Two weeks ago I wrote my first article, “What Does It Mean to be a Eucharistic People,” on Timothy P. O’Malley’s book, Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. 2022, part of the Engaging Catholicism series.) followed last week by “Understanding Eucharistic Culture.” Today I will complete my articles reflecting on O’Malley’s book.

I concluded last week where O’Malley began to discuss “banality” in the Mass. He writes, “Banality is a word that means something is unoriginal or exceedingly commonplace” (34). If we only look at Mass on a superficial level, it can get old and boring. As such Mass would seem “banal”.

The solution? Don’t look at our celebration of the Mass only as a superficial activity!

It is true that Mass has the same structure every week. Processional hymn, Sign of the Cross, greeting, Penitential Rite, Gloria, Collect (opening prayer), readings, homily, creed, Prayers of the Faithful, Eucharist, Communion, Prayer after Communion, final blessing, and recessional. You know the structure. It does not change. The readings change but they cycle every three years. So, if you have been coming to Mass for 30 years, you have heard the readings 10 times. Maybe the music offers a favorite hymn or something new. It’s all familiar.

What’s the solution? Should we totally redo the Mass to make it new? How about Protestant churches where the minister can pick their own readings from the Bible? Regarding the latter, if a church has the same minister for 30 years, do you think that because the minister can pick the readings themselves, the service seems new every time? I’m willing to bet that there is a lot of repetition. As to the former, “should totally we redo the Mass to make it new”, the answer is no.

What? Wouldn’t it get people’s attention? Perhaps for a little bit but there is something comforting in the familiar. Our Catholic Mass has the same structure it had in the time of St. Justin Martyr in the second century (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1345).

Instead of changing the Mass, O’Malley writes, “Liturgical banality must be healed through a remembering of what we are doing in the liturgy” (35). He says “we counteract banality by remembering why we are gathering in the first place, praying rather than reading or saying parts of the Mass, leaving room for contemplation and silence during the Eucharistic liturgy, understanding how the body matters in worship, and allowing Eucharistic devotion to permeate parish life” (34). In short, we need to know why come to Mass and actively engage in it. We stand, knee, and genuflect for a reason. Silence is not just a time when we are waiting for the next part to start. Silence is part of the liturgy to give us time to contemplate what is going on. We gather for Mass to praise God for all that we celebrate in Mass. We receive God’s Word and we celebrate the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross and thank God for the gift of the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Liturgy only becomes banal when we forget what God does for us, when we forget the story behind what we do at Mass (O’Malley, 36). We become more reverent when we embrace the silence as a time to reflect in contemplation what God has done for us (O’Malley, 41). Some people come to Mass to escape the noise of the world. This alone should lead us to cherish the silence (O’Malley, 43). It is in the silence that we can hear God come to us in a tiny whispering sound as we hear in this coming weekend’s first reading (19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, 8/13/23, 1 Kings 19:9a,11-13a).

Some people think we should use simple words rather than “elevated language” (see O’Malley, 49). I say doesn’t the changing of the bread and wine deserve a special word that we don’t use for anything else, “transubstantiation”?

Some people think the Mass stands on its own. I agree with O’Malley that offering Eucharistic Adoration and Benediction stresses the importance of the Real Presence in the Eucharist (see O’Malley, 49). To become the Church that we are called to be, we need opportunities to contemplate the Eucharistic mystery (see O’Malley, 63). This begins with time spent in silence after we receive Communion. It continues in Adoration.

We need to think about what we hear in the scripture readings. They are not simply stories of what happened to other people. The Transfiguration is not just the story of what happened to Peter, James, and John. It is our story (see my reflection from this past Sunday’s celebration of the Feast of the Transfiguration). It is the the story of salvation history (see O’Malley, 66).

I’ll end by referring to O’Malley’s discussion for the need for “A Eucharistic Popular Catholicism” (84-93). Here he talks about customs like the “Posadas” as a Christmas custom recalling Joseph and Mary’s search for lodging (84) that can help make the Christmas story come alive for us. Such customs are unfamiliar to me. Perhaps they are something I need to take a look at.

I hope you understand that our faith is a living faith. What we read in the Bible is the story of God’s relationship with his people, including us. What we celebrate in the Eucharist is not just a reminder of what Jesus did 2,000 years ago. The celebration of the Eucharist makes present to us today Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross. It makes present his gift of his Body and Blood in the Eucharist. It makes present the empty tomb on Easter Morning. Jesus is Risen!

Before concluding, for those who are new to my blog and website, I just created a new page “All Things Eucharist” to help you find everything I have offered on the Eucharist and the Mass.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Last week I wrote my first article, “What Does It Mean to be a Eucharistic People,” on Timothy P. O’Malley’s book, Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. 2022, part of the Engaging Catholicism series. Now, I would like to continue my reflection on O’Malley’s book and explore what it means to have a “Eucharistic Culture.”

O’Malley explains that culture is not merely a matter of art or the customs of an ethnic group. He writes, “Rather, it is both both the implicit and explicit worldview and practices of a parish” (xxvi). Here I will say that art produced by a group might point to its worldview, hence its culture, but the art is not the culture itself.

He continues, “Culture creates a people. A Eucharistic culture will cultivate a Eucharistic people” (xxvi). We live in a time when surveys say most Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Why? Because we have not made the Real Presence an explicit part of our parish cultures. This is not to say that the Church has not believed in the Real Presence in the past. I think perhaps it was simply taken for granted. For example, Eucharistic processions used to be more common. Who would do a Eucharistic procession without a belief in the Real Presence? What they did not do enough is talk about the Real Presence.

The task to recreate a Eucharistic culture in our parishes is not a simple task. As O’Malley writes, “Such a Eucharistic culture is not brought about simply through following best practices to transform the parish in a year’s time. It takes time to become a Eucharistic people” (xxvii). The church has been declining for a long time. It isn’t going to change overnight. But it can change. Nothing is impossible for God and it is the Son of God we are talking about in the Eucharist.

O’Malley presents four elements necessary for a Eucharistic culture. The first is “a sense enculturated reverence for the celebration of the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament” (xxvii). To increase reverence at Mass we need to increase our understanding of what we do at Mass. Soon I will be starting a series of bulletin articles (that I will also post here) to help us better understand what we do at Mass (This flows from my series of presentations, Understanding the Treasures of the Mass). As to reverence for the Blessed Sacrament, we need to talk about our faith in the Real Presence. If we help people believe it is Jesus, then reverence will flow from that belief.

The second element O’Malley presents is “an integral formation that does not reduce Eucharistic catechesis to explanation of doctrine exclusively but attends to the memory, imagination, understanding, desire and will, and our very identity as a Eucharistic community” (xxvii). Our belief in the Eucharist is not simply a matter of “knowing” it is Jesus. Our belief in the Real Presence must be at the core of our identity as Catholics. It defines who we are.

The third element O’Malley presents is “A transition from a privatized approach to Eucharistic celebration to a public or popular Catholicism” (xxviii). We come to celebrate and receive the Eucharist not just as a bunch of private individuals. The Eucharist binds us as a people. This leads to O’Malley’s fourth element, “The promotion of a Eucharistic solidarity” (xxix). We are given Communion with God in the Eucharist to share it with the world.

O’ Malley later writes, “For Catholics, our common worship in the Eucharistic liturgy is not a private affair. It is a public act whereby the whole Body of Christ is transformed by the Eucharistic offering into a sacrifice of love for the life of the world…There is no such thing as a private Catholic. Every Catholic is a public person, whose life witnesses to the Eucharistic presence of our Lord in the world” (2-3). If we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Eucharist we receive, we in turn are called to transform the world.

O’Malley talks about the Catholic customs he grew up with like Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the rosary. He talks about how it was important because it made them different than their neighbors (8). Today, many people just want to fit in. So, they hide what is different. We need to embrace our sacramental culture where we cross ourselves as we begin prayers and enter a church. “These are some of the visible and tangible things of Catholicism” (9). Unfortunately for many it is the world that shapes their faith. We need to reverse that. Our faith is to shape the world. To do this, we must embrace our faith and its practices.

The Catholic Church of the 1950’s was a church that participated in parish festivals, routine catechesis, weekly Mass attendance, and worship at home through our Catholic customs (O’Malley, 12). As we think about what we should do in the future, O’Malley asks, “Do the festivals we celebrate point toward Christ, or are they simply of way of escaping the workaday world?” (20). There is nothing wrong with a festival but we need to ask ourselves are we having a party or are we leading people to Christ.

We also need to ask ourselves, “Are our Masses reverent occasions of encounter with Christ” (O’Malley, 20). In our catechesis (“Sunday school”), are we merely teaching teaching basic Catholic knowledge to children or are we leading people of all ages to “celebrate the mystery of Christ in the liturgy” (21)? Are we “fostering a spirituality of communion in the parish community” (21)?

From here, we need to build Eucharistic solidarity. O’Malley defines solidarity as “the cultivated practice of letting the concerns of my neighbor, their joys and suffering, become part of my own” (25). Why? Because in our celebration of the Eucharist, we are celebrating Jesus’ Sacrifice on the Cross where He willingly laid down his life for us. It was an act of love (see John 15:13). From our celebration of the Eucharist, we are to follow the example of Jesus by loving our neighbor. We are to become what we receive in the Eucharist. When we understand the Eucharist, the Eucharist changes us (see my series of presentations, The Greatest Gift: The Eucharist). It defines us.

This should bring us to a sense of “awe and wonder before God” (O’Malley, 30). Coming to Mass should never be centered on our own tastes and desire to feel good. It begins with praising God. Properly celebrated, Mass changes who we are to conform us to the image of Christ.

O’Malley writes, “A Eucharistic culture in a parish must be marked by a reverence that places God at the center of the act of worship” (32). It’s not about me. We are not the focus. God must stand at the center of our faith and worship.

O’Malley invites us to think about why we gather for Mass, how we pray, not just say, the words, and how “the body matters in worship” (34).

This is where I end today. There is at least one more article in this series. Before ending I would like to offer the same comment I have made when reflecting on other books. What I write in these articles is only a small portion of what is offered by O’Malley. Don’t be afraid to read the book for yourself.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff

Almost three and a half years ago, our churches were shutdown by the arrival of the Coronavirus pandemic. In his new book, Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press. 2022), part of the Engaging Catholicism series, Timothy P. O’Malley writes, “In the history of the Catholic Church, pandemics often precipitate renewal (xix).

It would be wonderful if the pandemic had brought more people to church. Here I think of how many more people were in the churches the weekend of the 9-11 attacks in 2001. Instead, since our churches reopened after the pandemic, attendance in many churches is much lower than before.

Why? It is no secret that attendance was declining in churches long before anyone ever heard of COVID-19. I think the COVID pandemic accelerated that. There were people who were already loosely affiliated to the church at best. I think some of this is because they choose to make other things more important. For families with children, this often means sports. Of course, the Church has some blame to bear because we have not done a great job of teaching people what our faith offers, especially with the Mass. We taught people what to do at Mass but we fell short of providing meaning to what we do. If we had done a better job of forming people (notice I said forming, not teaching) in our faith, they would find great benefit in coming to Mass. Teaching “what to do” is not enough. We need to “form” people so that they may deeply engage at Mass and live their faith in their daily lives (see my series Uncovering the Treasures of the Mass).

Many of those who were already loosely affiliated found that when the Coronavirus pandemic shutdown our churches, they didn’t miss Mass. So, they have not returned. During the shutdown we turned to watching Mass on TV or livestreaming. It was the best people could do. God understands that and our efforts to livestream did not go unnoticed by God.

Please note that I said people were “watching” Mass. When we come to Mass in church we are not called to be spectators. We are called to be active participates in the Mass. Some interpret “active participation” to refer to people serving as lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and musicians at Mass. These are an important form of physically participating in the Mass. Vocal responses like “and with your Spirit” are part of active participation. Joining in the singing is part of how the congregation participates at Mass. During the shutdown, much of these were not possible.

People watching the Mass via TV or livestreaming could respond “and with your spirit” but did they? They should have. This is the beginning of active participation. When our church speaks of “active participation,” we are speaking of engaging ourselves with all that goes on at Mass. Do you join in the responses of the people? Do you merely say the words or do they have meaning for you? When the readings are proclaimed, are you attentively listening? When the priest/deacon/bishop offers the homily are you even listening? When the priest is offering the Eucharistic Prayer are you paying attention to the words and their meaning? Do you know that there is more than one Eucharistic Prayer so the words can be different from week to week (see my article “The Eucharistic Prayers at Mass”)?

So, I hope that during the shutdown that you were not just watching the Mass. I hope you were engaging in the celebration of the Mass.

There are some people who watched Mass on TV or livestreaming during the pandemic who found it was as good as attending in person. So, they continue to watch Mass from the comfort of their home. I am not speaking of those who are homebound because of health. The homebound is the reason we continue to offer Mass through TV and livestreaming. God understands why they cannot come and blesses them in their homes.

For those who can come to church in-person but choose to watch from their homes, there are two aspects that cannot be the same from the home. First is the community aspect of coming together in church. The second is the Eucharist. One cannot receive the Body of Christ in Communion via livestreaming. Here lies the great challenge before us. Here lies the renewal that is most needed today. People do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. So, they think they are not missing anything by not receiving Communion.

This is reason our nation is undergoing a Eucharistic Revival. We need to help people understand all that the Eucharist means, including the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.

The Eucharist offers us so much. It is the sacrifice of Jesus. From this sacrifice, God permits repentance. In receiving the Eucharist, we eat the Body of Christ and become what we receive (see my series The Greatest Gift: The Eucharist). This last point, becoming what we receive, I see as the heart of what O’Malley offers as the Eucharistic Culture that we need to cultivate in our parishes. From our celebration and reception of the Eucharistic we are called to go out the world, living our faith and sharing it with others.

In his foreword to O’Malley’s book, Bishop Cozzens of Crookston, Minnesota writes, “spending time before the Eucharistic Lord helps build the kind of culture that fosters a Eucharistic communion” (xii). To be a Eucharistic People, we should spend time in Eucharistic Adoration and participation in Eucharistic processions. This is part of the Eucharistic Culture that O’Malley calls us to cultivate in our parishes.

It is in understanding the sacrifice of Jesus that we celebrate in the Eucharist that we can come to understand how we are called to make sacrifices in our own lives for the good of others. O’Malley writes, “It is through Eucharistic renewal that we can remember anew what it means to belong to the People of God, the Body of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We are not a bureaucracy or an NGO but a communion of men and women called to the supper of the Lamb (xxiii, my emphasis).

O’ Malley later writes, “The crisis in the Church and world right now is not only intellectual. It is a crisis of the heart, a forgetting of the desire for total communion that is the destiny of every man and woman” (xxiv). If we address this crisis, we will bring the disaffiliated back to church (see O’Malley, xxv). We live in a world that is becoming more and more polarized. What is the answer to the polarization? The Eucharist! Properly understood, the Eucharist binds us together as the people of God (see O’Malley, xxv-xxvi).

The task of renewal that lies before us is not an easy one. Do not be afraid. Nothing is impossible for God.

When I started preparing this article, I wondered how many articles I would write from my reading of O’Malley’s Becoming Eucharistic People, one…two… Well, it is probably going to be more than two. In offering many of my own thoughts regarding the “crisis” we face in our faith, I have not even gotten through O’Malley’s preface. So, watch for more articles from me on what O’Malley enlightens us to forming a Eucharistic Culture in our parishes.

Peace,

Fr. Jeff