Feast of Corpus Christi: He That Eateth and Drinketh Unworthily Eateth and Drinketh Judgment to Himself

Even he wasn't perfect. Who ever said he was?

A certain high-level bishop has lately been making jarring statements about Catholic teaching. Either these statements make no sense or else they appear to clearly contravene Catholic teaching, including contradicting the very words of Scripture. In the last few days he has said, "the Eucharist is not a prize for the strong" and "the Eucharist is not a prize for the perfect." What did he mean by these statements?

If he meant them literally, then they make no sense. Or rather, they are straw men. No Church Father, theologian, saint, pope, bishop or priest has (as far as I know) ever said that taking Communion was a "prize", nor that it was only for the "strong" or the "perfect". No knowledgable and reasonable Catholic has ever believed these things.

So why does this high-level bishop continue to push this point over and over? What does he really mean by it?

Unless one assumes that this high-level bishop has no idea what he is talking about, I think there is only one reasonable conclusion. He wants to argue against and take issue with a central traditional teaching of the Church.

What is that teaching?

It stems in large part from the apostle Paul's words, almost 2,000 years ago. Let me quote the relevant full excerpt from the First Epistle to the Corinthians, read at Mass today today for the Feast of Corpus Christi:

For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink this chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord until He come. Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink of the chalice of the lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself; and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice, For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.

So, what does Paul mean by "unworthily"? To ask again, is Paul referring to the "strong" or to the "perfect"? The Church has never interpreted it that way. Technically, the Church requires that to take Communion, one must be Catholic and one must not be in a state of mortal sin. In turn, that means that one must be truly repentant of any mortal sins one may have committed (this is usually accomplished by confessing them to a priest). One may suspect (logically) that one may sin again, perhaps even mortally, but one must at the moment of consuming the Body of Christ, not want to sin again or at least not intend to sin again.

To put this in the terms of the above discussion, the Eucharist is not for the strong per se, and it is certainly not for the perfect. But it is for those who want to be strong, or who, even though they are relatively certain they will sin again, want to be perfect. Why do they want this? Because they know Christ wants it.

And this makes sense. If you want Christ to help you (which He will, of course), by taking Him into yourself, you must be fully open to Him. You cannot at the same time reject Him or disagree with Him or obstinately defy Him. Paul's statement on this isn't so much a threat as it is a logical truism.

If you want to be healed by Christ you have to do (or at least want to do at that time) what He says. 

But this certain bishop would seem to be challenging this. And again, if he is not challenging it, what is he saying?

Whatever he is saying, however, let's be clear about the effects: Telling those in a state of mortal sin or in the obstinate commission of sin that it is to their advantage to eat and drink the body and blood of Christ, isn't mercy.

It's an invitation to damnation.