Showing Proper Reverence For The Blessed Sacrament

It is a sad thing to see in many Catholic Churches.  Irreverence toward the Holy Eucharist seems to be commonplace.  As the Catechism states, “The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life” (1324).  You would never know this by witnessing some of the ways our Lord is disrespected in Catholic Churches all over the world.  To truly understand why great reverence must be paid to the Holy Eucharist, we must first understand what it is.

The Holy Eucharist is nothing less than the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins and rose from the dead, giving us the hope of eternal life.  The Early Church paid so much reverence to this fact that they were deemed “cannibals” by their pagan Roman counterparts and were systematically butchered for this belief.

On any given day in a Catholic Church, you may see people lined up to receive the Blessed Sacrament giggling or chatting with one another.  You might witness a person with a purse or car keys in hand waiting to dash out as soon as they are given our precious Lord in Holy Communion.  Some simply stick their hand out as to receive a piece of candy, responding with a brief, “Thank you”, instead of declaring “Amen”.  Others will walk back to their pew and consume the Lord there, while others will take the Eucharist home to give to a sick relative or friend or simply keep it in their homes.  ALL of these instances are scandalous and disgraceful as they all fail to show the proper respect and reverence we are to have for our Lord.

The proper way to receive Communion is to first ensure that we are prepared to receive – making certain that we are not in mortal sin, as knowingly receiving in this state is a sacrilege (CCC 2120) which compounds our existing mortal sin. We must approach the Blessed Sacrament with all due reverence, bowing or genuflecting before we receive it. If we receive in the hand, we are to make a “throne” with our hands, placing one under the other, responding with, “Amen”.  Then, taking hold of the Eucharist with the hand from underneath, we are to consume it immediately. There is no need to make the sign of the cross, genuflect or bow toward the empty tabernacle at this point because we have the ultimate substance – Jesus Christ within us.  We, then, return to our seats, reflecting and meditating on the awesome miracle we have just taken part in.

Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink”(John 6:54-55).  Are we showing him the proper reverence he deserves – or are we simply going through the motions?

Early Church Fathers on the Real Presence in the Eucharist

It’s always important to know the origins of our faith comes, especially in light of Protestant accusations that much of what we believe are merely Catholic “inventions”.  The Early Church Fathers (ECFs) of the first few centuries are our witnesses to the truth of God revealed to his Church.  They - some of whom learned from the Apostles themselves - taught the reality of Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist from the beginning.

Ignatius of Antioch - “Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes.” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2-7:1 [A.D. 110]).

Justin Martyr – “We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration [i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these, but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.” (First Apology 66 [A.D. 151]).

Clement of Alexandria - "Eat my flesh" [Jesus] says, "and drink my blood." The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients, he delivers over his flesh and pours out his blood, and nothing is lacking for the growth of his children (The Instructor of Children 1:6:43:3 [A.D. 191]).

Cyril of Jerusalem – “The bread and the wine of the Eucharist before the holy invocation of the adorable Trinity were simple bread and wine, but the invocation having been made, the bread becomes the body of Christ and the wine the blood of Christ.” (Catechetical Lectures 19:7 [A.D. 350]).

Augustine – “That bread which you see on the altar having been sanctified by the word of God is the body of Christ, that chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the blood of Christ.” (Sermons 227 [A.D. 411]).