Behold him: Restoring belief of Jesus truly present in the Eucharist

A Pew research study released in August found that two-thirds of Catholics do not believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist. Rather, they believe it is only a symbol of him. Transubstantiation—the idea that during Mass, the bread and wine used for Communion become the body and blood of Jesus Christ—is central to our Catholic faith.

The survey also included a question that tested whether Catholics know what the Church teaches. It found that 43% of Catholics believe that the Eucharist is symbolic and that this belief reflects the position of the Church. Of Catholics who attend Mass at least once a week, 63% accept the church’s teaching about the Real Presence.

The short answer to the survey is that there is a lot of confusion over this central teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches us that “the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself” (1324).
          
How can we come to more fully understand this teaching? Scripture is full of foreshadowing and references to his Real Presence in the Eucharist. Jesus speaks directly to this teaching most clearly beginning in John 6:51. Jesus emphasizes that he is not speaking metaphorically when he said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.” The Jews immediately question this declaration asking, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (Jn 6:52). Jesus reiterates his first words saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you… For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed (6:53–55). To further clarify, he uses a new word, “He who eats (in Greek, trogon) me will live because of me” (6:57). “ Trogon” means “chew” or “gnaw” rather than “eat.” We know this was a difficult teaching in Jesus’s time because many of his disciples left that day (Jn 6:66). The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist was difficult to accept and understand then, just as it can be today.

“It didn’t really ‘click’ with me that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist until I was in 6 ^th grade,” said Father Matthew Kraemer, Director of Liturgy for the Diocese of Fargo. “I had received my First Holy Communion in 2 ^nd grade, and I imagine I was told about the Real Presence then, but it didn’t really mean anything to me at that time. We had moved to a new parish when I was in 5 ^th or 6 ^th grade, and I remember one of the priests would preach about the Real Presence very often. Also, the parishioners were reverent toward the Eucharist in the way they received Holy Communion and in how they acted in church. And, my family and I had started going to daily Mass once a week. I think these things helped prepare the way for Jesus to reveal himself to me in the Eucharist. One day at Mass I had a deep realization that Jesus was really present; that God himself was making himself very close to me, and to everyone else in the church. All of a sudden being reverent in church and going to Mass wasn’t just an empty gesture but something full of meaning, something indispensable.

“As a priest, I try to always remember how preaching on the Eucharist helped me, and I try to preach on the Real Presence often. I also try to be reverent in how I celebrate the Mass so that all present will know that the celebration of the Eucharist isn’t something cheap or trite but the very sacrifice of Christ. Finally, I try to be gentle and patient with those who don’t seem to understand that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, because I know there was a time in my life that I didn’t either.”

“My reversion to the Catholic faith in college was first in coming to an adult awareness of the Church’s teaching and what the Real Presence in the Eucharist means,” said Father Brian Moen, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Minto and St. Stanislaus Church in Warsaw. “Then I had to experience it, not just understand it. Where I experienced that was through Eucharistic adoration. That was the big game-changer and made all the pieces make sense. I understood the meaning of the Real Presence intellectually but it wasn’t until I started going to adoration regularly that the reality moved from my head to my heart. Even for myself as a priest, I may be consciously aware of Jesus’s sacrifice made present in the Mass, but it’s not until I spend time with him in silence that my soul perceives his Real Presence fully.”

Throughout history, God has continued to make his presence in the Eucharist known in countless ways. One way is through the many Eucharistic miracles he continues to give us. On Sept. 27–29, the International Eucharistic Miracles Display, created by Venerable Carlo Acutis, made a stop at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Fargo, which contained 145 posters documenting Eucharistic miracles throughout history.

“These miracles are reminders of love,” said Father Patrick Parks, parochial vicar of the Cathedral. “He loves us so much, and he shows us that he’s truly present here with us. He gives his body and blood at every Mass. How much more intimate can God be? We have this ability to have this great relationship with our creator if we believe.”

“I’ve seen so many people start crying as they read the posters,” said Rome Markly, who travels with the display. “My theory is if you come in with an open heart and you start reading and seeing what’s happening, it brings tears to your eyes. The Holy Spirit will move in and touch your heart.”

The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith: “Our way of thinking is attuned to the Eucharist, and the Eucharist in turn confirms our way of thinking” (CCC 1327). Let us humble ourselves in the presence of the Eucharist, pray for an increased devotion to Jesus’s Real Presence, and never be afraid to speak the beautiful truths of our faith.