The Blessed Sacrament and faith

This month’s article reflects upon the greatest of all the Sacraments, the Holy Eucharist. It is the greatest because it is Jesus himself. All the other Sacraments are grace-causing signs. The Eucharist, or Blessed Sacrament, contains the author of all grace, Jesus Christ.

The essential teaching on the Blessed Sacrament comes down to two dogmas: the Real Presence and Transubstantiation. The Real Presence means that after the words of consecration pronounced at Mass by the priest, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity become truly present. Jesus said at the Last Supper, “This is my Body. This is my Blood,” clearly meaning that the bread and wine truly became His Body and Blood. When he told the disciples to “Do this in memory of me,” he wanted them also to transform bread and wine into his Body and Blood. Jesus’ presence in the Sacrament is real; it is him, not a mere symbol or reminder of him.

St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:27–31 warns about taking Communion unworthily. He says that to receive the Sacrament unworthily is to be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (that is, guilty of the Lord’s death), and that the person eats and drinks judgment upon themselves! Interestingly, he blames unworthy reception for why many people getting sick and dying. Why would St. Paul use such strong and energetic language to warn about improper use of a mere symbol? Why would he speak about God’s judgment over a memorial meal? Why would people be getting sick and dying, unless they were guilty of abusing the very Body of the Son of God?

Next, Transubstantiation. To explain the fact of the Real Presence, the Church teaches the dogma of Transubstantiation. It means that what was bread and wine before the consecration, ceases to be bread and wine, but becomes, is replaced by, the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. Normally, when a substance (what a thing is) changes, the appearance also changes. If a stick burns, it becomes ash. The substance of a stick is no longer present, and the appearance matches that change. In the Eucharist though, by a miracle, God allows the natural qualities of bread and wine to remain (how they look, smell, taste, etc.), but the substance has completely changed. It would be like the stick becoming a cow, but still looking like a stick.

This teaching has many advantages for us. First, God desires to give himself as food (John 6). He desires to nourish our souls just as food nourishes our bodies. But it would be repulsive for us to eat another body in its true form. Therefore, God allows the external qualities of bread and wine to remain in the Blessed Sacrament, since they are basic foods for humans. Thus, we may truly eat the Body of Christ, but in the natural qualities of bread and wine.

Next, in receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in a way that is hidden from our senses, our faith is stretched. Saying that what looks to be bread and wine really is the Body and Blood of the Son of God is somewhat scandalous to rationality… until we remember that the God who created the world out of nothing, can certainly change bread and wine into His Body and Blood, without changing their appearance. No matter how great our theological knowledge, the Real Presence and Transubstantiation will always remain a matter of faith.

To conclude, let us ask ourselves, do we really believe that Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament? And next, if we really believed, how would that change us? How would this faith change what we choose to do on Sundays? what time we arrive for Mass and when we leave? how we dress for Mass? how we act in the sacred space of the church? the reverence we offer as we approach the moment of reception of Communion? the kind of churches we build? the kind of music we sing at Mass? Ask yourself, if a non-Catholic visitor came to Mass and watched me (us) throughout, would they have the impression that I really believed that I meet God in the Blessed Sacrament? Ask yourself, when my children and grandchildren observe me at Mass, do I give witness that I really believe in the Real Presence?

In truth, the faith is “caught” more than it is taught. People will be attracted more by how we live our faith than by our explanations of it. We can talk about the Blessed Sacrament “until the cows come home,” but others will encounter the truth more by the love and reverence we show. Be the one who shows total devotion, love, and reverence for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Others will soon catch on.