EDITORIAL: THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST IN THE WORLD

For Fr. Art MacKinnon, the Eucharist was a celebration of love for the human life of Christ

By Kathy VanLoon
September 2005

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This year marks the 40th anniversary of the martyrdom of Scarboro missioner Fr. Arthur MacKinnon in the Dominican Republic. In 1965, while serving the parish of Monte Plata, Fr. Art-young and passionate for the Gospel-could not stand by and watch as members of the parish were taken away and imprisoned without just cause. It was a time of civil war in the aftermath of a 30-year dictatorship. In his article James MacKinnon, Fr. Art's nephew, writes: "Everyone had heard that shots rang out along the Yuca River at night, after the curfew, and that in the morning fresh graves would appear."

At mass, Fr. Art spoke out against this horror and injustice. And he cancelled the Corpus Christi procession in the parish just days before he was killed. To Fr. Art, Corpus Christi (the Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ) was a celebration of love for the human life of Christ. Yet, in the parish he saw that there was no love for human life.

Fifteen years ago, Fr. Joseph Curcio wrote an article in Scarboro Missions magazine about his time spent with Art in the Dominican Republic. "Seeing the total disregard for life and human rights," Fr. Joe wrote, "the utter lack of faith of his future assassins, well, to cancel the procession was indeed a reflection of what the Eucharist meant to him. It was the only purpose of his ministry to which all else led. It was, as it were, his very life, and this he cancelled rather than ignore injustice."

I have thought about the significance of Fr. Art cancelling the Corpus Christi procession, particularly this year, which the late Pope John Paul II has named the Year of the Eucharist. The Pope tells us: "The Eucharist is not merely an expression of communion in the Church's life; it is also a project of solidarity for all of humanity...The Christian who takes part in the Eucharist learns to become a promotor of communion, peace and solidarity in every situation."

In our troubled world, the Pope said, we must learn to experience the Eucharist as "a great school of peace" and a "mode of being."

Pope John Paul II understood the love and respect we have for Christ in the Eucharist as being the foundation of the love and respect we have for the "other" and for the world. The incarnate Christ, whose life was an example of love, was concerned for the excluded, for those treated unjustly. Jesus spoke of peace and showed the path of peace to both the persecuted and the persecutor, always seeking to bring creation to wholeness.

This Christ, the Christ of Emmaus, walks with us today. We recognize him in the breaking of the bread and we are called to go out and do as he did.

We are called to see Christ's presence beyond the sanctuary-to recognize the real presence of Christ in the world and our capacity, our responsibility, to be the Body of Christ in the world. Without this understanding, we rob Jesus' life and death of its greater meaning-spanning time and space-in the unfolding of the Reign of God, in creating a world of justice, peace and love.

Also in his article of so many years ago, Fr. Curcio recalled that late one evening he found Art alone in the sanctuary, on his knees and deep in prayer. Unaware that he was being watched, Art's face wore a look of such utter peace and submission that the image lingered in Fr. Joe's mind. Art became for him the "Art of the Eucharist."

Fr. Art MacKinnon yearned for people to experience their faith and the Eucharist in a deeper way. Fr. Art in all his 33 years of life was wise. We do well to remember him and to honour his life today.

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