From the bulletin of January 31, 2021
The reason for the Church’s existence is love. The reason Pope Leo XIII wrote about social and economic conditions of his time was because he loved the people affected by society and the economy. Recalling that primary motive, it is perhaps fitting to now look at another one of his letters that deals more directly with love, also called “Charity.” In May of 1902, People Leo XIII issued the letter Mirae Caritatis which is Latin for The Mirror of Charity. The topic of that letter is the Holy Eucharist, which is the source and summit of the Christian life.
As he puts it toward the beginning of the document, Pope Leo wants “to stir up and foster in the hearts of all men… gratitude and due devotion towards this wondrous Sacrament.” He also calls the Eucharist the “cause of salvation and of that peace which all men so anxiously seek.” Because the Eucharist is truly the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ, and because Jesus is the one who causes our salvation, we really can say the Eucharist is the cause of our salvation. Thus, it is worthy of our gratitude and devotion.
Pope Leo realizes that many people will be annoyed by his insistence on such a spiritual thing when so many people have more physical needs. To this, he responds by pointing to the Gospel of John, chapter 6 when Jesus multiplies the loaves. After satisfying their physical hunger through this miracle, the people continue to follow Jesus and look for more. Jesus responds to this by teaching them about the Eucharist and the need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. He also points to the woman at the well, when Jesus goes from talking about ordinary water to talking about the water of everlasting life, which is the Holy Spirit and Baptism. His point is that God himself often responded to physical needs with a reminder of the spiritual and eternal things: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides” (Matt 6:33) and “What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Matt 16:26). The reality is that human beings will not find peace and satisfaction by focusing on worldly needs and worldly problems. Without at all dismissing his responsibility to help society become better, Pope Leo III is reminding everyone that eternal life – and the Eucharist that helps us attain it – are still higher priorities.
At that time, there were also a number of people who believed that the Eucharist was a special gift mostly meant for people who left the world behind in consecrated life – priests, sister, nuns, monks and others like them. Back then, receiving communion was still pretty rare for a lot of people and some were saying it should stay that way or get even rarer. But, the pope states clearly that “this gift… is offered to all those… who wish… to foster in themselves that life of divine grace” and “whose goal is the attainment of the life of blessedness with God.” In other words, anyone who wants to go to heaven should receive communion. The point is that the Eucharist strengthens human beings to remember and live according to the eternal designs of God, helping them to avoid the trap of living for this world and for material things alone. The pope expresses his desire that “those men… whose industry or talents or rank have put it in their power to shape the course of human events” would “rightly esteem and would make due provision for life everlasting.” This “making provision” is something accomplished by reverent devotion to and reception of the Eucharist.
The Eucharist, Pope Leo tells us, accomplishes many things. It “extends” the incarnation. Jesus ascended into heaven but he remains with us in the Eucharist, which is his body and blood, so that we can still experience his loving presence on earth. It strengthens our hope of eternal life. Especially as we experience “the edge of that longing for happiness” which is sharpened by “the experience of the deceitfulness of earthly goods, by the unjust violence of wicked men, and by all those other afflictions to which mind and body are subject.” In other words, the more we experience earthly sorrow, the more we long for happiness. The Eucharist is Christ’s resurrected body and a testament to he promise of our own resurrection and eternal life, which gives us the hope needed to continue to endure trials. Worthily receiving the Eucharist and adoration of it increase the supernatural virtue and gift of hope.
The Eucharist also increases the virtue of Charity, which guides us away from moral corruption and draws us to God. Since all the evils human beings inflict on one another come from a lack of mutual love – a lack of charity – the Eucharist really is the most important remedy to the evils of society and in the Church. Pope Leo XIII points out the historical evidence that when Christians “have lost their appetite for it, the practice of Christian religion has gradually lost its force and vigour.” Indeed, our current decline in the Church is no doubt connected to the fact that 70% of self-identified Catholics don’t even believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist; Much less do they go to adoration or receive it with the devotion need to increase their charity. If we want to reform the Church and the world with greater charity, we must take the time to see that charity reflected in the Eucharist.
– In Christ,
Fr. Albert