Listen, Children, to a Story that was Written Long Ago

Like I’ve said plenty of times before, we (Catholics) don’t make this stuff up.  Everything we say and do in the Catholic faith is either directly from Scripture (the Bible) or directly influenced/inspired by Scripture.  The words of the Eucharistic Prayer are no exception.  The next part of the Eucharistic Prayer is called the Institution Narrative, and is a direct reflection of the words and actions of Christ at the Last Supper the night before his crucifixion.

There are two parts to the concept of the Institution Narrative: the “institution” part and the “narrative” part (don’t have to be a theologian to figure that one out).  The “narrative” part is easy enough to decipher…a narrative is, very simply, a story.  In this case, it’s the story of the Last Supper, like I said earlier.  The “institution” part is a little trickier.  Let’s talk about that after I give you an example of the Institution Narrative from Eucharistic Prayer II.  Now, bear with me, because this part’s a little bit lengthy.

Current Text:

Before he was given up to death, a death he freely accepted, he took bread and gave you thanks.  He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said: Take this, all of you, and eat it: this is my body which will be given up for you.

When supper was ended, he took the cup.  Again he gave you thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said: Take this, all of you, and drink from it: this is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.  It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven.  Do this in memory of me.

Beginning Advent 2011:

At the time he was betrayed and entered willingly into his Passion, he took bread and, giving thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take this, all of you, and eat of it: for this is my Body which will be given up for you.

In a similar way, when supper was ended, he took the chalice and, once more giving thanks, he gave it to his disciples, saying: Take this, all of you, and drink from it: for this is the chalice of my Blood, the Blood of the new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this in memory of me.

Alright, maybe that wasn’t as long as I thought…especially since most Catholics have been hearing that since they were, well, able to hear.  Again, I want to point out that this is not a “change” in our beliefs.  At the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, the idea was to take the Latin and put it into terms that people could understand.  Now, we’re realizing that we’ve really been missing some really deep theological concepts in the last half-a-century.  Don’t misunderstand, though: we haven’t been doing anything WRONG for the last half-a-century, because, if nothing else, God knows what our intentions have been, so we’re good.  Remember, our Church was founded by Jesus, himself, and is continually guided by the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, so we won’t be steered wrong as a whole Church.  Individuals may go astray from time to time (as we’ve seen in the recent priest scandals), but it’s important to remember that those are the faults of INDIVIDUALS and not the whole Church.  But enough of that…

So let’s talk a LITTLE about the “institution” part of this bit.  See, the term “institution” here comes from the term “Words of Institution.”  The Words of Institution are the prayers (that we just read over) that, together with the Epiclesis we talked about last post, ask God to transform the bread and wine we offer into the Body and Blood of Christ.  See, we believe that God transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ because we ask Him to.  The Bible says in Matthew Chapter 7, Verse 11: “Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asks for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asks for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him?”  I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a single thing God can give us that’s BETTER than the gift of himself.  So we believe that when we ask, he gives. 

Now HOW this happens—HOW the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ—that’s another topic for another day.  Lucky for you all, that day will (probably) be tomorrow.