June 2, 2024 Essay: The Real Presence
Today’s celebration of the Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ reminds us that the Catholic Church in the United States is in the midst of a ‘Eucharistic Revival’ that will culminate in the Eucharistic Congress to be convened in Indianapolis from July 17-21. The revival was initiated by our bishops out of a concern that the people of God did not sufficiently understand our Catholic belief that the bread and wine offered in the liturgy of the Eucharist, the Mass, is transformed for us, by the power of God’s Spirit, into the real, risen body and blood of Jesus Christ. Today’s feast offers us an opportunity to reflect on the real presence of Jesus in the liturgy of the Eucharist, the Mass.
It is important to remember what our Church teaches with regard to the liturgy of the Eucharist. In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy from the Second Vatican Council, our Church teaches us:
…The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; at the same time, it is the font from which all her power flows. For the aim and object of apostolic works is that all who are made sons [and daughters] of God by faith and baptism should come together to praise God in the midst of His Church, to take part in the sacrifice, and to eat the Lord’s supper. (10)
It is the liturgy of the Eucharist itself that is the source and summit of Catholic life. In every celebration of the Eucharist, the Risen Christ becomes truly present in four ways.
The risen Christ is present in the priest who presides over the gathered assembly and acts in the person of Christ as he leads the people of God in praise and worship.
The risen Christ is present in all who have gathered to offer praise and worship to God under the leadership of the priest. The gathered assembly, with the priest, forms the Body of Christ that is the Church. Christ is present in the gathering of the members of his body.
The risen Christ becomes present in the words of scripture that are proclaimed. Jesus is the Word of God made flesh. Every time, therefore, that we proclaim the scriptures, break open the word of God, we are encountering the risen Christ.
The risen Christ becomes present in the bread and wine that are transformed for us, by the power of God’s Spirit, into the real presence of his risen body and blood. Remember that the people of God bring forward the bread and wine that will become the real presence of the risen Christ. This is done to call attention to the fact that the celebration of the Eucharist is not the action of the priest alone. It is the action of the priest in union with the people of God who together are the Body of Christ. It is our collective prayer through which the risen Christ becomes truly present under the appearance of bread and wine. His presence is real. It is not symbolic. We, the Body of Christ, receive the real presence of the risen Body of Christ so as to help us fulfill the responsibility that is ours; to incarnate Christ once more in our world.
Every time we gather for the celebration of the liturgy of the Eucharist, we should consciously call to mind the four-fold presence of the Risen Christ in our celebration. His presence is real in each way Christ reveals himself to us. May we have the faith to recognize his self-revelation in every liturgy. Fired by his risen presence with us, may we go forth to give bold and courageous witness to him through our commitment to gospel values.
— Rev. Mark Hallinan, S.J., Associate Pastor