As we continue our celebration of the Birth of Jesus at Christmas, we continue to rejoice in the close connection between His being born in time in Bethlehem and His coming to us on the altar each time Mass is celebrated. Perhaps you have heard this before (and I believe that I have written about it in the past), but the name of the town where Jesus was born has a significant Eucharistic connection. In Hebrew, the word Bethlehem translates into “house of bread.” The significance of this connection, though known by God at the time, does not become clear to us until the Last Supper, when Jesus gathers with His Apostles to institute the Holy Eucharist. Here is the account as recorded by St. Luke:
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.
(Lk 22:19-20)
Faithful to the Lord’s command to “do this is memory of me”, the Church celebrates the Eucharistic sacrifice daily and each church becomes a Bethlehem, a house of bread. This bread is no ordinary bread, of course, it is the Bread of Life, the Word who has become flesh and has made His dwelling among us. Although each Mass is more directly connected to the Lord’s Passion, there is a very real sense in which there is a connection to His birth in Bethlehem, for it is the same flesh born in the manger that we receive in the Eucharist, though now hidden behind the forms of bread and wine.
In each Eucharistic Prayer, we hear this above-mentioned Institution Narrative recounted, and when the priest says those words: “This is my body…this is my blood”, it is Christ Himself saying those words. At this point, the priest is united with Christ in a unique way as He speaks and acts in the person of Christ Himself, just as he does when he absolves sins in the confessional saying: “I absolve you from your sins.”
Personally, for me as a priest, this is the moment of the Mass that is the most powerful. It is so humbling to know that when I say those words, the Lord obeys and the bread and wine are transformed into the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ! Despite my weaknesses, the Lord still acts. This is one of the very consoling and beautiful truths of our faith, that despite the unworthiness of the minister, the Lord still acts as He provides for His people.
It is not uncommon to hear people comment about their experience with different priests at Mass. I have heard people say: “I really like Father X’s masses.” Or, “I don’t get much out of Mass when Father X celebrates.” We all have our preferences, whether it is how well the priest preaches, or how reverent they are when praying the prayers of the Mass. All of those things can contribute to our being more or less open to the graces available to us as Mass, but when it comes down to it, the grace that is available to us in the Eucharist at any and every Mass is the same, regardless of the celebrant. That might be surprising to hear that, but it is the teaching of the Church, and it is something that I find to be absolutely remarkable about our Catholic faith. In the end, the Eucharist is not about what the priests does first and foremost, but what God Himself does.
Please pray for the priests of the Church that we might be good preachers and reverent in our celebration of the sacred mysteries so that the faithful may be more predisposed to receiving the fullness of God’s grace available at each Mass. And even if your experience with a particular priest (his homily or his style of celebrating Mass) is not especially edifying, rejoice in the consoling truth that Jesus still comes in the Eucharist in just the same way had it been the great St. John Vianney celebrating the Mass!
Father Alford