When I first went to Chile from the United States, one of the first differences I noticed was how Chileans celebrated Mass by approaching the altar to receive communion. I was shocked to see people rushing up in a very un-orderly fashion. I remember thinking to myself, “Are they afraid that it’s going to run out?” Having grown up being told when to approach the altar, I initially found myself feeling as though I were in a stampede.
Over time I got used to the scramble and even enjoyed the freedom of walking up when I was ready and not when I was told. It wasn’t until I returned to the United States that I was reminded of our more reserved approach to receiving the Eucharist. Rather quickly and a bit by force, I acclimated back to our one-row-at-a-time system.
In the five years I’ve been back, I haven’t given this point much thought until recently. Quite abnormally, I went to Mass by myself at my parish, a very multicultural and lively community. A visiting priest described our parish as “an awesome mosaic.” Indeed, it is a blessed community of faithful from all over the world including Africa, Latin America, Asia, and of course Anglo-Americans. The music is rich, and the message is powerful.
Normally, when I go to Mass with my family, we sit in the first row, near the choir, with the hope that my son and daughter will be engaged by what they see and hear. Since I was alone this time, I decide to sit in the back, almost by the door. I saw my community from a whole new angle. I was reminded of the first time I went to Mass in Chile and seeing the mad-dash to the altar.
I began to wonder, do my Latino sisters and brothers miss that freedom to approach the Table when the Spirit moves them? What about my African sisters and brothers? How do they approach the Table in their home countries? If it is anything like their music, I can only imagine they process in a joyful march. I thought, wouldn’t it be nice if we in the United States could learn something from our global neighbors about celebrating the Body and Blood of Christ?
The image stayed with me after mass. I began to wonder about the differences in how we approach the Table. I remembered a sermon given by a Columban priest about celebrating the Eucharist in Peru. He said that quite literally for many in the community where he lived, the bread that the people received at Mass was their only bread for the day. People approached the Table with real hunger. Likewise, the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer took on a whole different and practical dimension. As people prayed, “Give us this day, our daily bread . . .” it was not some theological interpretation, but a prayer for real survival.
In the face of the global food crisis, I am left with two questions: how do I approach the Table; and what can I do to help alleviate the hunger of my sisters and brothers who are faced with not enough to eat? And at the same time, I pray that I may learn to approach the Table with a sense of urgency as do my sisters in brothers in Chile and Peru.
Amy Woolam Echeverria, Missionary Society of St. Columban, JPIC office
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