Our Catholic Faith
teaches that in the Eucharist Our Lord Jesus Christ is truly and substantially present under the species of bread and wine. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is "real' not in the sense of excluding all other types of presence as if they were 'not real' but because it is a presence in the fullest sense: a substantial presence whereby Christ, the Man-God, is wholly and entirely present... the consecration of the bread and wine effects the change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. And the Holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called this change transubstantiation"
(Ecclesia de Eucharista n. 15)
"The Eucharist is a mystery of presence, the perfect fulfillment of Jesus' promise to remain with us until the end of the world (Mayne nobiscum Domine, n.16)"Reflection The Lord is present in many diverse ways. At Mass, he is present when his Word is proclaimed, he is present in the congregation that gathers to celebrate the Mass, he is present in the person of the priest who represents him during the celebration, but above all, Christ is present in the Eucharist, when after the words of the consecration, the bread and wine become His very Body and Blood: "Take this, all of you and eat it. This is my Body... This is the cup of my Blood." How much do we appreciate the fact at Mass, Jesus is truly and really present to us, by the way we comport ourselves and participate at Mass? People run to shrines or alleged apparition sites to experience the presence of the divine, forgetting that at Mass, we have Jesus with us in a most intimate and real way. Do we really show respect and reverence to Christ's presence at Mass? It is because Christ is truly present whenever we celebrate Mass that the Mass is the most precious treasure that we, as a Church possess. What can be more important than Jesus whenever we celebrate the Mass? Our cell phones? Our cars? Our comfort? Do we really believe in the Lord's real presence at Mass that we make an effort to be in Church in time to dispose ourselves properly for mass to encounter Him?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of yourself in the Eucharist. Increase my love and devotion to your abiding Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Come Lord Jesus, be the center of my life... now and forever. Amen
