St. Jude parishioners take journey through Old Testament

HARDYSTON  It’s a teaching at the heart of our Catholic theology: Jesus instituted Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper before his disciples. But many faithful are unaware that the Eucharist finds its spiritual roots in the Old Testament, going back to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden.

This June, Carol Lenc, Bible study coordinator at St. Jude the Apostle Parish here, took more than 60 parishioners on a journey through the Old Testament stories that teem with references and symbols that prefigure and explain the Body of Christ in the Eucharist. On Tuesday mornings from June 7 to 27, she held sessions for the series, appropriately titled “The Old Testament Roots of the Eucharist.”

A retired technical researcher, Lenc researched the subject, using references from Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, various other Church documents, and insights from popes, theologians, and saints. From this, she put together lessons for four 90-minute classes. Father Michael Rodak, St. Jude’s pastor, reviewed and approved the materials, Lenc said.

“God’s plan from before Creation was for us to share in his divine life through sacramental life, and no sacrament offers us that perfect connection to God as does the very Body and Blood of His own Son,” said Lenc, a catechist of more than 30 years, who has taught students in 6th, 8th, and 10th grades. She noted that many students and their parents do not understand the Eucharist. She also cited a disturbing recent survey, which showed that six out of 10 baptized Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. “That sacramental gift is the unending source of our thanksgiving to God for the gift of Calvary. The more education about our faith that we receive, the more meaningful our faith, especially the Eucharist, becomes,” she said.

About 12 parishioners attended in-person sessions at the parish, while about 50 followed along at home, using materials that Lenc emailed them. The series covered Old Testament stories, including the Blood of Abel, the Offering of Melchizedek, the Sacrifice of Isaac, and Jacob’s Ladder. She also included insightful questions and prayers, Lenc said.

Lenc developed this Bible study for the spring, inspired by the Year of the Eucharist, which Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney declared in the Diocese for 2022. Local faithful are encouraged to deepen their understanding of and devotion to the Eucharist.

“A key to understanding the threads of doctrine which are woven throughout the entirety of Scripture is to bear in mind God’s eternity. God is fully present in yesterday, today and tomorrow, and without ‘change,’” said Lenc, who moved the series through Salvation History in the Old Testament from the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden and to the first Passover and ending with the Blood of the New Covenant with Jesus.

In the Book of Genesis, God situates the Tree of Life at the center of the Garden of Eden. Its placement symbolizes “God’s desire for man, whose home was to be the perfect garden of plenty and to spend his life in fellowship with Him, which denotes a close, or intimate, relationship among those with similar interests: being of ‘equal’ mind with one another.” God wanted Adam and Eve to feast on its fruit, which would bring them eternal life, Lenc said.

But Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Therefore, God banished them from the Garden of Eden and cut off their access from the Tree of Life —the beginning of a period of sinfulness and separation from God, Lenc said.

“So began the journey of mankind to rediscover the Tree of Life,” Lenc said. In Rev 2:7, John writes, “To the victor, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God.” Ten verses later, he continues: “To the victor, I shall give some of the hidden manna” — a clear reference to the Eucharistic (thanksgiving) experience of the eternal banquet of the Lamb, she said. “After our first parents’ fall from grace, mankind was excluded from the Tree of Life until Christ revoked that prohibition by inviting us into full communion through His Body and Blood. The Eucharist is our invitation to be restored to the fruit of the Tree of Life,” Lenc said.

Nothing parallels the Eucharist as strongly and directly as the dramatic Exodus from Egypt and, most especially, the Passover of the Lord in the Book of Exodus. In that event, the Angel of Death destroyed all the firstborn of Egypt as punishment for their cooperation with the Pharaoh’s sinful plan to destroy the Hebrews, Lenc said.

“But in the Passover of Christ [through his death and Resurrection], it is death itself that is destroyed, and instead, life eternal is given to those who cooperate with God’s plan,” Lenc said. “We eat the flesh of the new Passover lamb, Jesus himself, and drink his blood. It’s the new covenant that brings about a new exodus, not from Egyptian slavery, but from the slavery of sin, and takes us to the Promised Land,” she said.

Father Rodak said the materials Lenc develops for her Bible studies, including “The Old Testament Roots of the Eucharist,” dovetail with the lessons in many of his homilies at Mass.

“The Eucharist gives us graces. This is the message: that no matter what is going on in the world, God loves us and has opened the gates of heaven for us. If people become more aware of how God can transform their lives, religion can become more profound to them,” he said.

One participant, Rose Marie Gammaro, said the Bible sessions and the diocesan Year of the Eucharist help foster a greater reverence for Holy Communion. Unfortunately, many faithful fall into a rote “habit” when receiving the Eucharist at Mass, she said.

“When the priest holds up Holy Communion, that’s the miracle. It’s wonderful to have that spirit and that love inside me,” said Gammaro, who thanked Lenc for “laying it [her “Old Testament” series] out, so we can understand it [the Eucharist].”

Another group member, Nora Fanelli, said the series reminded her, “It’s how we live the message of the Gospel.

“It’s all about relationships. Jesus is in the Eucharist, and we can have a relationship with him for all eternity,” Fanelli said.