Living in a Spirit of Truth

by Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap.

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As we ready ourselves for the worldwide "Year of the Eucharist" beginning in October this year, bishops around the United States will call Catholics to reflect on the real meaning of Holy Communion and the faith we profess in receiving it.

Never has a call been more urgently needed. We live in a tough moment for the Church in the United States, made more confusing by war, political doublespeak, and differences among the bishops themselves. In a 2004 election cycle already marked by its bitterness, we might remember the following simple points as a guide to living our faith in a spirit of truth:

1. As Catholics, we believe that the Eucharist is not merely a symbol or a sacred meal or an important ritual expressing our community. The Eucharist is, quite literally, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. It is His living presence in our midst.

2. As Vatican II reminded us, the Eucharist is the source and summit of Catholic life. It is the most sacred act of Catholic worship and a priceless gift to every faithful believer. Therefore, like every Catholic generation before us, we need to take the words of St. Paul very seriously: "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Cor. 11:27). We should also remember the words of St. Justin, the great martyr from the second century: "No one may take part [in the Eucharist] unless he believes that what we teach is true, has received Baptism for the forgiveness of sins and new birth, and lives in keeping with what Christ taught."

3. In the past, too many of us avoided receiving Holy Communion out of an excessive fear of our own sins. Today, too many of us receive Holy Communion unthinkingly, reflexively, with no sense of the urgent need for our own self-examination, humility, and conversion. Too many Catholics receive the Body and Blood of Christ even when they ignore or deny the teachings of Christ's Church.

4. When we sin seriously, we do not live "in keeping with what Christ taught." We remove ourselves, by our actions, from friendship with God. In every such case, we need to turn back to the Sacrament of Penance before we again receive Communion. In fact, many of us today need a deeper devotion to regular Confession simply to regain a basic understanding of grace and sin.

5. Likewise, if we ignore or deny what the Church teaches, or refuse to follow what she teaches, we are not "in communion" with the Catholic faith. We separate ourselves from the community of believers. If we receive Holy Communion anyway, we act dishonestly.

6. Claiming to be Catholic and then opposing or rejecting Catholic teaching is an act of moral confusion. It implies a lack of personal integrity. If we then receive Communion, we show grave disrespect for every Catholic who does believe and does strive to live the faith authentically and unselfishly. This compounds a sin against honesty with a sin against justice and charity. Again, as Justin Martyr said: "No one may take part [in the Eucharist] unless he believes what we teach is true." If we claim to believe in Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith, then we need to live our faith all the way, all the time, with all our hearts—including our lives in the public square, and most especially on issues relating to the defense of human life from conception to natural death.

7. As the U.S. bishops acknowledged at their June meeting in Denver, denying anyone Holy Communion is a very grave matter governed by Canon Law. It should be reserved for serious cases of public scandal. But the Church always expects Catholics who are living in serious sin or who deny or oppose the teachings of the Churchwhether they are anonymous parishioners or highly visible public officials—to have the integrity to respect both the Eucharist and the Catholic faithful, and to refrain from receiving Holy Communion.

In every election year—in fact, in every year, elections or not—Catholics need to remember that we best serve our nation when we act in accord with our religious and moral convictions. That applies to candidates, to officeholders, and to each of us as citizens. This is the nature of real pluralism. Democracy depends on an honest struggle of ideas—people of strong beliefs advancing their views peacefully and respectfully, but also vigorously and without embarrassment. Separating our most deeply held convictions from our public actions leads only to elected officials and public institutions without moral character. This does not serve democracy. It strips democracy of its moral foundations.

As America's bishops said in their 1998 pastoral statement Living the Gospel of Life, any politics of human life "must work to resist the violence of war and the scandal of capital punishment. Any politics of human dignity must seriously address the issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing, and health care... But being 'right' in such matters can never excuse a wrong choice regarding direct attacks on innocent human life...All direct attacks on innocent human life, such as abortion and euthanasia," strike at the very foundation of human dignity (no. 23). Therefore, these issues must have priority in our political decision-making.

That key message of Living the Gospel of Life remains equally urgent today: The right to life is foundational to all other rights. This basic truth about the nature of a just society can be grasped by all men and women of good will.

In no sense is it a "sectarian" position. Critics who claim that promoting this truth violates the First Amendment are themselves showing contempt for the rights of citizens.

No Catholic lawmaker can claim to be faithfully "Catholic" and at the same time promote, defend, or fail to strive to overturn legislation that leads to the deliberate destruction of innocent human life. But that hasn't stopped Catholic elected officials from ignoring the statement on the Eucharist and public service passed by the bishops in June. When U.S. Representative James Langevin (D-RI) recently said "I am very comfortable with my [pro-choice] status, and quite frankly, my relationship with God is direct and personal, and the Church is merely a guest in that relationship," he was simply saying out loud what many other Catholics already believe. Too many American Catholics have become, in effect, Protestants who go to Mass.

It's ironic that as we approach the 40th anniversary of Lumen Gentium—Vatican II's majestic Dogmatic Constitution on the Church—so few Catholics seem to really understand who and what the Church is; and who and what the Eucharist is.

For those of us who are bishops, 2004 has been another sobering year; a year when four flawed decades of Catholic formation have finally come to harvest. It's a good moment for the lay faithful to pray for their brothers who have the task of shepherding God's people. We certainly need it.

Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., is the Archbishop of Denver.

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