Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Christian Life

by Bishop Gregory J. Mansour

The Second Vatican Council describes the Eucharist “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium 11; Catechism of the Catholic Church 1322). Every time that I celebrate the Divine Liturgy, I feel our Lord’s presence. Whenever I visit a parish, I am drawn first to the tabernacle. I want to meet there our Lord Jesus, hidden in the form of Eucharistic bread. From the time of the Emmaus disciples, until today, we have come “to know him in the breaking of the bread” (Luke 24:35, Acts 2:42). The Eucharist is indeed “the source and summit of the Christian life.”

The early Christians found a way to keep a small portion of the Eucharist for both distribution to the sick and for reverence; Justin Martyr and Tertullian, in the second and third century, refer to this in their writings. The Council of Nicea in 325 acknowledges that the Eucharistic bread was reserved in churches and monasteries. Saint Basil, in the fourth century, speaks of the Eucharistic bread in three parts: one part he consumed, the second part he gave to the monks, and the third part he placed in a dove-shaped container suspended over the altar. Our own Maronite Synod of Mount Lebanon in 1736 echoes this same practice.

In fact, every Catholic and Orthodox Church has a tabernacle in the center of the sanctuary to reserve the Eucharistic bread; and in all Catholic Churches, near that tabernacle, we find a lit candle to signify our Lord’s mysterious presence there. Adolf Hitler was heard saying that he hoped he could extinguish these candles; one can only suppose that he did not want any power above his own. On the other hand, Archbishop Zayek, our first Maronite Bishop in the United States used to say that his life, and the lives of all who serve Christ, are like those vigil candles pointing to the presence of Christ, and in that service slowly being consumed like a vigil candle in the sanctuary of the Church.

The real presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic Bread was believed by the Church from the beginning. It is no coincidence that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the “House of Bread.” This, according to Church Fathers, was a foreshadowing of his own self-giving at the Last Supper in the form of bread blessed and broken, and the next day at the Cross.

The Gospel of John, in chapter 6, refers to Jesus as the “new manna,” the “Bread that comes down from the heaven,” and the “Bread of Life.” Saint Paul warns the Corinthians not to partake of the bread unless they first recognize therein the body of the Lord (Cor 11:29). From Saint Ephrem in the fourth century to Saint Sharbel in the previous century all the saints have recognized our Lord’s true presence in the Eucharistic Bread.

When I was young, whenever we passed a Church, my mother would tell us to make the sign of the cross. Only later would I come to understand it was because our Lord is truly present there, hidden in the tabernacle. I am grateful to her, my first catechism teacher, and to those many witnesses who passed on to us a love for Christ’s hidden presence in the Church.

I still treasure every Divine Liturgy, and I begin every parish visit with a prayer to Christ to the Blessed Sacrament. Among my most memorable visits was the Gaza Strip where Christ is still adored in the tabernacle at the small chapel of the Catholic School there. Another memorable visit was on a mission trip for Catholic Relief Services to El Salvador, and to the tabernacle behind the altar where Saint Archbishop Oscar Romero was gunned down as he celebrated Mass. Another affirmation of God’s continuing presence in the Eucharist was visiting the hermitage chapel where Saint Sharbel prayed, and where he suffered a stroke during the solemn elevation of the Host.

To all these witnesses, I say thank you for giving us a taste of Christ’s broken yet real presence. Whenever we celebrate Divine Liturgy, or visit a tabernacle, we know our Lord Jesus is truly and humbly present in the Eucharist, the “source and summit of the Christian Life.” May Christ be adored at every altar and at every tabernacle in the world.