Exposition ... what is it?

At the very heart of the Catholic faith is the Eucharist, otherwise known as Holy Communion or the Blessed Sacrament. We believe that when we are in the presence of the Eucharist, we are in the absolute and true presence of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament is jam packed with stories of how Jesus moved amongst the people, touching and healing them. Knowing that he was about to die, he was anxious to put in place a means by which he could continue to visit his people, to be among them, to do for humanity what he was able to do whilst he walked the earth.

On the evening before his arrest, he gathered his very close friends together around him and invited them to eat with him. They were all seated around the table when …. “he took some bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to them. ‘Take it’ he said, ‘this is my body which will be given up for you; do this in memory of me.’ Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and all drank form it and he said to them, ‘this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, which is to be poured out for many’. (Matthew 26:26 / Mark 14:22 / Luke 22:19)

Catholics believe that in the Mass we are carrying out Jesus’ instruction to ‘do this in memory of me’. The bread and wine which are brought to the altar as just that - plain bread and wine - become through the miracle and holy re-enactment of the Last Supper the true Body and Blood of Jesus and therefore his very presence. Jesus did not say that the bread and wine would be a symbol or some vague representation of him: he said quite unequivocally “This IS my body.... this IS my blood”.

This was his parting gift to the world: the opportunity to meet with him over and over and over again in the Mass.

At our school Mass at the start of the school year the priest will consecrate more bread/hosts than is necessary for the immediate Mass. This is in order to enable us to keep a reserve of the consecrated hosts in our school tabernacle for two primary reasons: firstly and most importantly, to ensure the presence of Jesus in our school throughout the school year and, secondly, to enable me, the school chaplain, to lead our school Thursday liturgy for parents (Parents’ Prayers) during which parents have the opportunity to receive Holy Communion.

Added to that, we keep the Lord in our chapel tabernacle for the purpose of Exposition.

Exposition is when one of the large consecrated hosts is brought out of the tabernacle and made visible on the altar using a ‘monstrance’, from the Latin ‘monstrare’ (also the French ‘montrer’, ‘to show’).

The monstrance is put onto the altar, accompanied by a lit candle and also, ideally, incense. The candle and incense symbolise the true presence of Christ/God and remind us that when we come into the chapel during Exposition we are absolutely in the presence of the person of Jesus Christ, who comes amongst his people still.

What does one do at Exposition?

Nothing is required of whoever comes into the chapel for Exposition other than to sit in the presence of Jesus for whatever length of time they wish. There is no set liturgy and there are no words. There is nothing except you, Jesus and silence.

Exposition presents us with a wonderful opportunity to be with Jesus. If you were given the opportunity to come face to face with him who holds the world in the palm of his hand and who has supreme power over your life, what would you want to say to him? What would you want to ask of him? My imagination runs riot at the very thought: there is so much I want to say to him, so much that I want his help with, so many people I want him to come to in a special way … where shall I stop?

What would Jesus say to me? Perhaps he would say, “I love you so much that I don’t want you to go through life without me. I want to be with you in all your troubles and difficulties. There is so much I can do for you and give to you when you come to me. There is much that I can do for your loved ones when you intercede for them through this special time in my presence. I am giving myself to you so that you may be empowered to be the person I want you to be, a good and truthful person, someone of courage and faith, love and kindness, a person of humility and joy, a person who wants to become like me…."

We all know how wonderful it is to be with someone who loves us. We feel supported, protected, encouraged and affirmed. We learn to be tolerant and patient, understanding and gentle. We become grateful for our loved one and for all who love us. Of all the virtues, love is the most powerful and the most healing, and in the sacrament of Holy Communion, Jesus is giving us an expression of his love. Jesus wants us to feel this love. He wants to be with us and through that being together he wants us to be empowered to live the life he wants us to live, to become more like him and transformed by him.

When people have lived together for some time, it is interesting to see how they gradually become very similar in nature and character. They share the same likes and dislikes, the same sense of humour and ways of doing things. Our relationship with Jesus is no different: the longer we spend in his company and the more often we come to be with him, particularly in Holy Communion, the more we will become like him.

In coming into the presence of Jesus we are being empowered to grow in love, faith, trustfulness, humility, self-control, patience, goodness, joy and kindness. Perhaps God is calling you, personally, to carry out some special task which is only yours to do?

In Exposition Jesus comes to us not with a mighty trumpet blast or glorious alleluias, but as he came into the world in the first place, quietly and humbly. He comes in the form of a humble wafer of bread. His great hope is that, in return, we will bring ourselves, humbly, into his presence. Exposition is a celebration that, despite Jesus' walking this earth 2,000 years ago, despite his death and despite his leaving for heaven, He is still with us.