Monday, April 26, 2004
Bread, cup, and a meal
Some people tend to get bothered about the language we use in connection with the Mass. (And no, I don't mean the language used in the parking lot after Mass.)
Every so often, I find corrections in the printed Eucharistic Minister sign-in list in my parish. "Bread" and "Cup" have been crossed out and penciled in are "Body of Christ" and "Blood of Christ." Being a generally cheerful person, I don't let it spoil my day. Lacking any concrete request to alter my practice, I don't change it, but I also leave the edit in place.
So I did a little research in my (admittedly outdated) 1975 Sacramentary and Eucharistic Prayer supplement. Does the Church really look askance on this talk of "bread, cup, and a meal?"
These are the post-consecration references for the sacrament:
MA: "When we eat this bread and drink this cup ..."
EP I: “... the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation”
EP II: “... this life-giving bread, this saving cup”
EP IV: “Gather all who share this bread and wine ...”
C1: “... the bread that gives us life, and the cup that saves us”
And some other references with "meal":
C2: "Send the Holy Spirit to all of us who share in this meal."
C3: "Through this sacred meal, give us strength ..."
R2: "Fill us with his Spirit through our sharing in this meal."
Language is important: this I will not deny. But a scrupulosity of words may not be productive, nor might it point us in the ideal direction.
