With the Eucharist at the Center of our Lives?

“If you are the same at the end of the Mass, as you were at the beginning, something is wrong.” These are the words of Pope Francis in a recent appeal to the Roman Catholic faithful to place the celebration of the Eucharist at the center of their lives. Francis’s appeal is in perfect alignment with Vatican II’s Lumen gentium that says the Eucharist is the “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lg, 11). Presbyterorum Ordinis, composed at the closure of Vatican II, further underscores the centrality of the Eucharist by stating: “The other sacraments, as well as with every ministry of the Church and every work of the apostolate, are tied together with the Eucharist and are directed toward it” (PO, 5).

Why is the Eucharist so important and central? Once again Vatican II provides the answer with Mysterium Fidei which states: “by means of the Mystery of the Eucharist, the Sacrifice of the Cross which was once carried out on Calvary is re-enacted in wonderful fashion and is constantly recalled” (MF, 27). This re-enactment is undergirded by the doctrine of transubstantiation which teaches that during the Eucharist the bread and wine’s substance, while remaining the same in appearance, are changed into the real body and real blood of Christ (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1376). For this reason, Pope Francis observed that the Eucharist is an encounter with Christ and is therefore transforming. Indeed, in a recent book Dr. R. Jared Staudt proposes that the Eucharist is the hope for saving Western civilization.

What should an Evangelical think about this? In response to this important question, it is essential that we highlight a different centrality in the liturgy and life of the Evangelical church, that being the proclamation of God’s Word. The Roman Catholic Church places the administration of the seven sacraments at its center, which are all directed to the Eucharist (PO, 5). The Evangelical church, on the other hand, places the preaching of God’s Word at its center.

The centrality of the Word is not a recent development, but is rooted in Scripture, in the early church, and was rediscovered by the Reformers in the 16th century. To Timothy Paul implored: “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word…” (2 Tim. 4:1-2 ESV). In the 4th century John Chrysostom (“Golden Mouth”) was a strong preacher of the Word. The Reformers recognized the centrality of the Word and its faithful preaching as the key identity marker of a true church. It is no mistake that historic Evangelical/Protestant confessions of faith (The Westminster Confession, The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith) give precedence to the Holy Scriptures. During the Council of Trent (1545-1563), however, the Roman Catholic Church rejected the centrality of the Word and reaffirmed the centrality of the sacraments in the life of the Catholic Church and its faithful.  

Standing on the shoulders of giants the Evangelical church continues to place the proclamation of God’s Word at its center. This is because “the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12, ESV). It is through the faithful proclamation of God’s Word that his grace is effectuated, for God’s Word demands a response. The sermon, therefore, is the thermometer of the church which measures its health and efficacy. According to the Bible a disciple of Christ is not known by observing the sacraments, but by submission to the Word of God and its commands and teachings.

The Roman Catholic Church rejects the centrality of the Word. It is not through the preaching of God’s Word that his grace is administered and effectuated, but through the sacraments, which find their climax in the Eucharist. Apart from the Church, God’s grace can be neither administered nor obtained. The Catholic Church elevates nature (i.e., bread and wine), through which it administers God’s grace. Grace is effectuated ex opera operato, that is, by means of the administration of the sacrament itself. Due to the centrality of the sacraments the preaching of God’s Word - which is referred to as the homily in the Roman Catholic mass - is not central. In fact, Pope Francis suggests that the homily should be no longer than ten minutes. Long homilies, he says, are “a disaster.”

Francis implores the Roman Catholic faithful to place the Sacrament of the Eucharist at the center of their lives, for in the Eucharist Christ is encountered. This is greatly complicated, however, by Vatican II which teaches that Muslims are our brothers and the person who lives a good life and follows his conscience is on the path of salvation (Lumen gentium, 16). The implications of Lumen gentium and Vatican II are further developed in Francis’s latest encyclical Fratelli tutti in which he declares that all of humanity shares the same creator and are thus brothers and sisters. But if Muslims are our brothers, together with all of humanity, how can Christ be encountered in the Eucharist, when Christ and his gospel are rejected by much of humanity? The answer is complex and lies in the Church’s understanding of itself as a universal sacrament. That is, the Catholic Church itself is sacrament (Lumen gentium explores this concept). In addition to administering its seven sacraments, all the Church’s activities are sacramental and are thus transmitters of God’s grace. This is a complex concept with alarming implications.

Much can also be said of the re-enactment/re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, which is present in the Eucharist. While the Catholic Church is clear that the passion of Christ happened once and cannot be repeated, the re-presentation of his sacrifice in the Eucharist confuses the sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross (Hebrews 10) and highlights a systemic weakness in Roman Catholic theology, that being the ongoing incarnation and presence of Christ in the Church. With Christ’s ongoing presence in the Church and the re-enactment of his work on the cross, Hebrews 10:12 is confused, as is John 14:25-26 and the sending of the Holy Spirit and his role in teaching and bringing to remembrance all that Christ taught his disciples.

With the Eucharist at the center of our lives? We have the Church as a go between that mediates on God’s behalf and administers His grace by means of the sacraments. With the proclamation of God’s Word at the center of our lives? We can draw near to the throne of grace through faith in Christ Jesus, the great High Priest, who provides direct access to the God of all graces who speaks to us through His Word and rescues and redeems the lost and brokenhearted (Hebrews 4:14-16). The Eucharist cannot save Western civilization, but God’s Word can. Indeed, it is the hope for all the nations (Isaiah 49:6). May the Evangelical church heed the words of Paul to Timothy and “preach the Word,” keeping it ever central to the life and worship of the church.