The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (02.06.13)

“I RECEIVED FROM THE LORD …”

Spiritual experiences featured in the commentary for the 6th Sunday of Easter. This Sunday June 2nd. is the Feast of Corpus Christi. An extract from St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthian church (11:23-26) presents us with an opportunity to explore the, perhaps, unique spiritual experience of the Apostle to the Gentiles.

“Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.”

Most Bible translations contain the words – “I received from the Lord …..” Paul is making an indisputable claim to have had a spiritual experience. In his letter to the Galatians (1:11-12) Paul is even more explicit: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ ..”

When God gifts us with a spiritual experience there is no standard formula. Each spiritual gift is uniquely and perfectly tailored to enhance God’s love for us, if we freely cooperate. A Divinely gifted spiritual experience may resemble a jigsaw puzzle which we receive a piece at a time. Baptismal grace nurtures and supports our faith in the Lord as we struggle to complete the picture, slowly and not without pain and struggle. For example, we could focus on Mary. From the Annunciation onwards there is no biblical indication that Gabriel presented her with a whole ‘route map’. It would appear to have been an inner journey of step-by-step revelation by spiritual experience over the whole course of Jesus’ life, suffering, death and resurrection. Not all those steps were joyous occasions. Think of Simeon’s prophecy on the occasion of The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:34-35) ‘Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”’
“… and a sword will piece your own soul too.” There’s no mistaking the import of the words and Mary’s immaculate soul will have received them in the fullness of the mystery they revealed. Simeon and Anna would undoubtedly have been a comfort yet, simultaneously, a sign that faith is a penitential pilgrimage.

Paul’s initial spiritual experience is quite different. Paul, or Saul as he was called, never met Jesus in the flesh. Theirs paths on this earth never crossed. Saul’s Pharisaical credentials and dedication were ‘top drawer’ and, more than that, he enjoyed the status and privilege of being a Roman Citizen. There is reason to believe that Saul was acting from a good conscience in persecuting his fellow Jews who had converted to Christianity. Literally, all of a sudden, everything changed in his world. The ‘Damascus Road’ experience, which lasted three days, is detailed in the Acts of the Apostles chapter 9:
“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.”

Saul’s three days of physical darkness reflected Jesus time in the tomb. For Saul there was no piece-by-piece jigsaw puzzle to complete. As soon as Ananias laid his hands on the blind Saul’s head the, perhaps unique, spiritual experience for a sinful human was completed in Damascus. The Acts of the Apostles chapter 9 give us the detail:
“Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here, has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

For Saul, whom we acknowledge to be Saint Paul, the infusion of the Holy Spirit brought the fullness of the Apostolate of Jesus Christ. Whereas his companion Apostles had lived through years of formation and teaching by Jesus, either as a group or in individual tutorial sessions, Paul’s Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist and Consecration were instantaneous. Refer to the earlier quotation from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (1:11-12) The Persecutor became the Propagator in, as it were, an instant.

Within five words, five quite easily overlooked words, “I received from the Lord …”, are the seeds of a Church and world-changing individual’s spiritual experience of the power of Divine love.
‘Corpus Christi’ – the Body of Christ – is the gathering of Christ’s Body, the Baptised, on earth. For some, the life-changing Divine spiritual experience will have happened relatively quickly. For others, probably the majority of us, it is a work in progress. For all it is a gift to be grasped tightly and held as precious beyond words.

Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ was the head of the Jesuits when Pope Francis was a Jesuit priest. Pope Francis, I like to think, has this Pedro Arrupe prayer on his wall as I do on mine – maybe it will find it’s way into your life too? Then, like St. Paul, we will be able to say “I received from the Lord … ” and the Feast of Corpus Christi will open up even more for us too.

A Prayer to Sense the Mind of Christ

Above all, give me that sensus Christi – the sensing of Christ about which St Paul speaks: that I may feel with your feelings, with the sentiments of your heart, which basically are love for your Father and love for humanity. Teach me your way of relating to disciples, to sinners, to children, to Pharisees, Pilates and Herods. Teach me how you deal with your disciples. How delicately you treat them on Lake Tiberias, even preparing breakfast for them! How you washed their feet! May I learn from you and from your ways, as St Ignatius did: how to eat and drink; how to attend banquets; how to act when hungry or thirsty, when tired from the ministry, when in need of rest or sleep.

Teach me how to be compassionate to the suffering, to the poor, the blind, the lame and the lepers. Teach me your way of looking at people: as you glanced at Peter after his denial, as you penetrated the heart of the rich young man and the hearts of your disciples. We have to learn from you the secret of a close bond or union with God: in the more trivial, everyday actions, with that total dedication to loving the Father and all humanity. Give me that grace, that sensus Christi, your very heartbeat, that I may live all my life, interiorly and exteriorly, proceeding and discerning with your spirit, exactly as you did during your mortal life.
– Pedro Arrupe SJ