A Minute on the Lips

Discovering the deep ironies of the Holy Eucharist

10/17/2022

Jn 12:24-26 Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be. The Father will honor whoever serves me."

The more you study the Catholic religion the more you discover certain ironic twists, that is, spiritual things are often the opposite of earthly experiences. And of course, we learn this from Jesus himself. Our Lord taught, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Mt 16:25). And again he said, “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:4). In other words, think of earth as a color picture and the Christian life as its photo negative. But in reality, the Christian life is the more glorious: that’s the irony.

And this ironic twist of faith reaches its zenith in the Eucharist, the very heart of heaven right here on earth. For example, when we eat earthly food, that food is transformed into us. But the opposite happens when we eat the Eucharist, or receive Holy Communion, we are transformed into Jesus. Or like the mantra of people trying to diet and lose weight: “A minute on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.” Well, when we put Holy Communion on our lips for a minute at Mass, we gain an eternal lifetime in heaven. Like Blessed Carlos Acutis said: “The more Eucharist we receive the more we will become like Jesus, so that on earth we will have a foretaste of heaven.” That is, a little communion here on earth leads to a lot of glory later in heaven. How ironic.

Now, one saint who appreciated and applied this irony of faith was St. Ignatius of Antioch, whose memorial we celebrate today, October 17. Ignatius is one of the three saints called Apostolic Fathers. Why? Well, because they were directly taught by the twelve apostles themselves. Ignatius was a disciple of St. John the Beloved Apostle. In the year 107, the Roman Emperor Trajan came to Antioch (where Ignatius was bishop) and forced the Christians to choose between apostasy (denying their faith) and death.

When Ignatius was brought before Trajan the emperor asked, “Who are you, poor devil, who sets our commands at naught?” You see, to Trajan, Ignatius looked like a miserable beggar, a poor devil. But Ignatius answered: “Call not him poor devil who bears God within him.” Did you catch the ironic twist in Ignatius’ answer? Those who seem poor in the eyes of the world are rich in faith, and in the eyes of God.

St. Ignatius wrote a series of letters on his journey from Antioch in Syria to Rome, where he faced execution being eaten by lions. His writings are replete with this ironic twist of Christianity, too. For example, listen to this graphic description of his impending death: “Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.” In other words, a minute on the lion’s lips would earn Ignatius an eternal lifetime in heaven.

That is why we read in the gospel today Jesus saying, again note the deep irony: “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” And notice also that John highlights this saying of Jesus – in John 12 – right before Our Lord celebrates the Last Supper, where he will take wheat that has indeed died to become bread and that ultimately gives eternal life. No doubt Ignatius learned that lesson well from the lips of his teacher, St. John the Apostle. The gospel of John is thick with irony, and his student Ignatius learned his lesson well.

My friends, our bishops in the United States are asking Catholics to undergo a Eucharistic revival for three years. Why? So that the Mass can truly become “the source and summit” of our Christian life. And I am convinced that one way to make the most of the Mass is to catch the many ironic twists of faith that it represents to the highest degree. That is, when we receive Holy Communion, that little Wafer is not changed into us, we are changed into Christ.

Or, when Jesus in Holy Communion rests for a minute on our lips, that means we have hope of an eternal lifetime in heaven. And ultimately, like St. Ignatius, we should join our sufferings and sacrifices – and even our death – to Jesus on the altar for our salvation and that of the world. And then, we too will become “the pure bread of Christ.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!