St. Paul and the Eucharist

Posted: 06.19.09

June 29, the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, will bring to a conclusion the “Year of St. Paul.” This special year invoked by our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, began on the same solemnity last year to mark the 2,000th anniversary of the birth of St. Paul. A portion of the Year of St. Paul has coincided with the year of our diocesan celebration of our 25th anniversary, which has been centered on the Eucharist under the theme “25 years – a Eucharistic People.” Therefore, it would be most appropriate for us to reflect upon the teaching of St. Paul in regard to the great gift of the Eucharist.

At first glance, with the exception of two specific references in his First Letter to the Corinthians, there appears to be no other direct mention of the Eucharist in the writings of St. Paul. Yet, as Pope Benedict XVI pointed out in his homily at the opening of the Year of St. Paul, the Eucharist is for St. Paul the center of Christian existence. Indeed, much like the sacraments which flow to and from the Eucharist, all of the theology and teaching of St. Paul do the same. That is why the two specific references to the Eucharist in the First Letter to the Corinthians are so significant.

The earliest reference to the account of the institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper is found in St. Paul: “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ In the same way also the cup, after the supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.’ For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes” (1 Cor 11:23-26).

St. Paul transmits with the greatest care and fidelity what was entrusted to him by the apostolic witness at the Last Supper. He was not present himself at the Last Supper, but is entrusted with the account of what happened and hands it on as the very heart of his ministry. The text is a precious one, which St. Paul treasured as a gift for him and the communities to whom he was sent to present the living tradition.

So often in his letters does St. Paul refer to the sublime mystery of Christ giving himself over to us. Christ’s sacrificial gift is the fullest expression of love which is celebrated in the Eucharist. Paul emulates the eucharistic attitude of Christ by living it in his own life and sacrificing himself to the point of his own martyrdom.

The context in which St. Paul hands on these words of the institution of the Eucharist is extremely significant. It is one of trying to heal divisions and factions among the Corinthians. The Corinthians were meeting on a regular basis to celebrate the Eucharist, but their “meetings were doing more harm than good” (1 Cor 11:17). Paul brings the account of the institution of the Eucharist to them to remind them of the purpose of the Eucharist, which is unity with each other through union with Christ. The eucharistic mystery is one in which Christ continually brings us into his life.

In this context, St. Paul also reminds us of the sin of unworthy reception of the Eucharist. He says, “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself” (1 Cor 11:27-29). Paul is keenly aware of the sanctity of the body of Christ which is the Church, as well as the sanctity of the body of Christ which is the Eucharist. Respect for the Eucharist is respect for the Church and respect for the Church is respect for the Eucharist. This teaching needs a strong reinforcement in our own era where many signs of lack of respect for the Eucharist are evident and the possibility of unworthy reception is more prevalent.

Another significant passage on the Eucharist also appears in St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. Here he says, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because a loaf of bread is one, and we though many are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Cor 10:16-17). Paul reinforces the awesome reality of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. The bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, not symbols for them. They are Christ truly present among us. Reception of the Eucharist brings us into true communion with Christ. Christ is not only ingested into us, but we are ingested into him. By receiving him, we are taken up into him and receive his risen life.

St. Paul’s teaching here again emphasizes the reality that in the Eucharist we are united to the body of Christ which is the Church. When we are united with the one Christ, we are united fully with each other in him and all of us become his body, the Church. Christ and his Church are inseparable. The Church is his spouse. Through the reception of the Eucharist, we become that spouse and are more fully united to our brothers and sisters.

The two Corinthian Pauline references to the Eucharist relate to everything else which St. Paul has to say and teach in his letters. His teaching on the nature of the Church as the body of Christ, the spousal relationship of Christ to the Church, the sacrifice of Christ, the primacy of love, the resurrection of the body, the redemptive nature of personal suffering and so many other areas are all part of his teaching on the Eucharist as the center of the life of the Church and every Christian. Every passage in the writings of St. Paul should be read through the lens of his teaching on the Eucharist as presented in these two passages.

St. Paul’s encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Emmaus continued in his encounter with Christ in every celebration of the Eucharist. This is profoundly evident in all of his teaching. That teaching leads us to the Eucharist and a true love and respect for it and for the Church. As we come to the close of this Year of St. Paul and continue our eucharistic year of the celebration of our diocesan 25th anniversary, may St. Paul lead us closer to that love and respect which unites us more fully to Christ and to each other.

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