Intriguing Questions from a Chance Meeting (part 1 of 3)

Some months ago I got into an extended conversation with a fellow Christian of the Protestant (probably Evangelical) persuasion on an airplane. Last week he sent me a few questions which I thought I'd share with you. Here's a part of his e-mail:

I have been thinking about you and wanted to connect with you...I hope all is well with you and your ministry and that God is doing great things in the church.

I have a question for you concerning communion. I have been doing much reading lately with regards to the early church. It is apparent that the early church and also many key people in church history (C.S. Lewis) have described communion as possibly the highest form or act of worship before Christ. In the protestant faith I believe that we have really dumbed down the beauty and the special nature of communion and there has been a group of us that have been discussing this topic in detail. Coming from your Catholic background I would really love to have your perspective on this topic.

1. Does the Catholic Church view communion has the highest form of worship? If so why is it viewed that way?
2. Have you seen the church minimize the act by making it rote or mundane, therefore causing the body to make it more of a ritual than a very sincere act of worship?
3. In your opinion how do we elevate communion back to the highest form of worship and make it a personal and meaningful act of worship?

Here's my response:

My friend, your questions are great - really, really exciting. It's the sort of things genuine disciples want to discuss! I'll do my best to answer briefly - there are whole libraries written about the Eucharist and eucharistic spirituality.

Does the Catholic Church view communion has the highest form of worship? If so why is it viewed that way?

First of all, I should clarify something. When you use the word "communion," I'm presuming you mean an addition to your normal worship service in which the congregation shares in bread that is broken.

Catholics receive communion at each Sunday service, called Mass. It's an integral part of worship, and yes, Catholics see communion as the highest form of worship in this life. But we would not separate the act of receiving communion from the whole act of worship that is the Mass. It is, among other things, an anticipation of the wedding feast of the lamb - heaven. One of the documents of the Second Vatican Council called the Eucharist (another name for the Mass), "the source and summit of the Christian life." It is the source in that Catholics believe it is the one sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for our redemption sacramentally re-presented in time. In other words, in each Mass, the perfect sacrifice of Christ breaks through time and space and is truly, albeit sacramentally, present.

It is not a new sacrifice, since the perfect self-offering of Jesus on the cross on our behalf means there is no need for further sacrifices. Catholics also believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus, and that he is truly present - body, soul, humanity and divinity - in what seems like bread and wine. In other words, at each Eucharistic liturgy, a miracle happens! This is truly awesome, and yet, incredibly humbling that the Lord should once again put himself into our hands, and come to us in the form of simple food.

Of course, this teaching is hard. Jesus spoke quite powerfully about being true food and drink in the bread of life discourse in the Gospel of John (6:26-68). Catholics take Jesus quite literally here, as did many of Jesus' contemporaries, evidently. And the evangelist uses pretty graphic verbs to describe the act of eating Jesus' body - Greek words normally used to describe an animal's eating.

I think a summary of the Catholic understanding of the eucharist would be helpful to you and your group, so here's a link to a section of the Catholic catechism. It will also provide many scripture references which I'm sure you'll want to see.

I'll share my Christian friend's second question - and my response - tomorrow. Stay tuned!