One major controversy that wracked the public discussion about
the recent synod on the family was the question of whether to permit those who
had been divorced and remarried to receive the Eucharist.
I won’t weigh in on the issue, waiting for some pastoral wisdom
from Pope Francis. But I do want to share some thoughts about both from where I
am.
Many visitors are surprised with so few people who receive
Communion at Masses here, especially in the countryside. In the past few
months, when I’ve been visiting villages with the Eucharist for a Sunday Celebration
of the Word with Communion, I encourage the people to receive communion.
I sometimes ask them how many times they eat a day. Mostly
likely three, with perhaps two snacks, they finally admit. But then I try to
connect this with the Eucharist, the Bread of Life.
I admit that many of them have not been married in the
church. I urge them to find ways to get married – which is not easy here,
because the civil costs are often at least $100. In addition, many young people
do not have examples of married couples and so don’t think about marriage. I
see many unmarried couples with children in church and just long to find a way
for them to be able to come together at the Table of the Lord.
But also at the base of infrequent communion is the belief
that one cannot receive communion unless one has confessed almost immediately
before. “No sinful person should approach the Eucharist” is a common sentiment.
This, of course, is rooted in a theology that is emphasizes
sinfulness and divine punishment, rather than the medicine of God’s mercy. I
wonder how much this is due to political, economic, and religious forces that
play down the human dignity of all people, especially the poor. But that’s
another very serious question.
I try to help them understand the theology that says one can
receive communion if one has committed a mortal sin that has not been
confessed. I sometimes think that this is new to many of them.
But not going to communion doesn’t mean that there is not a
deep devotion to the Eucharist. In our parish, every Thursday there is a Holy
Hour – and sometimes hours of adoration
before the exposed Eucharist – wherever the Eucharist is reserved. There
is even one village where they have a Holy Hour even though they don’t have the
Eucharist reserved!
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| 2011 Corpus Christi procession in a village |
I believe there is a hunger for Christ, indeed a hunger for
the Eucharist, that some theological musings and church customs don’t
recognize.
Can we pray and discuss the question of marriage and communion
with this hunger in mind?
Can we pray and discuss these questions as we find ways for couples to
be married as a sacramental sign of God’s love which they may already be living?
These are questions that deeply touch my heart.
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1 comment:
The church came very late to the marriage business, mainly dealing with the rich for whom marriage certificates and child legitimacy was an issue. The poor just got together with whatever small community recognition was available and that was considered to be a valid marriage. It is difficult to release people from bondage when they have become so accustomed to the chains. It is a slow process. Then the Eucharist was changed from the "agape meal" to a ritualized sacrifice hidden behind an unknown language and magical gestures. People were taught to "adore" the eucharistic bread which they were unworthy to touch or consume. Sometimes women were not even offered the opportunity to receive the eucharist. The problems today are a theology that was inadequate and insulting even in its time, which is long since past.
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