What is at hand, or rather off hand?
"This is a hard teaching, Who can accept it?" Many of Jesus' disciples at that time, found it hard to believe in the living bread and so they left Jesus.
Indeed this is a hard teaching, but what does it really mean?
For Catholics, we believe in the Eucharistic Jesus and receive Him at Holy Communion. So is that the hard teaching, just believe?
St. Paul warns us about receiving the Lord in an unworthily manner. We must treat our Eucharistic Lord reverently, this is the reality of our belief in the Real Presence. The Eucharist is greatest gift given to the Church, and with this greatest gift the greatest responsibility - to uphold the Eucharist, with the greatest of reverence.
So what is at hand, or rather off hand? It is the receiving of Communion in the hand that causes Eucharistic particles to fall on the floor and is trampled on. We have turned Jesus into an "acceptable collateral damage", due to our irreverence. Let us be honestly clear, this "hard teaching" isn't a simple walk over. It is because we treat our Lord as a simple "walk over". This is a hard teaching.
Many Catholics will find this responsibility hard to accept, the solution even harder. We must not receive our Lord, for the love of worship, in itself - that we fail in our responsibility and allow our Eucharistic Lord be treated as an acceptable collateral damage. We must receive our Lord in the most worthily manner of worship. We must worship in Truth, and this Truth must not be trampled on.
When we receive the Eucharist, we receive Christ - the Truth. Let the Truth work within us.
"Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” ~ John 6:57-59
"So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord." ~ 1 Corinthians 11:27
Faith and Reason - What Catholics believe
If the below is all true, why do we allow this? Why would we personally allow ourselves to partake in this irreverence?
Truths:
The Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ. (Catholic dogma)
Every particle that breaks off the Eucharist is the full Christ. (Catholic dogma)
Receiving Holy Communion in the hand, leads to Eucharistic particles falling on the floor. (Reasoning)
Christ is trampled on. (Reasoning)
This is the truth, and no Church hierarchy could change this truth. Some will try to deny this truth. Many will simply ignore this truth.
The Question:
Are you willing treat God as just, "acceptable collateral damage?"
Are you willing to let this truth, change the way you worship? If you have not already guess, ignoring this truth, changes the way you worship already. Truth doesn't change; lack of truth changes how you worship, and it always ends in negative way.
Lack of Reverence:
Silence in the church was respected, now talking in church is fine,
Genuflection is virtually non-existent.
Dress code - no one cares,
Receiving Communion in the hand is allowed.
And so Jesus falling on the floor and trampling on Him - no big deal.
Do you really think the irreverence on our Eucharistic Lord really stops here? The truth didn't change, but lack of truth changes our attitude... We still say we believe in the Real Presence, but we just don't care enough to make proper reparation for our sins; we don't humble ourselves enough. So our Lord becomes an "acceptable collateral damage" to our pride, irreverence, abuse, private disbelief, and sacrilege.
Our Church today:
Today we see many Catholics that are "Catholics for..." this group, catholics for that group... and yet ignoring the Catholic faith, they are making the faith as how they see fit. We ask ourselves, how is this possible? We should look at ourselves at how we worship. How is it possible to worship God (as we see fit) and trample on Him, treat Him as "acceptable collateral damage." We put our way of worship first, and though we don't know it, put God last as we trample on Him.
"This is a hard truth, Who can accept it?" We can walk away from this truth of responsibility, like the early disciples walked away from the truth of belief, and continually trample on Jesus; or we can accept the hard truth of responsibility, and end the "acceptable collateral damage" on Our Lord.
The Solution:
Putting God first, does not mean trampling on Him...
"He must increase, but I must decrease." - John 3:30
Today we refuse to decrease ourselves - to kneel at Holy Communion. We instead allow Jesus to "decrese" to the point that He is on the ground and trampled on every day, in churches throughout the world. Our increase which is our pride, has obscured us from our irreverent worship. Christ who is truly on the ground - the same Christ that we have just received, is of no consequience to us. We must decrease, He must increase!
