When the two disciples on the road to Emmaus reached their destination with Jesus, he shared a meal with them, which involved breaking the bread they were about to share. The two recognised that it was Jesus because of the distinctive way he tore the bread into portions. He had done this at the disciples’ Last Supper with him but presumably on numerous other occasions during the three years,
more or less, of his public ministry.
Sometimes, the Eucharistic celebrations in our churches evoke the presence of Jesus for us. We can imagine that we are enjoying precisely the kind of fellowship he had with his disciples. We feel that we are there with him at that Last Supper when he gave himself to his disciples in the form of bread and wine. Just as the meal brought the disciples together with him in an altogether new way
when he said, “This is my body. Take and eat.” and “This is my blood. Take and drink.” the bread and the wine took on new meaning. From then on, the gathering around a simple meal took on a new purpose for his disciples: to remember him and be present to him and to the body of Christ – the Church.
There are times we don’t feel connected to our Lord during the Eucharistic celebration. (And this is not something we can force or
should feel guilty about.)
We might take some features of that first Holy Communion – The Last Supper – and recognise what we are doing. Three ideas can supplement the traditional (Catholic, but really Aristotelian) explanation of transubstantiation.
- Transfinalisation: the bread and wine have a new purpose or end, namely to bring us into closer communion with the body of
Christ.
- Transsignification: the significance of the elements of bread and wine has changed for us because we now connect them with the whole of Jesus’ self-giving death and resurrection.
- Transsymbolisation: the sacraments, particularly the Eucharistic gathering, are full of symbols. The consecrated bread and wine carry symbolic value (in addition to real presence) as the body and blood of Jesus.
These symbols remind us of the reconciling death and resurrection of the Incarnate Son of God.
How does my Eucharistic community help me recognise Jesus in the breaking of the bread? What else brings me to communion with the Lord?
Reflections by Fr Peter Knox, SJ
