PASSING IT ALONG

Among the points Fr Tony mentioned, during the training day last Saturday, were two that especially bear repeating. The first was when he said the minister distributing the host doesn’t say “This is the Body of Christ” but rather “The Body of Christ.” Meaning yes this (the host) is the body of Christ, you are the body of Christ, and all who are gathered are the body of Christ. (Stop and think about that. Fr Lawrence E Mick wrote, “The presence of Christ in his body, the Church, is crucial to understanding the mystery of the Eucharist and the whole purpose of the Mass.”) The second was that when we receive Communion, we say “Amen.” Many people translate “Amen” as “So be it” but the phrase conveys much more. Scholars tell us that the root word in Hebrew from which “amen” derives means “to pound in one’s tent stake.” The people who used that root word were desert nomads. They needed their tent to survive the harsh conditions of the desert. Without it they simply would not have survived. So, when we say “Amen” we are literally saying “I will stake my life on it.” (From now on no more mumbled ‘Amen” or (wince) “thank you” from us hey?)