of God's Church. YES. We do. If this is the first time you've heard this, welcome to the absolute core and center of Catholic belief, and the one thing which sets us apart from all other Christians.


Second, we believe that participation in this Sacrament is necessary unto salvation. It is the ORDINARY means of Grace that God has prepared for His people (this doesn't mean that people who don't receive can not be saved, as we know God is merciful, but that the "established, correct, right and proper" way for us to be saved is to participate in the plan of grace by receiving Communion.)


Third, we believe that unworthy (I'll explain that in a moment) participation in this Sacrament is detrimental to spiritual and even physical health, as laid out in the Bible, because it is A, a sign that we are repentant and desire Christ's Salvation and , B, a sign of communion with the Body of Christ, His Church. Therefore a person who receives Communion unworthily (a person who is not in the state of grace and has committed a mortal sin, or alternatively a person who -- though he may be a penitent-- is not in full communion with the Church's doctrine) is lying to himself, the Church, and ultimately God and will be harmed by this decision, whether in this life, in the next, or both, depending on the gravity of his lie.


Therefore out of reverence for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we take care not to commit sacrilege with Him, not to "give what is holy" to those we should not. Out of love for the people, we take care not to allow them to harm themselves to the best of our ability. And out of the theological concept of free will and freedom of conscience, we trust God to move people to do what is right with regards to receiving Communion. And he does!


I've shared before how as a soon-to-be protestant who was praying about my relationship with the Catholic Church, I was supernaturally protected from harm and simultaneously made partner in this great truth by the Holy Spirit of God. It was HIM who moved me to refuse to participate in Communion with Catholics at that point in my journey, even though by all "external" signs I absolutely could and was "allowed" to. I didn't know this, but God was protecting ME from harm-- because receiving communion I would have been making a statement which I did not believe. This made the moment I DID believe all the more powerful.... when I came back to the Church through the study of scripture, and realized what a great gift communion was, I wanted to run to receive Him. But I was so thankful that His Spirit had protected me from mocking Him and possibly hurting myself.


The Statement, therefore, which all Catholics make when they receive Our Lord in Holy Communion, whether they know it or not, has two parts.


A. I believe that this truly is Jesus Christ and desire His Salvation. I am sorry for my sins, have repented, confessed, and resolve to do penance and amend my life.
B. I believe all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches to be true, and profess the Catholic Faith in it's entirety, in no way disagreeing with Catholic doctrine. Therefore I am in full communion with the Holy Catholic Church, which I believe was established by God.


This is why a non-Catholic person, even a non-Catholic person who loves our Lord very much, may not-- indeed CANNOT-- receive communion.


The Catholic Mass has two parts-- the Liturgy of the WORD, and the Liturgy of the EUCHARIST. During the Liturgy of the Word, we partake together of the Word of God, by hearing proclaimed several portions of scripture, which change according to the calendar date or situation.
After that, we partake together of the Word Made Flesh, the Holy Eucharist. You see, Communion is, for us, the source and summit of the Christian life. We do not believe that we are receiving bread and wine, but -- pay attention-- the BODY, BLOOD, SOUL, and DIVINITY--- the actual presence--- of Our Lord Jesus Christ. This is transsubstantiation... the actions of an ordained priest with actual spiritual authority to change the bread and the wine into the body and blood of Our Lord, truly present.
We call the Bread the Host. This, of course, reminds us of the Presence within a body. You see, whereas protestants tend to be very focused on the spiritual, often tending towards the belief (heretical, incidentally) that the body or physical material is BAD, evil, or wrong, that physical things are not spiritual things, etc. However the reality of the Eucharist is a perfect example of a way in which Catholics believe we sanctify everything around us... in Catholic theology, it is literally "His Kingdom," here below. While God has, of course, prepared us for heaven, we do not discount or discredit the wonder and glory of the Creation here below, every single cell of which speaks volumes to the wonder of the Creator there above. The Host is a piece of bread, the Cup a cup of wine. But with the blessing of the priest and the work of the  Holy Spirit-- cooperation between God and man, it becomes divine.


We believe that the mass is a sacrifice-- that the mass is a mystical rememberance of the ONCE present (this is important, because we do not re-sacrifice Christ) crucifixion of Our Lord. When we assist at Holy Mass, we are ONE at the foot of the Cross of the Savior-- as if time is suspended, in a sense-- and responding to His Words in John 6 and at the last supper.


it looks like this:

And all of us there present, surrounded by the angels and saints (Even those who have gone before) are  together, with one voice, worshipping Christ, the lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world, to ask Him for mercy on us.

It is literally heaven on earth. It is literally Our Lord. 

This should explain a number of perplexing practices to non-Catholics.

1. It explains the nondenominational/charismatic (and possibly other traditions) protestant practice of "the altar call." In which, for the unitiated, a section of time at the end of a protestant service is reserved for allowing people to respond to God's personal call to repentance. The lights and music get low, a prayer is said, and an invitation made to "come forth" and "recieve the Lord." Catholics started that back when protestant theology was Catholic theology. Only instead of coming forth to say "I believe" and "I have repented and trust in your mercy," and leaving empty handed, we literally recieve Jesus Christ. When I watch the long line of Catholics at mass coming up to receive communion, I'm often moved to tears because I know that even if they do not know what they are doing, many of them will recieve graces, and possibly crosses, as a result that will change their lives and indeed draw them to a deeper faith in God. I KNOW they are not leaving empty handed.

2. It explains the old tradition, still practiced by many protestant denominations and outrageously irrespected in many Catholic parishes today, of acting, dressing, and becoming more reserved, reverent, quiet, reflective, humble, and modest when we go to Church. Protestants, again, do this because Catholics started it, and we do it because Our Lord is literally present INSIDE the building. We hear often people say "a building is just a building, and God can reach you anywhere. There is nothing special about this building, so we should not feel like we have to dress up, be quiet, or be respectful." This is true, a protestant church is just a building, and there is nothing special about that other than it may retain a particularly "fragrant" character by virtue of the numerous prayers offered up inside. It is also true that God can reach anyone, anywhere. However, the miracle that occurs at every Catholic mass is that Jesus Christ is made present to us, as we are made present to Him at His sacrifice on Calvary. There IS something special about a Catholic Church-- the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the World, is really and actually present there. 

Let me share briefly an explanation of what I mean. Because we are given the eucharist as our "Spiritual food" (ever wonder where the expression "I'm not being fed" came from? :P) as a gift of grace, from God, the REAL presence of Christ daily makes miracles inside your local Catholic Church. Miracles of repentance and faith, miracles of healing and deliverance, etc. I realize that He does this elsewhere as well, but no where more powerfully than in His ACTUAL presence. (Because remember, He has said in His Word: "Behold, I am with you ALWAYS, and even to the end of time.) In other words, the Catholic Church will not cease to exist until the end of time. The gates of hell, it was promised in scripture, will never prevail against her. Because when the Eucharist disappears, the end has come. And Jesus Christ will return.

What's more, we can visit Him inside the Blessed Sacrament at any time, day or night because it is the practice of the Church to reserve a consecrated host inside the tabernacle at all times. That's what that lit candle above the tabernacle in every Catholic Church is about... it lets us know: "He's home!" 

 He is there, waiting for us to come to Him. Once a year, however, He is NOT there. Just before easter, we take down the giant crucifix you always see behind the Catholic altar. We place it down on the ground, without the body of Christ on it, symbolizing Jesus, dead in the tomb and not walking among us. We venerate the Cross on which He hung, and at the same time, we strip the altar, open the doors and windows and remove every eucharistic host from the tabernacles so that in no Catholic Church in the world will you find a consecrated host at that time. THIS is the world without Jesus. On that day, and that day only, the Catholic Church becomes just like any other building or church in the world, and on that day, let me tell you, the loss of His presence is tangibly felt. The atmosphere is somber, the inner reflection profound, and the great gift of the Resurrection and of the Incarnation and Eucharist is never more beautifully experienced. I dare you to visit a Catholic Church during Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Holy Sunday. You'll experience the difference, and true JOY at the Resurrection and return of Our Lord. It's thick theology.

3. It explains what makes priests "different" from laypersons, and The Mass different from a "Worship service" and the reason a Catholic cannot, in good conscience, miss Church on Sundays or replace Mass with a regular worship service that does NOT contain the Eucharist. The Mass is a true sacrifice-- it is the perfect Sacrifice, since our Priests offer Jesus Christ, ONCE immolated on the Cross for all time, to the Father each day for the people of God.

In a sense, priests can bring us Jesus in a way that laypersons can't. It doesn't mean that laypeople aren't called to their own particular common priesthood, but the office of the priesthood is definitely that of a man "set apart." We need our priests to be holy because we need the Eucharist, not because they are special people who have any particularly holy qualities all on their own.  We need sacraments, so we need priests. Simple as that. The priests, like Melchizedek of Old, who also was a priest forever, offer up our sacrifice, the sacrifices we bring to the altar. YES, the bread and the wine, but also all the week's events and situations and personal issues we bring to the table of the Lord. They offer up the Savior, on the Cross, transfering our curses to Him. And there we receive Him from them and at their hands, and consume Him, thus receiving all the benefits to our bodies and souls of being united, as one, with God, provided we are not in a state of mortal (and preferably not venial) sin.

4. It explains why even on battlefields and in hospitals where people are quarantined, Catholics are calling for priests and priests are willing to brave whatever it takes to get to them. There are countless inspirational and amazing stories about courageous priests LITERALLY bringing Christ to the people who need Him.

5. It explains why little children wear "wedding clothes" to their First Communion-- it is their first day participating in the wedding feast of the lamb and tasting Heaven on Earth.

6. It explains why Catholics literally adore (worship) the Host. Have you ever seen a monstrance? It is a beautiful, large, object made with precious metal that is designed to display and showcase the Consecrated Host. There, it is displayed, and we pray before Him present. This is where most protestants lose me.... We agree that there is a sacred element to Communion. We agree that it draws us to God. We agree that it brings us into community with God's people. We agree that God is "truly" present in the communion bread and wine. But when I say.... I WORSHIP Jesus present in the Communion Host. I lose them. :) Every time. 

This makes them nervous, but think about it..... if what I am teaching is true, then what SHOULD we do with the Host? It is not an ordinary piece of bread. That is my Lord! If He were in the form of a man, remember, what honors and love people showed him and His body, especially after he was crucified. Why would I do any less for Him today?

However, you're right, if what I am teaching is false, then Catholics everywhere are committing idolatry and worshipping the Creation rather than the Creator. This is very important to discover. This is very important to explore..... we all want to draw closer to Jesus. What if He were truly present, HERE? 

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

-Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 28:20

"This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God's Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus." Justin Martyr, c A.D. 148-155 

If all of this sounds, still, totally inclusionary and harsh towards protestants, who we do believe share a large part in our same faith, then consider this: 
There are literally hundreds and hundreds of Catholics who DO believe, and yet who do not receive, but only adore Him present in the Blessed Sacrament. They respectfully wait and long for the day they CAN receive Him present in the Eucharist. 
Some of them because they are waiting to be fully brought into the Church. Others of them because they are, in some cases, in marriage situations or other types of situations which they know are not pleasing to God but they aren't yet willing to relinquish them or haven't yet been able to. Others because they have sinned, and have not confessed. Others because they are in situations which need still to be remedied. Whatever the reason, they believe, and yet they wait, unwilling to sin against Our Lord even further. So what about you? Are you willing to respect the presence of the Lord in the Eucharist, and abstain without feeling "slighted?" The Eucharist is a gift of grace, and a gift is not something to be taken. It is not something that is owed us. It is something to be recieved with gratitude at the love of the Giver.


To get a glimpse into the absolute joy and amazement which touches the hearts of the people of the Catholic Church who understand this doctrinal reality and benefit from it, I encourage you to watch this video, which, as one who believes, I can not watch without weeping. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your eucharistic, incarnational presence. I love you.