By Thomas J. Reese, S.J., senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center Pope John Paul II has called on the bishops, clergy, religious, and lay people of the
church "to do as much as possible to ensure that the great challenge of the year 2000
is not overlooked."1/ He insists that the celebration of the Great
Jubilee be "intensely Eucharistic."2/ He hopes it will be a
time for strengthening "the ecclesiology of communion described in Lumen
Gentium."3/ He also sees the jubilee as an ecumenical
event since the "unity among all Christians" is to be fervently prayed for
during this time.4/ Finally, with regard to the Great Jubilee of the
Year 2000, he recognizes that special tasks and responsibilities "belong to the
bishop of Rome." 5/ What can be done to help fulfill John Paul's vision of a jubilee that is Eucharistic,
that is a celebration of ecclesial communion, that is ecumenical, and that recognizes the
special ministry of the bishop of Rome? Central to the implementation of this millennial vision will be the Eucharist
celebrated by the pope at the International Eucharistic Congress to be held in Rome during
the jubilee year. What can be done to ensure that this Eucharist fulfills John Paul's
hopes for strengthening communion, fostering ecumenism, and recognizing the special role
of the bishop of Rome? In order to answer this question, it is important to look at the
celebration of this Eucharist in three stages: the preparatory stage, the celebration of
the Eucharist, and the spreading of the effects of this Eucharist throughout the world. The first and most important preparation for any Eucharist, especially the Eucharistic
celebration of such a special event, is prayer. All of the people of God should be praying
in preparation for the celebration of this Eucharist. One aid to this prayer would be to
announce long in advance the Scripture readings that will be used in the Liturgy of the
Word. These readings can then be used throughout the world for personal meditation, days
of recollection, and communal prayer. This prayer could be ecumenical as all Christians
join together in praying in preparation for the jubilee. This prayer would strengthen
ecclesial communion, foster ecumenism, and recognize the importance of this Eucharist
celebrated by the bishop of Rome. Second, the materials for this Eucharist could be prepared in a way that strengthens
ecclesial communion and fosters ecumenism. The art work, the vestments, and the sacred
vessels could be put together with the help of local churches and sister churches around
the world. For example, the vestments and altar cloth could be woven from threads sent to
Rome from local churches. Threads from all over the world could be woven into a seamless
garment symbolic of the communion of the local churches with one another and with the
church of Rome. Such vestments would be especially appropriate for the bishop of Rome, but
they could also be worn by the concelebrants. Other materials for the Eucharist could stress the ecumenical nature of the jubilee
celebration. For example, it would be especially appropriate for the Holy Father to use a
chalice received as a gift from the patriarch of Constantinople. Such an ecumenical
gesture would symbolize the unity that all Christians pray for. Other materials for the
celebration (cross, candles, art work, etc.) could come from other churches. Third, the gifts to be presented during the Eucharist could also come from local
churches. Grains of wheat and grapes from all over the world could be used to make the
bread and wine. The individual grains of wheat and grapes would represent the communio
of local churches united in one bread, one cup of blessing, presided over by the bishop of
Rome. It is also essential to remember the poor at the presentation of gifts during this
jubilee celebration. "How can we fail to lay greater stress on the church's
preferential option for the poor and the outcast?" asks John Paul.6/
A special world-wide collection (of say $100 million) for the poor should be part of the
Great Jubilee. This money would be distributed by the pope to the poor, for example,
through Cor Unum. The collection would be important not simply for the actual
amount distributed to the poor, but also as a catechetical process that would remind all
Christians of their responsibility to help their brothers and sisters especially as part
of the Great Jubilee. The Christian witness of such a collection would help proclaim to
the world that Jesus came to "preach the good news to the poor" (Matt 11:5; Luke
7:22). It would also be appropriate for bankers and others at the presentation of gifts to
bring up the debts that they have canceled in honor of the Jubilee. As John Paul notes,
the jubilee "is an appropriate time to give thought, among other things, to reducing
substantially, if not canceling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens
the future of many nations."7/ Since Catholics from all over the world will come to Rome for the International
Eucharistic Congress, their participation at the Eucharist will clearly witness to and
strengthen the communion of the local churches with one another and with the bishop of
Rome. Those who cannot be present in Rome will undoubtedly be able to observe the
ceremonies through television. Although "nothing is impossible with God," it is unlikely that Christian
unity will be advanced enough by the year 2000 to allow for full participation in the
Eucharist for all Christians. But all Christians could fully participate in the Liturgy of
the Word. For example, Protestants and Eastern Christians with whom Rome is not yet in
full communion could be involved as lectors, as choir members, and in the General
Intercessions. The joint recitation of the Nicene Creed would also witness to our common
baptism and common faith. The Filioque would of course be dropped as it is when the
pope celebrates the Eucharist with Oriental Catholics. Revival of the ancient fermentum rite in the Eucharist would be especially
appropriate for this celebration.8/ The fermentum (leaven) was an
ancient rite practiced by a bishop, especially the bishop of Rome, to symbolize his unity
with the Christians who could not be present at his Eucharist. The practice goes back to
at least the fourth century and perhaps earlier.9/ In the rite, the
bishop would send by acolyte a particle of the Eucharist to the priests who were not able
to attend his mass because out of pastoral necessity they were celebrating their own
Eucharists with communities distant from the cathedral. This particle was called the fermentum.
The priest would then drop the particle into his chalice before communion, at the Pax
Domini (the peace of the Lord). Joseph Jungman explains that the sending of the fermentum by the bishop to his
priests was "an expression of ecclesiastical unity, as a token that they belonged to
his communio."10/ This practice appears to have lasted
until the eighth or ninth century. In the eighth century, a pope from Syria introduced the
Syrian commingling ceremony where a particle from the consecrated host was dropped into
the chalice right before Communion as a sign of the resurrection.11/
Since the separate species were considered a sign of the death of Jesus, the commingling
was seen as a sign of the reunion of the soul (blood) and body of Christ at the
resurrection. This rite is still in use today.12/ At the time of Innocent I (402-417, before the commingling rite was introduced),
acolytes brought the fermentum to the priests of titular churches every Sunday.13/ Innocent I wrote to Decentius, Bishop of Gubbio, of this practice with
which he presumed the bishop was familiar. "But it is scarcely necessary that you
should seek instructions from us concerning the fermentum which we send to the
titular churches on Sunday.... On that day the priests in these churches cannot assemble
with us because of the faithful committed to their care. They therefore received the fermentum
consecrated by us through acolytes, lest they should consider themselves separated from
us, especially on that day."14/ In a practice similar to the fermentum, bishops would send the Eucharist to
other dioceses as an expression of their intercommunion. "During the first few
centuries it was not uncommon to send consecrated hosts, as a token of unity, even to
foreign dioceses," reports Avery Dulles.15/ Even when the church
was divided over the date for celebrating Easter, Irenaeus reports that the early popes
"sent the Eucharist to those from other dioceses who" followed a different
practice than Rome.16/ Today, with easy international travel, the revival of the fermentum rite would
be an extraordinarily powerful sign of communio among all the churches. A
representative from each local church at the papal Eucharist could be given the fermentum
to take back to his or her local bishop who would place it in his chalice at a Eucharist
celebrated in his cathedral. Since there are over 2,400 dioceses in the world, the pope
would need help from concelebrants and deacons in breaking the bread for distribution.
Proper reverence would be observed by using a pyx and following the same guidelines
observed by priests and extraordinary ministers of communion when carrying the host to the
sick. Whether or not the fermentum could have an ecumenical dimension requires further
study. Would the sharing of fermentum require the same level of unity as
intercommunion? Certainly at a minimum it would require an "Amen" acknowledging
that the fermentum is "The Body of Christ." And the mere acceptance of
the fermentum from the bishop of Rome would be a symbolic acknowledgment that he
has a special role and responsibility in the communio of the universal church. It
would also be an expression of the desire for greater unity which only Christ can give.
Unlike intercommunion, there is no danger of abuse with the fermentum since the
granting of the fermentum is totally under the control of the Holy Father. In
addition, the jubilee fermentum would be an extraordinary event which would not
soon be repeated. The sharing of the fermentum with the Orthodox would be the least problematic
because their episcopal orders are recognized by Rome and there is wide agreement on
doctrine. Certainly if the patriarch of Constantinople and the other Orthodox patriarchs
and bishops received the fermentum from the bishop of Rome, this would be a very
significant ecumenical event. Whether such ecumenical initiative would be fitting at this
stage in relations would have to be decided by the Holy Father and the patriarch after
study and dialogue. The sharing of the fermentum with Christian communities without episcopal
orders, or whose orders are questioned, is more problematic. Would sharing the fermentum
be seen as a recognition of orders? Could the fermentum be used in a Eucharist
where the orders are not recognized? In examining these questions it might help to keep in
mind that in the ancient church often only one chalice of wine was consecrated at a mass.
This chalice was used by the bishop and the priests. At communion time, more chalices of
unconsecrated wine were brought forward into which a particle of the consecrated bread or
drops of the consecrated wine were placed. The wine was believed to be consecrated by this
commingling. If more wine was needed, additional wine was simply poured into the chalice
until all the people had received from the cup.17/ From this
theological perspective, those receiving from the cup into which the papal fermentum
was dropped would receive the blood of Christ whether or not the orders were valid. On the
other hand, if this theology is unacceptable today, then the papal fermentum
would simply be consumed with the wine or dissolved. Sharing the fermentum at this stage in ecumenical relations with Christians
other than those with recognized orders might be inappropriate and cause confusion. All of
this would require more study and analysis than is possible in this short article. Even if
the fermentum were not shared with other Christians during the Great Jubilee, it
would have an ecumenical dimension by showing the Eucharistic unity that all Christians
pray for. Thus sharing the fermentum would become something to work toward in
ecumenical dialogues as the millennium begins. After the papal Eucharist is celebrated in Rome, the fermentum would be taken to
every diocese in the world. Once the fermentum arrives at the local church, the use
of the fermentum by the local bishop in the Eucharist at his cathedral would be a
special jubilee event. The dropping of the fermentum into his chalice would
symbolize the Eucharistic unity of his church with the church of Rome and all the local
churches of the world. It would also symbolize his own unity with the pope and the other
bishops in the college of bishops. The unity of the diocesan celebrations with the
celebration in Rome would be clearly symbolized by the fermentum which would unite
the Eucharist celebrated in Rome with the Eucharist celebrated in cathedrals around the
world. It would be important to forbid the use of the fermentum in benediction or
for public display least the faithful superstitiously believe that bread consecrated by
the pope is better than that consecrated by a simple priest. The only legitimate use of
the fermentum is at the bishop's Eucharist. The celebration of communio need not stop at the cathedral since the bishop is
the high priest and vicar of Christ for his diocese. Following the pope's example, the
bishop could continue strengthening communio in his local church by having fermentum
from his Eucharist sent to the parish communities in his diocese, just as many bishops did
in ancient times. Thus the jubilee Eucharist, initiated in Rome, would reach into every
corner of the church. The fermentum rite would ensure that the Great Jubilee celebration is
"intensely Eucharistic" as desired by the Holy Father. The fermentum as a
symbol of Eucharistic unity would strengthen communio in the universal church, one
of the Holy Father's goals for the Great Jubilee. It would also highlight the special
priestly role of the bishop of Rome in the worldwide Eucharistic communio. It would
be a way that all of the church could be united in the Eucharist for the celebration of
the Great Jubilee for it is Christ, the source of our unity, whose coming we are
celebrating. 1. John Paul II, "As the Third Millennium Draws Near,"
Origins 24 (24 November 1994) 415. See Apostolic
Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente. 2. Ibid., 415. 3. Ibid., 411. 4. Ibid., 407. 5. Ibid., 408. 6. Ibid., 414. 7. Ibid. 8. The fermentum rite should not be confused with the
commingling or the Sancta. The Sancta at papal and episcopal Eucharists
was a particle of bread consecrated at an earlier Eucharist which was placed in the
consecrated wine to symbolize the unity of the Eucharist through time. The commingling, of
Syrian origins, was introduced in Rome in the eighth century and is still practiced today.
Here a particle from the consecrated bread is placed in the wine consecrated at the same
Eucharist to represent the resurrection. 9. Anastasius Bibliothecarius, Hist. de vita Rom. Pont.,
Patrologia Latina 127, 1499-1500. For a similar second-century practice between the
pope and bishops, see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, Book 5, Chapter 24 (New
York: The Fathers of the Church, 1953), 19: 338. 10. Joseph A. Jungman, S.J., The Mass of the Roman Rite (New
York: Benziger Brothers, 1959), 475. 11. Johann Peter de Jong, "Le rite de la commixtion dans la
Messe Romaine dans ses rapports avec les liturgies syriennes," Archiv für
Liturgiewissenschaft 4 (1956): 245-79; 5 (1957): 33-79. Johann Peter de Jong,
"Commingling," The New Catholic Encyclopedia 4: 11. 12. At the time of the Reformation, concern was expressed about this
rite because it might confuse the faithful into believing that the body and blood of
Christ were not present under each species. See Jungman, 477. 13. De Jong, "Fermentum," The New Catholic Encyclopedia
5: 889. 14. Innocent I, Epistola 25, n. 8. Patrologia Latina 20,
556-557. English translation by Avery Dulles, "Church Unity," Worship
29 (October 1955): 514. 15. Ibid., 515. 16. Eusebius, bk. 5, ch. 24, 19: 338. 17. See Jungman, 476.
Worship, vol. 69, no. 6, November 1995
Copyright © 1995 by the Order of Saint Benedict, Collegeville, Minnesota.
All rights reserved
Preparation
Eucharistic Celebration
The Jubilee Continues
Endnotes
See also: