E is for Eucharist, S is for sacrifice, M is for meal (Sunday Forum)

by Tom McMahon, 'San Jose, Ca. USA', Monday, May 25, 2009, 04:00 (1459 days ago) @ Brian Coyne

Hello Peter, Brian , and C/A readers ....Tom here on Sunday morning just in from cleaning up some debris left over from a new roof on our home . A week has past since my return from down
under ; I returned tired , rarely having a sound night's sleep in the past three weeks , one of the prices I pay for wandering , such keeping me from concentrating on writing. Brian had suggested that I go back into the files and rewrite or digest some of my C/A commentaries , esp on eucharist/Eucharist . Peter your commentary taxes my academic mind and I wonder if this is where one of our major problems lies ; those of us who had seminary training are versed in the academics of the sacraments , esp as they have been approached using the Aristotelian method of duality , which is virtually unknown to the non roman world . Such is fairly vague in my mind comparing the way Moslems hear what we say ( they not oriented to Aquians' duality ) and this I sense applies as well to most of the roman laity.
Transubstantiation is a classic, substances that are one or the other. I am not here addressing your article , yet aware that you are a cleric orientated to duality and the way we were trained in seminary. Allow me to say that I had difficulty with your philosophical approach , lots of abstract word images from which I never made the jump to eating like I just did with my wife for breakfast. In its present form I fail to achieve eating with the historical Jesus or at least being in attendance at the Last Supper. World wide eating has no duality .

Some comments I made notes of as I read : I sense we need more dialogue on how substance is made holy , by priest or by people? In quoting Paul and eating I keep in mind the "pagan " rituals at the time that were made up of eating , even drinking blood. To me I see the secular as sacred , all creation of the Creator. Again as Eucharist is presented public ally in church I see it as having lost its "phosphorescence " , its display of meaning ; I see little connection to the resurrection of Jesus being symbolized.

Interesting that in a poll of American Catholics and this would tend to be more East Coast ( Bill D'Antonio and Co. ) three issues were needed for more understanding ....namely feeding the poor , the resurrection of Jesus , and true presence.

Let this suffice for now .....my mind is clearing . Tis a good experience for me to have met you Peter and appreciate you as such a genuine person.

Tom in San Jose