There is a story of the Catholic American author, Flannery O’Connor, who was once at a dinner party. During the evening, the friends turned to discussing the Eucharist, and the host said that the Eucharist was a “pretty good symbol.” To this, the author responded, “Well, if it is just a symbol to hell with it.”
That is a rather earthy – some might say crude – response to a discussion of the Blessed Sacrament; however, before we clutch the pearls and swoon in indignation, let’s establish what O’Connor meant in saying such a provocative thing. As a writer, she certainly understood symbolism; her writings are full of symbols. Symbols are wonderful in conveying a deeper meaning when straightforward description falls short. However, as a well-informed Catholic, O’Connor also knew that the sacraments are much more than mere symbols.
Sacraments make present what they signify – through the grace of the Holy Spirit, the power of the Word, and the will of the Father. St. Augustine taught that a sacrament is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible grace.” Symbols are helpful in that they call to mind a different, deeper reality; but they do not make that reality real – they merely evoke it. A sign, in this sacramental sense, makes the reality present and effective. Therefore, for example, the sacrament of baptism makes the death and resurrection present in the person who is baptized, and they actually receive the gift of eternal life. This is what the Church teaches about the Sacraments.
This is why it is so important for us to understand what Jesus is teaching today, when He continues to refer to Himself as “the living Bread that came down from heaven.” When the Jews have a difficult time with the teaching and begin quarreling about how it was possible for Him to give His Flesh to eat, Jesus becomes even more specific and clear: “My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” He does not tell them that His flesh could be thought of as a metaphor or that the Bread of which He speaks is a “symbol.” He certainly could have done that; but He does not. In fact, He says this Flesh is “true” food – meaning that it is what He says it is.
That is the difficult teaching that people have struggled with ever since Jesus said it. People try to soften the shocking language that Jesus uses and refer to the Eucharist as a “symbol,” or they see it as a quaint ritual that is meant to remind us of Jesus and the Last Supper.
But we are not hearing about the Last Supper here. Jesus is teaching in the midst of His ministry, and more to the point, He is teaching about His very Self. The Bread that Jesus will give, He says, is His flesh for the life of the world. Christ is not talking about the Last Supper that He will celebrate one day. Rather, He is talking about His sacrificial death, wherein His flesh is broken and His blood poured out for us all. That is why He is giving us the Eucharist. Yes, it is a memorial; but it is also a Sacrament – the True Presence of Jesus in His Church and in the world.
The color red is a symbol of fire for many people; smoke is a sign of fire. (“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” we say, right?). If you encounter smoke, that means that fire is present. If you see the color red, that may only mean someone had a crayon. When the Church gathers in this place, presents bread and wine, prays over them through the ministry of the priest, and receives communion, Jesus is truly present. This is no mere symbol; this is the Jesus’ gift of Himself.
So, we understand Jesus is personally present in the Eucharist – more than He is present in the other sacraments, since this is truly His flesh and blood in the form of this Bread and Wine. That’s why we call the Eucharist the Most Blessed Sacrament. And the reason that Jesus wants to give us His very flesh and blood to nourish us is that He wants us to have true life – just as He has life because of His union with the Father. When we participate in Holy Communion, we are united to Christ intimately – in truth and not “symbolically.”
If we are only experiencing a “symbol,” then we are not really experiencing Christ – certainly not in any objective sense. Hence, Flannery O'Connor's criticism. However, because Jesus gave us the Eucharist as the Sacrament of His Body and Blood, because He is truly present here in the Sacrament, because we share in His flesh and blood, we have life. Without this consumption of the Body of Christ, we cannot have life in us; these are Jesus’ words!
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must understand this incredible gift that Jesus has offered us. All our actions as people of faith must revolver around the Eucharist. The flesh and blood that give us life – that give life to the world – will then animate us to live the truth that God so loves the world that He hands over His only Son; and this Son, in turn, gives Himself to us as strength and nourishment. And we, then, live lives that are “eucharistic” – living thanksgivings and self-offering. That is something that no mere symbol can make happen. Only Jesus.
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