St. Benedict's Monastery, Arcadia
Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR C THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST Gen 14,18-20; 1 Cor 11,23-26; Lk 9,11-17 Insights into 'Please and Thank you' Paraclete and Eucharist: here are two words that we Christians use on many occasions with different connotations: sadly, we use both these words with no idea of what they mean and of what wisdom is hidden in them. Today, as we celebrate 'Corpus Christi' (which means 'Body of Christ') and 'First Communion Day', and as we proclaim that in the 'Eucharist' we have God's 'Wonderful Gift' (Recall the Hymn: 'Oh, what a gift, what a wonderful Gift'), let's explore two 'key' words in the language of our Christian Bible, which as we know, was thought out and written in Greek, not in Latin. The words are: Paraclete and Eucharist. At Jesus' time, the common language of the Roman Empire was Greek. At that time – as indeed even now in daily Greek conversation – people who ask a favour, say: '(please) = ie 'para-kalo = come to my help'. The person that comes to help is called: 'Paracletos'. When the favour is received, people say: 'Eu-charis-to', which means 'Thanks' or more precisely, '(I offer) beautiful graces = in Latin the word is 'Gratias and Gratis' – in modern languages it's 'Grazie, Gracias'). In all these terms the original insight is 'Charis', which means 'grace and gift'; and so Eucharist translates as 'Wonderful gift'. Our inability to appreciate the inner meaning of these 'key' words, lead us to impose our own mental picture of concepts of Eucharistic Presence and of Para-clete. The reality is that every time we honour the 'Eucharistic bread and Wine', or we attend hours of adoration, or stay in prayerful contemplation, or celebrate the Lord's Supper, or we joyfully celebrate our First Communion Day.... in all these occasions we say: Please, Come to our aid and Thank you for your Wonderful Gift (Para-kalo and Eu-charisto), which allows us to experience an intimate communion with our God: Loving Father – Son and Saviour, Sanctifying Spirit. Dynamics of 'Remembering' Today, remember your own First Communion Day; and as you revisit and relive, see what insights have supported you on your journey of faith. What 'memories' have you kept? What 'souvenirs' and 'sacred icons' in all their simple beauty have you kept, you still hold dear and have energised your spiritual life? 'Anamnesis' is another Greek word which is packed with energy and action (its verb is ana-mimnesko). It has to do with 'Remember and never forget – lest we forget'. Indeed it relates to every Mass, as Communion and Eucharistic Prayer is a representation and reenactment of what Jesus did for us: we remember how he died and rose for us and we celebrate. Let's not underestimate the power of remembrance in our task to hold and hand on our faith to our children: Our doctrine and knowledge must be endorsed by our own conviction, sense of wonder, of order and beauty. Speaking from a context of cultural mind sets, Jacques Derrida, maps out a profound meditation on the experience of loss and mourning, in its various points of intersection. He claims that – in the riddle of life, death and spirit – there is “no politics without an organisation of the time and space of mourning, without a topolithology of the sephulchre, without an anamnesic and thematic relation to the spirit as 'revenant', without an open hospitality to the guest as spirit, whom one holds, just as he holds us, hostage”. (Aporias, 1993) Today as we remember and live our Lord's abiding presence, how he has let us in a wonderful deal with him, let's not forget that 'Corpus Christi' will make an impact on us, only on condition and to the extent that we allow prayer and ritual, song and symbol, pomp and festival, visual and audio art, enrich our sense of wonder and our daily life. Remember: Every time we pray, we say: “Please, come to my aid” and “Thank you!” (Paraclete and Eucharist) ______________________________________ |
