Fr Erasto Fernandez SSS, a priest from India, continues his series on the Eucharist during this the Year for Priests. This week: The Word – A different language.
By Fr Erasto Fernandez SSS
To understand God’s word fruitfully we first must appreciate the role of the spoken word in our dealings with one another. The words we speak are not just sound-waves – they carry a meaning, a symbolic power. When heard properly, they transform the listeners, encouraging them to rise to a higher level of being. The thousands of gestures and words of love directed towards a child from its birth enable it to accept not just the sound of its name, but also its own full status as a subject that is lovable and loved.
The true Self that comes to birth through these spoken words is then empowered to speak to others in a loving manner. Thus, the word nourishes and fosters life in both the speaker and the listener. Whoever feels unloved cannot love in return.
No one can live as a subject without words of love and thankfulness being addressed to him. Without sufficient nourishment from loving and life-giving words, human beings shrivel up and die. Some words save; others kill. It is language that makes the universe into a world, or a house into a home!
Communication: Human Connecting
Again, we often speak not merely to convey information, but simply to connect with others. When I say to a colleague, “It’s a beautiful morning,” I do not merely convey information. If attentive, he understands that what I really mean is: ‘I feel good and reassured to see you are here!’ So his answer: ‘Yeah, it feels great to be alive this morning!’ emphasizes more the connecting factor than the informational content. If he does not catch this ‘inner’ meaning and says instead: ‘Bah, who says so!’ then the connection is broken because his reply focuses only on the ‘scientific truth’ of the statement. We immediately sense how this ‘informational’ response shuts us out of that person’s life or even feels like a sharp ‘slap in the face.’ It puts an end to all further conversation!
In the Eucharist, we focus not so much on the ‘scientific truth’, nor even on the surface meaning. We search for the symbolic meaning or power God’s word has whereby it connects us with him. The symbolic meaning here is always: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; you are mine.” It is only when we catch this symbolic meaning that the Word in the liturgy becomes nourishing and life-giving. It opens up our hearts, our faces light up and a surge of energy courses through our entire being.
But for this to happen we must recall that God speaks to us through ordinary human experiences. We grapple with these, searching for their inner, deeper meaning, preferably as they occur. Having done this ground-work we then listen attentively while the Scriptures are proclaimed at Eucharist.
If the two experiences fit like a key in the right key-hole, we immediately feel a thrill, with an ‘a-ha’ welling up from deep within. This happens even when the message points out something negative about us. A message received in this way from God is itself a tremendous gift; it is life-giving and will inevitably change our entire attitudes and behaviour.
Further, we share these faith experiences with others even though it is risky. When we do share, we are confirmed in faith and it makes it easier to receive the next message fruitfully. Here also the Christian paradox holds: ‘It is in giving that we receive, in pardoning that we are pardoned and in dying that we are born to eternal life.’
Fr Flader: director@caec.com.au