Religious Freedom Under Attack in America

From the time of the first Apostles who were chosen and instructed by Jesus Christ Himself, the nascent Church celebrated the Feast of the Last Supper as commanded by Our Lord when He said, “Do this in memory of me.”  Central to that early liturgy was the “breaking of bread” in which the Apostles and disciples consumed the bread and wine which Christ had told them was His very Body and Blood.  St. John made this very clear in the sixth chapter of his gospel where we hear Jesus say, “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood, you shall not have life within you.”  (John 6:53)

The entire lengthy sixth chapter of John’s gospel is devoted to this pivotal belief that Jesus Himself is really present in the bread and wine when it is consecrated in the feast of the Lord’s Supper.  In fact, all the gospels depict the centrality of Jesus Body and Blood as the “New Covenant” between God and humanity.  As Catholics we believe that this consecrated bread and wine are the Real Presence of Jesus’ Body and Blood.  Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ which we commemorate with a reading from Exodus in which Moses sprinkles the Israelites with the blood of sacrificial animals to seal the covenant in which God gave us His commandments.  However, the people failed to uphold God’s law and fell into sin and idolatry.  When Jesus established the New and Eternal Covenant, it was not with the blood of animals, but with His own Body and Blood.  This eternal covenant is not a once and done event, but the on-going sacrifice of Jesus very Body and Blood.  Mark, Matthew and Luke all recorded Jesus Himself saying, “This is my blood, the blood of the New and Eternal Covenant which will be poured out for the forgiveness of sins.”  (Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; Matthew 26:28). 

Likewise, Paul preaches this reality in several of his epistles (Heb 13:23; and 1 Cor 11:25).  Despite all this scriptural patrimony, most Christians no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  Even among Catholics, many no longer believe Christ is truly present in the Eucharistic bread and wine.   If they did, they would be far more reverent, knowing they were privileged to receive Christ Himself into their bodies.  This is also why we genuflect in front of the tabernacle holding the consecrated bread.

When I kneel in the presence of the Eucharist, I am in awe of the fact that Jesus offers Himself to us, body, soul and divinity, despite our unworthiness, our apathy, and our entitlement mentality.  For me, the Eucharist is far more than an ancient symbol of unity, it is Christ Himself making the ultimate sacrifice of His Body and Blood, for my salvation, not just once in the past but over and over again for each and every one of us.  The centrality of this belief makes it the sum and summit of the Catholic faith, dwarfing all other considerations.  We are saved by Jesus precisely because He made this New and Eternal Covenant on our behalf, and because He offers Himself to each of us, over and over again, no matter how unworthy we may be.

This is the essence of Catholic belief and it saddens me that so many have fallen away from it.  I believe it also explains how and why so many people feel free to interpret their faith as they see fit, ignoring the official teaching of the Church.  The further we stray from the Real Presence of Jesus, the more likely we are to rationalize our behavior and make excuses for our sins, even coming to believe, as some politicians do, that they can pick and choose which beliefs to retain and which to discard as outmoded, antiquated, and no longer relevant.  Last week Nancy Pelosi, who still claims to be a practicing Catholic, cited the Baltimore Catechism in defense of her belief in ‘marriage equality’ and ‘a woman’s right to choose.’  Apparently she thinks her interpretation of the Catholic faith trumps the teaching authority of the bishops.  She conveniently ignores the recent words of Pope Francis who has spoken out strongly against abortion and cautioned against what he calls the new “gender theory” which seeks to legitimize all forms of LGBT behavior.    Although not Catholic, Hillary Clinton boldly calls for religious beliefs to change so as to conform with the liberal policy agenda, and she threatens to hasten that change by force of law if elected president next year.  In effect, Hillary would establish her own brand of secular religion as the law of the land; so much for religious freedom and the First Amendment.

The term Body of Christ also refers to true believers in Christianity, those who accept and adhere to the teachings of Jesus in their authentic form.  It is not for me to judge whether or not people self-select exclusion from the Body of Christ when they rationalize behavior at odds with the true teaching of Jesus, but it was Jesus Himself who said that if we are to abide in His love, we must keep His commandments. (John 15:10)  Christianity is under attack worldwide.  Not only are Christians being murdered and exiled in the Middle East and Africa, Catholics and other Christians in America who maintain their belief in the sanctity of life and of marriage, are being marginalized and accused of intolerance and homophobia for holding to their faith convictions.  The force of law is being used to demand compliance and complicity with abortion and gay marriage.  The Body of Christ is under siege.  All this makes the next national election crucial if religious liberty is to be restored, or further disregarded.

As the 2016 presidential campaign shapes up, there are quite a few Catholics who have declared their candidacy, including, Marco Rubio, Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, George Pataki and Rick Santorum.  A couple of other Catholics who may throw their hats in the ring are John Kaisch and Bobby Jindahl.  Of these, only Pataki is supportive of gay marriage.  Except for Pataki, these candidates, as well as most of the other Republican candidates, are socially conservative, i.e., pro-life and pro-marriage.  If one of them is elected, and if a Republican majority is retained in Congress, there is hope for salvaging religious freedom, so that the Body of Christ in America is free to follow the commandments of Our Lord.