"Lent and Sacrifice; the Absence of the Holy Eucharist"

Lent has arrived, Wednesday, February 17, 2021, and what sacrifice can we use to provoke real meaning this year?  How about seeing the loss of something most Catholics know is the pinnacle of their worship?  The reception of Christ in the Eucharist!  

Unable to receive the Holy Eucharist could be the most devastating event for a Roman Catholic.  The inability to share this most sacred gift leaves many in a stance of emptiness, a feeling of being outside the closeness of Christ with only a spiritual response that does little to satisfy that need we have learned to share through the physical reception of Christ.

A reminder of the elements of the Sacred Mass which are so crucial to the Eucharist.  (1) Holy Thursday, the institution of the Sacred Meal; the offering of the gifts at Mass, and the presentation of our own sacrifice.  (2) Following becomes the Passion of Christ as the priest begins the sacred portion of the transubstantiation, the suffering/death of Jesus; Good Friday.  (3) The priest elevates the Body and Blood of the risen Christ during the concluding Doxology, Easter Sunday.   Each Mass is a repeat of the Easter Triduum culminating in the reception of the living Body and Blood of Christ.

The tradition of making a sacrifice during Lent is to remind us of the passion of Jesus and how he gave so much for us, now becomes a walk towards that passion because of the inability to receive the Holy Body and Blood of the Risen Christ.  There can be no greater loss to remind us of what happened on Calvary and our longing to share with him such a gift.         

Last year, the season of Lent became a time where questions arose as to the safety from the spread of contagious illness that began killing people.  The presence of personal concern took precedence over church attendance as we saw the statistics adding up very fast and we didn’t want to be counted among those stats.

As Ash Wednesday and the following days of Lent approach we need more than ever a perfect way to prepare for Holy Week and the Resurrection of Christ which is our ultimate goal.  Christ is always available even under the most adverse conditions we find ourselves enduring.  This loss of the Eucharist, as devastating as it can be, is a reminder of the need we have for the presence of God, through His Son, Jesus Christ, to be with us in these days of uncertainty.    

People in many lands around the world rarely, if ever, receive the Eucharist.  Yet, the absence of Christ in the Eucharist brings them just as close to the God who never forsakes us.  Those of us who are able to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist are blessed indeed.  But, those who are kept away because of any situation, not of their doing, are also blessed.  This absence becomes the Sacrificial Lent that is still valid as our finding a way to prepare for Easter.

Ralph B. Hathaway, Lent 2021