If It’s Just a Symbol…
Several years ago, I read about a Catholic American novelist and short-story writer named Flannery O’Connor. Flannery was invited to dinner with friends, one of which was a woman who was also a writer and in Flannery’s words was “a big intellectual.” Flannery recalled that she herself was quiet for most of the dinner discussion. Conversation after dinner went late into the evening, and guess what topic was brought up in the wee morning hours? The Eucharist. What a dinner topic! Flannery’s “big intellectual” friend had left the Catholic Church at the age of 15 and said that now she thought of the Eucharist as a symbol and a pretty good one at that. Flannery replied, in a very shaky voice, “If it’s just a symbol, to hell with it.”
I remember doing a combination of a gasp and a supportive shaking of my fist when I read this account for the first time! Here we have Flannery, who is surrounded by “big intellectuals” and possibly not feeling like anything she’s going to say will be interesting or worthy enough, but when the topic of the Eucharist arises, she steps up with a BIG statement: “If it’s just a symbol, to hell with it.” That must have silenced the table for a moment or two!
And what I love about Flannery’s statement is her reflection on WHY she said it. She didn’t say it to show superiority or throw a claim back in someone’s face. No. She said it because she truly believed that the Eucharist is so much more than a symbol. She said it out of devotion for what Jesus left his Church – every single one of us. She even reflects on her bold statement with this: “That was all the defense I was capable of, but I realize now that this is all I will ever be able to say about it, outside of a story, except that it is the center of existence for me; all the rest of life is expendable.”
We believe that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. It is both the source that we should seek to receive, and the summit to which we should direct our thoughts and actions. In this weekend’s Gospel, we continue to read through the Bread of Life Discourse in John chapter 6. As I read and hear the Word of God, do I believe that Jesus is the bread of life? (John 6:48) Do I recognize that the bread of God that comes down from heaven truly gives life to the world? (John 6:51)
If the Eucharist is only a symbol, then what is at the center of our faith? That is why I shook my fist in agreement with Flannery O’Connor. And then I quickly paused to reflect on whether I live out that belief. Does Jesus alone satisfy my hunger? Or do I allow myself to be temporarily fulfilled by things of this world? Work, shopping, to-do lists, others’ expectations…
Do I recognize that the Eucharist IS Jesus? And the Eucharist is how Jesus desired to leave himself in this world for us to continue to be close to him and satiate the deepest hunger we could possibly have – the hunger for love? Or, do I consume Jesus at Mass or sit with him at Adoration and not allow him to consume me and my life?
I pray today that we renew our belief in the Eucharist. John chapter 6 provides the evidence, and Flannery O’Connor provides a memorable one-liner. Will you share your beliefs at dinner tonight?
