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A different kind of hungerTwo events in November reflected mistreatment – even disrespect – for the Eucharist and a need for people to better understand the nature of the Communion that we receive at Mass. A man in Jensen Beach tried to take a bunch of consecrated hosts at the end of the distribution of holy Communion at St. Martin de Porres Parish. And in Hialeah, thieves stole the tabernacle from St. John the Apostle Parish. Though the motives of the man who attempted to take the Communion hosts are unclear, one news commentator went so far as to say that the man in Jensen Beach was homeless, hungry and only needed something to eat. The commentator seemed to chastise the church for holding back the hosts from the man. “Give him the food,” was the sentiment. That way of thinking shows little knowledge of the Communion wafer. As Catholics, we believe the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ in the appearance of the bread and wine. While the host contains some physical nourishment, it isn’t much. I heard a speaker on liturgy many years ago say that it may take more faith to believe the wafer is bread than the body of Christ. The more important aspect is the spiritual nourishment that comes from receiving the Eucharist. Those who took the tabernacle came prepared to unbolt it from its pedestal. They may have thought it was gold. Instead, it is actually made of marble and gold-plate. Each of these incidents speaks to hunger, but hunger that seems to be misdirected. Neither physical hunger nor hunger for money – we usually call that greed – can be satisfied by grabbing extra Communion hosts or stealing a tabernacle. A few wafers will not quench physical hunger. And who would buy a tabernacle? The church does much to provide food to those in need, through food pantries and charitable outreach. Since the Eucharist is spiritual food, it can best fulfill our inner hunger, but only if that’s the manner in which we seek it. It’s not a symbol of Christ’s presence; it is his Real Presence, body and blood, soul and divinity in the species of bread and wine, transformed – transubstantiated – during the consecration. If we receive it worthily, we too are transformed. We speak during this time of Advent of waiting for Jesus’ coming to us as a child in the manger. We wait – eagerly, anxiously – for him to come and save us. What we often fail to remember is that he is already here, in our midst. He is with us at the altar as the priest celebrates the Mass and we participate in the liturgy. He is with us in the consecrated Eucharist reserved in the tabernacle for safekeeping and adoration. And he is with us in our brothers and sisters whom we encounter every day – even in the man accused of stealing the hosts at St. Martin de Porres in Jensen Beach and those who took the tabernacle from the church in Hialeah. That is one of the reasons that, while decrying the violation and abomination of the tabernacle theft, Archbishop John C. Favalora of Miami urged the parishioners, “instead of condemning, to pray for and to ask God’s forgiveness for whoever did this.” Maybe it’s too much for us to expect those who are not Catholic, or those who don’t have the spiritual hunger for Christ, to have the same reverence we have for the Eucharist. However, just as we would show respect to the vessels and objects of other faith traditions, we should expect the same. We also need to do a better job of instilling an understanding of the Real Presence and encouraging reverence for the Eucharist among the Catholic faithful. There is a great hunger there that yearns to be fed.
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