A symbol is a mark, sign, or word(s) that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing something entirely different—an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different concepts and experiences. Symbols are needed for effective communication and are used to convey ideas and beliefs. [adopted from Wikipedia]
Take, for example, the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
The pledge, the commitment, is to the Republic—symbolized by the flag. That means that any lack of respect to the flag is construed as a lack of respect to the republic itself. Of course, the flag is just a colorful, cloth construct—but it is treated with the respect and reverence due to what it stands for and represents.
The Jewish Passover ritual meal uses several symbols—for example, the bitter herbs that symbolized the bondage of the Jewish people in Egypt.
The last supper of Jesus with his disciples the night before his death was a Passover meal to which he added some additional symbols and meanings—the wine and the broken bread symbolizing his crucifixion and death.
His followers were challenged to remember and understand these symbols and to celebrate this ritual in the future—what we know as the Divine Liturgy, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
As the centuries passed, some of the great Christian thinkers and philosophers began to consider whether the words of consecration of the Mass could be and should be taken very literally.
We still venerate and study the brilliant ideas and explanations of St. Thomas Aquinas, utilizing the Aristotelian concepts of substance and accident.
However sometimes so much attention was given to his detailed reflections concerning the Eucharist and the real presence that its symbolic aspect, rooted in the Passover ritual was overlooked and forgotten.
[In the reformation era, a scornful mockery of this aspect of Thomistic theology was called Hocus-Pocus, referring to the words of consecration in the Latin Mass: “Hoc est enim corpus meum” (This is my body)].
It helps to remember the symbolisms of the Passover meal and the symbolisms that Jesus invoked at the Last Supper. They shouldn’t be overlooked because of our religious heritage or our esteem for Aquinas.
The consecration of the Tridentine Mass is:
“Who the day before He suffered took bread into His holy and venerable hands, and with His eyes lifted up heaven, unto Thee, God, His almighty Father, giving thanks to Thee, He blessed, broke and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat ye all of this, for this is My Body.
“In like manner, after He had supped, taking also this excellent chalice into His holy and venerable hands, and giving thanks to Thee, He blessed and gave it to His disciples, saying: Take and drink ye all of this, for this is the Chalice of My Blood, of the new and eternal testament: the mystery of faith: which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins.
“As often as you do these things, ye shall do them in in remembrance of Me.”
Remember! Respect and reverence!
11 June 2023