A local over-the-air television station broadcasts film noir movies on Sunday nights.  I enjoy those movies because of the quality of the screenwriting and the great-looking cars from the 1940’s.  Most of the advertisers that buy commercial time during those movies depend on a mature audience for their sales; they sell compression socks, sleep apnea machines, and various remedies for back pain and hearing loss.   

Recently, the television station broadcast a commercial that advertised an entirely different type of commodity, “The Communion.”  The retailer who paid for the airtime spoke in detail about the wonderful benefits of “The Holy Communion,” and offered a book to those who would like to learn more.  The commercial was a mixture of stilted English and conventional photographs of Holy Communion wafers, Chalices, monstrances, and the like.  The retailer claimed that “The Communion” could cure everything imaginable, and he promised that those who read the book would be relieved of ills ranging from conflicted relationships to unsightly wrinkles.  I assume that it was the latter that inspired the retailer to buy airtime during an evening of film noir. 

The commercial was unusual, but it did not represent a new idea.  There have been delusions and superstitions about Eucharist for almost as long as Eucharist has existed.  The popularity of superstitions about the Eucharist owes to the fact that superstition provides relief from responsibility for one’s life and actions.  The retailer selling “The Holy Communion” probably makes quite a lot of money from those who want magical cures for the normal burdens of life. 

Today is the second of the so-called “theological feasts” that occur immediately after the Easter season.  Although these feasts deal with doctrinal matters, their purpose is purely practical.  Last Sunday’s celebration, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity was put on the liturgical calendar in response to serious misunderstandings about the nature of God.  There are, for example, those who collapse the three persons of the Trinity into one Divine Person, thereby professing a false image of God. 

Today’s celebration, the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, addresses the same need as did last Sunday’s celebration.  There are those who embrace a superstitious misunderstanding of the Eucharist.  Although the heterodox beliefs that occasioned these two Solemnities were proposed centuries ago, the misunderstandings continue; the Church’s attempts to correct those false beliefs continue, as well. 

As I mentioned above, the purpose of these Solemnities is purely practical.  Believing is an activity common to all humans.  Everyone believes in something; atheists and satanists, for example, believe in something.  Believing, then, is meaningless; believing rightly, however, is of the utmost importance.  False beliefs lead to unfaithfulness toward God and neighbor, and unfaithfulness leads to all manner of destructive and self-destructive behavior.  On the other hand, even if one struggles with the content or the demands of authentic Christian beliefs, those beliefs lead to reconciliation with God and neighbor. 

Today’s first reading provides insight into the meaning of Eucharist.  Speaking to the Israelites, Moses said, “it is not by bread alone that people live, but by all that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord.” (Deut 8:3)  God gave them manna to eat, but the manna was merely a metaphor that represented the new life in the Land of Promise that God wished to give the People.  It was this hope for a new life that motivated the People throughout their sojourn in the desert. 

As tempting as it is to fantasize about a carefree, unencumbered life free from sickness, worry, strife, and suffering, there is much more to life than personal pleasure, unless you’re an infant.  Eucharist is not a magical remedy for one’s troubles and burdens; it is much more than that.  Eucharist is hope for God’s eternal remedy for sin and death. 

The practical plea of today’s feast is that we take seriously the prayers and rituals that comprise Sunday Liturgy.  Sunday Liturgy is a series of ways that the Faithful encounter God.  The Liturgy begins with repentance and praise of God’s glory; it continues with an encounter with God’s Word.  Eucharist is celebrated, and the congregation is sent back into the world to be the presence of Christ for the world. 

Preaching about the Eucharist, Augustine said, “these realities are called sacraments because in them one thing is seen, while another is grasped.” (Sermo 272)  In the celebration of the Eucharist, we see the congregation gathered, the written text of the Word of God, the bread, and the wine; we are expected to grasp that these encounters with God give direction to our lives – not away from the world of adult responsibilities – but away from sin and selfishness. 

For those like the retailer advertising “The Holy Communion” on television, Eucharist is an escape from reality; it is merely their drug of choice.  For those who grasp what the Church says about Eucharist, it is an embrace of the world like God’s embrace of the world that makes redemption and holiness possible for all.