Corpus Christi - a post script.

Should anyone think that yesterday’s reflection, ‘Do this in memory of me’ questions the Catholic understanding of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, I wish to say that that was not my intention. Sadly, too frequently the popular Catholic understanding of Eucharist has taken on images of crass materialism, for example people were told not to eat or chew the consecrated bread, a sentiment totally at odds with the biblical narratives. I remember a devout person remarking to me in all seriousness, that she thought Jesus must get very tired of standing in the tabernacle. Don’t blame the people, blame bad theology.

While our experience of ritual and memory give us a ’doorway’ into understanding the presence of Jesus, they, like all theology, simply paddle on the shores of mystery which is a reality revealed to us. The presence of Christ in the Eucharist is inseparable from the presence of Christ in the community who are the Body of Christ. I think that understanding the power of ritual and memory helps contemplate that gift of Christ which is himself present in his totality of being.