The Face of Christ in the Eucharist

~J.M.J.~

We know many things about Christ, few of which we can physically see in the Blessed Sacrament. Yet, there are some qualities of Christ which cannot be seen in His human form, but only under the veil of the appearance of bread. This is what I wish to discuss today.

Firstly, the white appearance of the Host tells us that Jesus is the pure, holy, and spotless Victim, just as mentioned in Eucharistic Prayer I. He is pure because He is God Himself, holy because He was set apart for the mission of Redemption, and spotless because He was sinless and the epitome of goodness for He is God Himself.

Secondly, the Blessed Sacrament takes on the form of a circle. This points to His centrality in our lives, which should revolve around Him. The circle also reminds us of the sun, our source of life. The Eucharist is indeed our source of Christian life (CCC 1324), without which, the Church, as Pope Benedict XVI put it, "simply does not exist." The life we receive from this Sacrament is eternal, for Jesus promised us, "This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." (Jn 6: 58) Finally, the circular form also reminds us of the Communion we have with Him. When people gather and hold hands with each other, they tend to form a circle. This reflects of Christ, who gathers all to Himself as the Church and all her members are in communion with each other. Thus the Blessed Sacrament is also referred to as "Holy Communion".

Thirdly, the Eucharistic Bread is thin and fragile. This shows that Christ is vulnerable to us. Jesus opens Himself up to all possible abuses we can commit against Him, who is God. We have already heard of this in His Passion, where He let us spit at Him, crown Him with thorns, and nail Him to the Tree. Here in the Eucharist, we may also spit at Him, crown Him with our foot, and nail Him with our finger. Occult rituals often include committing sacrilege against the Blessed Sacrament. Yet His love for us outweigh His pride. Since permitting these abuses opens up the floodgates of grace, He undertakes them willingly. Christ so loves us that He leaves His Precious Body at our total disposal.

Certainly, there are many things about Jesus we cannot learn of in the Eucharist. Nonetheless, we can never fully know Christ regardless of the physical form He assumes for He is God and God is infinite in mystery. To sum up the mystery of contemplating the face of Christ in the Eucharist, I leave you with the words of St Aquinas, the first verse of Adoro Te Devote.

Adoro Te devote, latens Deitas,

I devoutly adore You, O hidden God,

Quæ sub his figuris vere latitas;

Who are truly hidden beneath this veil;

Tibi se cor meum totum subjicit,

My whole heart totally submits to you,

Quia Te contemplans totum deficit.

And in contemplating You totally surrenders itself.

Listen to the chant here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xs67InkZ3A