The Real Presence, pt.1

 

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." (Mt 26:26-28; cf. Mk 14:22-24, Lk 22:17-20, 1 Cor 11:23-25)

On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus instituted the most important doctrine of our faith, which is the source and summit – the Holy Eucharist, the REAL PRESENCE. Using ordinary bread and wine while partaking of the Passover meal, Jesus wanted to give of himself to the world as a continual yet visible sacramental presence until he would come again. Jesus knew that as the darkness of the night prevailed, he would be captured and within 12 hours, he would die a horrible death. Thus, the doctrine he would establish would be his presence within the world that would transcend time and space while at the same time remaining within time and space until his ultimate return. In that way, humanity would always share in his real presence, while he would ascend into heaven and be out of sight. 

So – What is this “Eucharist?” 

In the words written by Pope St. John Paul II:

"We cannot even for a moment, forget that the Eucharist is a special possession belonging to the whole Church. It is the greatest gift in the order of grace and of sacrament that the divine Spouse has offered and unceasingly offers to His spouse… We should remain faithful in every detail to what it expresses in itself and to what it asks of us, namely, thanksgiving."

The Eucharist is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. The Eucharist is the very act by which Jesus died for our sins, and was left for us as a perfect token of that act to go on perpetually in time. From the Eucharist, we have the ability to be drawn into the very dynamic of our Lord’s self-giving sacrifice – quite literally into the very moment of “His hour,” as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI described in his Sacramentum Caritatis (2007). 

The Eucharist is also the sacrament of charity, in three ways:

· It is proper to the love of spousal friendship to seek to dwell intimately with the beloved

· Christ wished to leave a testament to His loved ones – leaving behind Himself

· He devised a way in the Eucharist to remain present as man with His Church – thus, in His human life, he was limited to time and space (e.g. Jerusalem, the Holy Land, etc.), but now as The Eucharist, the Real Presence, He is physically present everywhere around the world, in every tabernacle, Church, etc. and is the SAME Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.

At the Last Supper, Jesus clearly said: “…this IS my body….this IS my blood…”. He made no mention that these were symbols or that the bread and wine were to be used as a representation in any way. Thus, our Lord’s presence is “real” and not symbolic, and each time we go to Mass, the Priest calls down the Holy Spirit during the epiclesis, and at the words of consecration, a beautiful miracle takes place – Transubstantiation. 

Let us briefly recall what happens during Transubstantiation:

· The substances of bread and wine are converted….

· …into the substances of the Body and Blood of Jesus.

· Yet, the outward appearances (or accidents) of bread and wine are miraculously suspended, remaining exactly what they were, but no longer inhering (existing essentially or permanently) in substance. They have been changed supernaturally.

By the power of God, an invisible reality remains hidden and unchanged within the confines of ordinary bread and wine in order for the finite human mind to incorporate something recognizable and not something unconscionable. Thus, how many people could actually eat or drink REAL flesh and blood and maintain their sense of morality while attending Mass, being in prayer, in light of a spiritual life? The words said by the priest at Mass, called the institution narrative, are not man’s words, but Jesus’s own words, and from these words, this miraculous change takes place. Let us recall those words:

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND EAT OF IT, FOR THIS IS MY BODY,

WHICH WILL BE GIVEN UP FOR YOU….

TAKE THIS, ALL OF YOU, AND DRINK FROM IT, FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD,

THE BLOOD OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL COVENANT, 

WHICH WILL BE POURED OUT FOR YOU AND FOR MANY FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS. 

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about the Real Presence:

1374 …”This presence is called ‘real’ – by which is not intended to exclude the other types of presence as if they could not be ‘real’ too, but because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself whole and entirely present.” 

Thus, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the most valued doctrine of the Catholic Church and central to our faith. Over the years, Eucharistic miracles have actually taken place to make visible the actual presence of our Blessed Lord. God has allowed this to happen to help increase our faith and to let us know that the Real Presence is an invisible reality. 

One incredible web site was created by a recently beatified young man named Carlos Acutis, from Italy, who died in 2006 at the age of 15 of Leukemia. His body is currently incorrupt. He had a knack for computers and a strong interest in the Eucharist and wanted to bring these miracles to light. 

His website (click here) is where he cataloged numerous Eucharistic miracles from around the world. The web site hosts a virtual museum of each location to view online, and one can also download all of these cataloged documents for one's reading convenience. The details of each will surprise you. 

Do you have any miraculous experience obtained from the Eucharist you will like to share? 

....Watch out for the concluding part.