The source and summit of our faith as Catholics is no doubt the Eucharist. Yet, there is doubt for many. For one third of Catholics, this is just a symbolic gesture. It’s amazing that the most crucial thing that separates Catholics from other Christians (there are many but this is the most crucial) is transubstantiation.
Transub-what?
Transubstantiation is when the bread and wine truly become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. In the process, the outer appearance is the same. The bread is still waferish; the wine still looks and tastes like wine. What happens is beyond our perception.
To truly be present with us, the Lord comes to us in a form we mere humans can manage. The Eucharist is to feed our souls, not our bodies. We don’t need bread and wine physically, but we absolutely need our souls to be fed by Christ. He chose this way to feed us.
Taste and See
If you need more than the Church’s teaching to believe, read us on Blessed Carlo Acutis and see the website he designed cataloging many Eucharistic miracles across the world over time. Read up on Saint Padre Pio’s devotion to the Mass as he suffered the wounds of Christ.
The Eucharist is the True Presence of Christ. That little wafer contains all I need to renew my soul and carry on another week. If we truly could see the reality of the Eucharist, Mass wouldn’t just be full, every church would be bursting at the seams.
It is more than a wafer of bread and a sip of wine. It is Christ crucified for us. Interestingly enough, it is often in times of weak faith that God has manifested in Eucharistic miracles. But with over one hundred Eucharistic miracles recognized by the Church, you would think more Catholics are ready to believe?
Even Flannery O’Connor, famous Catholic novelist, is remembered for her bluntness at a dinner party. A non-Catholic guest commented politely on what a nice symbol the Eucharist is. She declared, “If it’s just a symbol then to hell with it.” She would take no less definition for the Holy Eucharist than the true presence of Christ.
Sacred Heart Month
June is the month of the Sacred Heart and we started by celebrating Corpus Christi. How present would Jesus be with us if we focused on the real Presence this month and didn’t get swept away in secular ways. How much closer to holiness could we come if we devoted ourselves to the Eucharist, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and God’s will for our lives?
Let’s turn our hearts to Christ and be as present as we can for the True Presence which is fully and physically alive and fed to us: the Holy Eucharist. Our souls hunger for God and no physical food or drink will satisfy. So, let’s come to the super of the Lord and be present with our Lord who is truly present for us.
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