The moment of consecration.Mark Plaiss is correct to note that the Vatican's recognition of the Anaphora a·naph·o·ra n. 1. The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several successive verses, clauses, or paragraphs; for example, of Addai and Mari is, in many ways, exceptional ("This, Too, Is My Body," May 19). I suspect, however, that the decision was meant primarily as an ecumenical gesture toward the Assyrian Church Assyrian Church: see Nestorian Church. ; I doubt that it signals any theological reversal on the consecration of the bread and wine. Plaiss's piece thus seems off the mark. Plaiss rightly insists that the entire Eucharistic Prayer is important, and that it is only "by faith" that we believe the bread and wine to become Christ's body and blood "sometime" during the Eucharistic Prayer. Still, theological reflection permits us to say more. The early church fathers saw no problem with asserting both that the Eucharist is confected per precem ("through prayer") and that, after enunciating the words of Jesus ("This is my body ..."), the bread is no longer bread but Christ's body. Plaiss's citations from the Catechism and the New General Instruction retrieve this both/and patristic pa·tris·tic also pa·tris·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to the fathers of the early Christian church or their writings. pa·tris mindset mind·set or mind-set n. 1. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations. 2. An inclination or a habit. . Even so, one can ask if the entire Eucharistic Prayer is equally sanctifying. Aren't the words of institution The Words of Institution are those used, inserted into a narrative of the Last Supper, in Christian Eucharistic liturgies to recall those used by Jesus on that occasion. Eucharistic scholars sometimes refer to them simply as the verba (Latin for "words"). more important in this regard than, say, the words of petition for the unity of the church? Absent from Plaiss's piece is any attention to the sacrificial reality of the Eucharist. It is neither only--nor ultimately--prayer that is offered to God during the Eucharistic liturgy. As a re-presentation of the sacrifice of redemption, the Eucharist naturally emphasizes the narrative of the Last Supper Last Supper, in the New Testament, meal taken by Jesus and his disciples on the eve of the passion. Jesus broke bread and passed a cup of wine among the disciples, identifying himself with the bread and the wine and linking the meal to his impending death on the , at which Jesus willingly offers himself for the sins of the world. If the church offers this same sacrifice in the course of the Eucharistic Prayer, granting an exalted role to the words of institution is hardly "misleading." Indeed, even though Addai and Mari lacks Jesus' dicta Opinions of a judge that do not embody the resolution or determination of the specific case before the court. Expressions in a court's opinion that go beyond the facts before the court and therefore are individual views of the author of the opinion and not binding in subsequent cases from the Supper, Jesus' sacrificial intention is most evident, which may be why the Vatican can identify its "continuity with the Last Supper." While I don't miss the ringing of bells during the Eucharist, that "ringing" still sounds (albeit inaudibly in·au·di·ble adj. Impossible to hear: an inaudible conversation. in·au ) in the gestures of genuflection or bowing that follow Jesus' words. This highlighting of the words of institution reflects a deep truth about our experience of liturgical prayer. We would like to think that our prayer is devoutly attentive, and that our desire and intention are always pure, especially when participating in the "Great Prayer" of thanksgiving and consecration. But experience teaches us something different. Attention comes only (and intermittently) with long practice, along with occasional visitations of grace. Given this reality, it seems wise that the church underscores the only words of the Eucharistic Prayer that are infallibly pure and efficacious, namely, those spoken in persona Christi In persona Christi - a Latin phrase meaning "in the person of Christ" - is an important theological concept of the Catholic Church which refers to the action of a priest while celebrating a sacrament. . Why haven't we "heard more" about the Addai and Mari statement? I'd wager that it is because the hierarchy does not see its decision as incompatible with Roman theology concerning the words of institution. Christ's dicta stand as the fulcrum fulcrum: see lever. of the Eucharistic Prayer, even when we understand the entire prayer as sanctifying. MICHON M. MATTHIESEN Brookline, Mass. THE AUTHOR REPLIES: Michon Matthiesen wonders if "one can ask if the entire Eucharistic Prayer is equally sanctifying." The answer is obviously yes; the Anaphora of Addai and Mari is proof of that. Since the anaphora lacks the words of institution, it is the entire anaphora that is "sanctifying." Actually, Matthiesen answers her own musing later in her letter: "Jesus' sacrificial intention is most evident [in the Anaphora of Addai and Mari], which may be why the Vatican can identify its 'continuity with the Last Supper.'" Exactly. As for my "misleading" comment, I said the ringing of the bells at the consecration was "misleading," not that the words of institution are. I wrote that if bells are to be rung, the more appropriate place is at the "Great Amen," when we know through faith that the bread and wine are now certainly the body and blood of Jesus Christ Blood of Jesus Christ, or Blood of Christ, was a military order instituted at Mantua in 1608 by Vin. Gonzaga IV. The devise of this order was, Doimne probasti me, or that Nihil hoc triste recepto. . MARK PLAISS |
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