The Pew Study

As a journalist working for CNN, I discovered that stories about religion were among the most difficult to cover. The layers of history, the complexities and the nuances which surrounded the issues never seemed to fit well into our neatly-edited sound bites. This is one reason why religion and matters of faith rarely get covered by the mainstream media. Another is that most journalists lack the knowledge needed to adequately cover religion. When reporting on religion, often only part of the story gets told.

If mainstream journalists are challenged to get religion right, pollsters are even more challenged. Many pollsters, like journalists, lack the knowledge needed to ask questions in a way that takes account of the layers of history, the complexities and the nuances of religion. As a result, polls typically tell only part of the story.

As an example, a poll by the Pew Research Center published this month asked Catholics what they believe about the Eucharist:

Which best describes Catholic teaching about the bread and wine used for Communion?

A.    They become the actual body and blood of Christ

B.    They are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus

 The study reported that about one-third or 31% of Catholics chose the first option. Most chose the second option.

In a similar poll conducted in 1994 by the New York Times and CBS News, Catholics were asked what happens to the bread and wine at Mass. The options were the bread and wine “are changed into the body and blood of Christ” or they are “symbolic reminders of Christ.” The results were similar to those in the Pew Study.

 Both polls have caused alarm among church leaders because they suggest a failure in teaching a core doctrine of our faith. However, a look at the wording in the poll tells another story.

Notice that in the possible answers for the Pew Study, option B doesn’t say “They are merely or only symbols,” it simply said symbols. The fact that bread and wine are real symbols that become the actual body and blood of Christ has long been a hallmark of Catholic theology.

 These surveys presume that the two are mutually exclusive. Thus, some if not more respondents may have easily been confused by the choices.

 Bread and wine are fitting symbols not only because Jesus used them at the Last Supper, but because of what they signify. Long before bread can be made, seeds die in the ground to become wheat, and the wheat is ground to become flour.

In a similar way, grapes must be harvested, crushed and pressed before undergoing fermentation. Each stage of the process in the making of both bread and wine includes a dying to become something new. The bread and the wine are powerful symbols of that deeper mystery that we call the paschal mystery.

The point is that the Pew Study, like the one before it, reveals an impoverished view of the Eucharist, not because of the results, but because the questions stop far short of expressing the fullness of what the Eucharist is all about.  

In addition, both the Pew Study and the earlier poll point to the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, but don’t mention the presence of Christ elsewhere in the liturgy. The Church tells us that Christ is uniquely present in the Eucharist, but that he is really present in the gathered people of God, in the priest-presider and in the Word of God.

To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, "the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross" but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20).Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy #7

God desires to be one with us and so in the liturgy Jesus communes with us in Scripture, in those gathered to celebrate and in the sacred meal, but the grace of that presence is not meant to stop there. As Pope Francis has said, it is meant to continue through us.

            To nourish oneself of the Eucharist means to allow oneself to be changed by what we receive . . . Each time we receive Communion, we resemble Jesus more; we transform ourselves more fully into Jesus. As the Bread and the Wine are converted into the Body and Blood of the Lord, so too those who receive it with faith are transformed into a living Eucharist.

The entire Mass is about us becoming more Christ-like so that we can be the presence of Christ for the life of the world. That’s not something that could ever be captured by a poll but a mystery that must be lived out in faith.

The Eucharistic Prayer

Much like the Jewish berakah prayers from which they derived, our eucharistic prayers

give thanks and praise for the wonders of God. These prayers form the heart of the Mass. In fact, the word “Eucharist” is a Greek word that means thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is the first action in the Eucharistic prayer, but The General Instruction of the Roman Missal tells us that there are eight key actions in which the entire assembly participates when praying the eucharistic prayer:

Thanksgiving

Acclamation

Epiclesis

Institution Narrative and Consecration

Anamnesis

Oblation

Intercessions

Concluding doxology

Thanksgiving

Several prayers in the Mass begin with the priest saying, “Let us pray,” but the words that begin the Eucharistic prayer are “The Lord be with you,” signaling that this prayer is distinct from all other prayers at Mass. Following the dialogue between the priest and the assembly, a prayer known as the preface sets forth particular motives for praising God.

For he assumed at his first coming the lowliness of human flesh,

and so fulfilled the design you formed long ago,

and opened for us the way to eternal salvation. . .

Preface I of Advent

The coming of Christ, his ministry, his passion and death, his resurrection and ascension, all that he has done to procure our salvation are the main events named in our prefaces. The nearly 100 prefaces are tied to a particular liturgical season or feast.

Acclamation

We join with the angels to offer our praise to God by singing the Holy Holy Holy.

Epiclesis

The term epiclesis comes from the Greek kleo, which means "to call" and epi, which means "forth". The epiclesis in the eucharisic prayer is an invocation calling forth the power of the Holy Spirit to consecrate and transform the gifts of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.

Make holy, therefore, these gifts, we pray, by sending down your Spirit upon them like the dewfall. . .

There is another epiclesis in several of our eucharistic prayers which invokes the power of the Holy Spirit for the unity of the Church.

Humbly we pray that, partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, we may be gathered into one by the Holy Spirit.

We pray that the Holy Spirit will come in power to sanctify and transform the gifts of bread and wine as well as ourselves, for nothing that the Spirit touches remains the same.

Institution Narrative and Consecration

The next action is the Institution narrative and Consecration which comes to us in the form of a story. The priest, acting in the person of Christ, proclaims the words and actions of Christ at the Last Supper. The story we hear is an adaptation of the scriptural accounts of that night.

At the time he was betrayed . . . he took bread and giving thanks, broke it. . .

At this point in our liturgical prayer, we might ask: How does my story relate to this story? Connecting Christ’s dying and rising to our experience gives Christ’s story meaning for us today.

Anamnesis and The Memorial Acclamation

Anamnesis is a Greek word which means memory. We remember God's saving and liberating actions, accomplished in Christ--not as past events--but as events that continue to achieve their effects here and now. We remember how God acted in the past and ask that God act among us now. By singing the Memorial Acclamation, the assembly proclaims its participation in the Paschal Mystery.

When we eat this bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.

The Oblation

An early name for the eucharistic prayer was the anaphora, which is Greek for offering.

We offer you, Lord, the Bread of life and the Chalice of salvation

Jesus offered the gift of his life in complete obedience for the sake of our redemption. Jesus continues to offer himself in love to God for all eternity. We participate in this action by offering ourselves in union with the offering of Christ.

Intercession

In the eucharistic prayer, we intercede for the church, the clergy, those who have died, and for those present:

Remember, Lord, your Church . . .Remember also our brothers and sisters who have fallen asleep . . .

The Concluding Doxology

Doxology means correct praise and serves to bring the eucharistic prayer to a stirring climax. The assembly, through the priest-presider, restates the whole purpose of the eucharistic prayer, namely to offer praise and honor to the Father through Christ and in the Holy Spirit.

Through him, and with him, and in him . . .

We make this statement our own by singing an exuberant Amen, the most important acclamation of the eucharistic prayer. By our Amen, we ratify the covenant begun by God and made new in Christ Jesus.

Although it is the task of the ordained minister to lead the eucharistic prayer he does so on our behalf. As the wording of the prayers reminds us, it is we who praise, we who offer. Everyone present joins Christ in acknowledging the works of God and in offering the sacrifice.

To pray what this prayer intends demands attention to its actions in our daily lives. We must be people who give thanks to God day in and day out. We must be a community who remembers how God has been good to us in the past, and who trusts that God will sustain us here and now. We must intercede for the needs of the world around us. We must remember the death and resurrection of Christ when we experience the pain and the promise of our own living. We join our suffering and hope to Christ as we, like him, offer ourselves to others living through him, and with him and in him.

Liturgical Music

Walk or jog any track and you are likely to see people with earbuds or In-ear headphones. While some may be catching up on the latest podcast, the majority are listening to music.

Music motivates people to move and helps to focus attention. The rhythms and the pulse of the beats helps people to keep a certain pace which is vital to effective exercise. Music and action have long been partners in exercise, dance, and liturgy.

In the liturgy, hymns and songs may highlight the Scripture readings, add to the solemnity of the liturgy, and foster a unity among the assembly. The Second Vatican Council document the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy calls the musical tradition of the universal Church a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art” (112). Noting the “preeminence” of music, the document goes on to say that “as sacred song closely bound to the text, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy.” Music, then, isn’t merely a nice extra in the liturgy; it is intrinsic to the liturgy.

Music is wedded to the action of the liturgy. The Entrance Song, for example, is meant “to open the celebration, foster the unity of those who have been gathered, introduce their thoughts to the mystery of the liturgical time or festivity, and accompany the procession of the Priest and ministers.” General Instruction of the Roman Missal. 47

The purpose of the song during the procession to the Eucharistic table is “to express the spiritual union of the communicants by means of the unity of their voices, to show gladness of heart, and to bring out more clearly the ‘communitarian’ character of the procession to receive the Eucharist.” General Instruction of the Roman Missal. 86

These processional songs remind us that we are pilgrims who journey from God, with God and toward God. As we journey, our common song unites our hearts and our voices in love. St. Augustine explained that singing is for lovers. It’s what people in love do! Who among us in the throes of falling in love hasn’t wandered about singing or whistling a tune? God is in love with us! We are in love with God! Words are not enough to express our feelings! We must sing!

But singing takes courage—ask any cantor! Singing involves risk and vulnerability. Yet this is exactly what is asked of each of us when we celebrate liturgy—to be open, vulnerable and willing to go beyond our comfort zones.

When I ask people to join the choir, I usually get the same stock answer, “I can’t sing.” Everyone can sing, at different levels perhaps, but EVERYONE CAN SING! The liturgy gives people a chance to return to God the voice they have been given. As you sing at the next liturgy, allow the music to move your heart in love and in song, returning your gift to God.

Tabernacle

The word tabernacle in Hebrew means “dwelling place.” It is also derived from the Latin word tabernaculum, which means tent. In Biblical times, the tabernacle was known as the dwelling place of God. Within the tabernacle was an inner shrine known as the “Holy of Holies,” which housed the Ark of the Covenant. Biblical accounts describe the Ark as large, about the size of a 19th-century seaman's chest, made of gold-plated wood, and topped with two large, golden angels. The Ark of the Covenant contained several sacred objects, including the stone tablets bearing the divine inscription of the Ten Commandments. The Israelites carried the Ark throughout their forty year sojourn in the desert. When the Israelites were on the move, the Ark went ahead of them and was believed to have cleared impediments from their path and protected them in battle. When the Israelites stopped to camp, the Ark was placed in a separate tent called the tabernacle.

Later, when Solomon built his Temple, a special room was constructed to house the Ark, but that temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 B.C. To this day, no one knows what happened to the Ark. Even before the destruction of Solomon’s Temple, the prophet Jeremiah foretold the Ark’s disappearance.

When you multiply and become fruitful in the land—says the Lord--

They will in those days no longer say,

“The ark of the covenant of the LORD!”

They will no longer think of it, or remember it, or miss it, or make another one.

Jeremiah 3:16

Jeremiah’s prophecy revealed that there would no longer be a need for the Ark of the Covenant. God would make a new covenant with his people through his Son, Jesus Christ.

We Catholics are familiar with the word tabernacle. We believe the tabernacle is a place of divine dwelling because it houses the Eucharistic presence of God. That’s why we genuflect before the tabernacle. Our tabernacle was born out of necessity. The Church needed a place to keep the Eucharist for the sick and those who were unable to come to Mass. In the Middle Ages, a devotion grew up around the tabernacle. The tabernacle itself became an object of worship. However its primary purpose was and is to keep communion for the sick. As Fr. Paul Turner says, “The tabernacle serves the sick and the homebound. The altar serves the assembly gathered for Mass.” It is on the altar where the sacrifice of the community is joined to the sacrifice of Christ. It is on the altar where the sacrifice is blessed and sanctified. This is why, when we gather in the narthex before Mass, we place a host into the ciborium as a sign of our participation at the altar. By our participation in the Eucharist, we are “tabernacled,” that is, we become the dwelling place of God.

As rich and as ornate as was the Ark of the Covenant and many of our tabernacles throughout history, we, like the prophet Jeremiah, understand that God cannot be contained in or confined to a single place. As the evangelist John says at the beginning of his Gospel, “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” God’s dwelling, therefore, is with the human race, now and for

Liturgical Families

My maternal grandparents were born in Italy and my paternal grandparents were born in Poland. When both sets of grandparents migrated to the United States, they brought with them the family traditions they experienced in Europe. My parents continued many of those traditions and they incorporated some new traditions from the U.S. My generation, now scattered throughout the U.S. and around the world, continues to maintain some traditions from our parents and grandparents, but we also have integrated new traditions based on where we live. The local language, culture and customs are now a part of our long-standing family traditions. No matter what traditions we celebrate, we are still part of the same family.

The traditions that are part of our liturgies followed a similar journey. After the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the apostles and disciples went forth from Jerusalem to spread the gospel. They took with them the liturgical traditions practiced in Jerusalem but they incorporated new ones based on the local culture. These new or hybrid traditions formed what is called liturgical families.

The chart (below/to the right?) will help to demonstrate the various liturgical families. As you can see, all liturgical families of Christendom have their roots in Jerusalem. In the first centuries, branches were formed in Rome or the Latin West, and in Antioch (Greece) and Alexandria (Egypt) in the East. From these families, several liturgical rites emerged. They included prayers and traditions that developed based both on the local culture and on the influence of the founders. For example, the liturgies celebrated in Alexandria, the Coptic and Ethiopian Rites, are attributed to St. Mark the Evangelist, who brought Christianity to that region in the first century. Like all families, this one continues to grow. In 2015 Pope Francis established the Eritrean Catholic Church, separating it from the Ethiopian Catholic Church.

If you want to experience the distinct liturgies of these various rites, you won’t have to look too far. Epiphany Byzantine Catholic Church is located on Old Alabama Road in Roswell. This church is one of more than 20 Eastern Catholic Churches who are in communion with Rome. These churches are guided by bishops who have the title and rank of Patriarch or Major Archbishop. Eastern Catholic Churches are governed by the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, which allows them to maintain many differences with the Western or Roman Church, such as the ordination of married men to the priesthood.

St. Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church is located on Houze Road. This church is part of the family of Orthodox Churches who separated from Rome in the East-West Schism of 1054. Still, like those of us in the Roman Church, they enjoy Apostolic succession and the seven sacraments.

Though there are many distinctions between the churches in the East and West, we all belong to one, holy, catholic and apostolic church.