RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST WORTHILY AND WITH FAITH THAT YOU ARE TRULY RECEIVING THE BODY OF CHRIST

Hopefully you have taken time during this month of June – the month of the Sacred Heart – to pray in thanksgiving for the burning love in Jesus’s heart for us. We honor His Sacred Heart because it reminds us that our Savior’s human heart first began beating in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary over 2,000 years ago. We honor His Sacred Heart because His divine heart has never stopped pulsating, pumping out His love and mercy for us. The heart is the symbolic center of feeling and emotion, and the Sacred Heart represents Jesus’ deep love and affection for us.

Showing devotion to the symbolism of Christ’s heart draws you closer to Him, but nothing creates more intimacy with Jesus than literally receiving Him in the Eucharist, where He is truly present and living. When you receive Holy Communion, you make an act of faith, for your consuming of His body is proof of your belief that Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

The doctrine of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist states that Jesus is literally and wholly present – body and blood, soul and divinity – under the appearances of bread and wine. This belief in the Real Presence began with St. Peter’s exclamation to Jesus when He first told them about His body being in the Bread – “You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed!” – and continued with the early Church Fathers, such as St. Cyril in the 4th Century who said, “Do not, therefore, regard the bread and the wine as simply that; for they are, according to the Master’s declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ. Even though the senses suggest to you the other, let faith make you firm.”

The Real Presence doctrine promotes “transubstantiation” which means the substance of bread and wine – what makes them bread and wine – is replaced by the gloried body and blood of Jesus Christ when the priest at Mass, obeying Christ, speaks the words of consecration. You could say that the “breadness” and “wineness” at Communion are changed into the living Jesus. Transubstantiation describes how the color, texture, and taste of the bread and wine remain, but they lose their substance. The qualities of bread and wine remain, but their substance is replaced by the whole Christ. Transubstantiation not only means the Real Presence of Christ, it also means the real absence of bread and wine.

Whereas the Sacred Heart is the symbol of Jesus’s everlasting love for us, it is in the Eucharist where we don’t simply see a symbol, but where we find the actual, true, real presence of Jesus in our midst. Almost all other Christian religions believe the Eucharist – the bread – is just a symbol, but Catholicism believes in transubstantiation and proclaims that the bread becomes Jesus’s body in order to nourish us.

I say “Catholicism proclaims,” but sadly too many people who identify as Catholic don’t believe this fundamental doctrine of the Catholic Church. The Pew Research Center’s survey of “self-described” Catholics revealed that only 31% of them believe in transubstantiation, with the other 69% saying they believe the bread and wine are symbols. Since self-described Catholics could include people who were baptized Catholic but currently aren’t practicing much, Pew also surveyed “observant” Catholics – those who go to Mass at least weekly. Of this group, 63% believe that Christ is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine, and 37% don’t believe. Although those numbers are an improvement, it is still appalling that a large number of Catholics are receiving the Body of Christ at Mass without believing it is really His body.

When a Catholic receives Holy Communion, the priest presents the sacred Host and says, “The Body of Christ,” and the person responds, “Amen.” That word “amen” translates to mean I give you my solemn agreement. So when you say, “Amen,” you are affirming before God that you believe what you are receiving is, in fact, the Body of Christ hidden under the appearances of bread.

Thus, as a Catholic you have two choices. You can either truly believe and receive Communion, or if you are not sure if you believe in the True Presence then you must refrain from Communion at Mass and instead work at and pray at eventually becoming a believer in transubstantiation.

It actually is a sin to receive “The Body of Christ” at Mass but not truly believe it is “The Body of Christ.” It was St. Paul who chastised, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord.” Paul’s warning would seem cruel if it is simply a piece of bread you’re consuming in the Eucharist. Thus, his cautious counsel only makes sense if Jesus is really present.

If you – and/or your children – aren’t sure if you can believe in the True Presence, you need to read and analyze “The Bread of Life Discourse” in John 6. In this Gospel passage, Jesus provides proof that it is His Body that we are receiving. His own words and the reaction of his disciples testify to Christ’s True Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. The discourse (John 6:53-69) goes like this:

"Jesus answered them, 'I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.' 

The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?' 

So Jesus said to them, '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; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.' This he said in the synagogue, as he taught at Caper′na-um. 

Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, 'This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?'

But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, 'Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you that do not believe.' For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that should betray him. And he said, 'This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.' 

After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, 'Will you also go away?' Simon Peter answered him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.'” 

There are a number of things to point out to your kids – or to recognize yourself – when analyzing John 6. First, notice that four times Jesus vehemently states that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to attain eternal life. There is no symbolism contained in His words. He is emphatic.

Secondly, it is significant to realize how literal these words are in that the word “eat” does not exist in the Aramaic language, the language that Jesus spoke. The translation of the actual word Jesus used means “chew” or “gnaw.” So it’s obvious why so many people left Jesus when he originally spoke these words because he was actually saying, “He who gnaws on my flesh…” People would not have been shocked enough to leave Him if they thought He was talking figuratively instead of literally.

Furthermore, notice that Jesus does not try to dissuade His followers who decide to leave Him over His discourse. Don’t you think Jesus would have clarified a misunderstanding and done some type of retracting or rewording of His choice of words if what was happening was the people were taking his words literally when he just meant “eat my flesh” to be symbolic? After all, there were other Bible passages where Jesus clarified and amended his words to his disciples, such as when he reexplained the Parable of the Sower or when he clarified to Nicodemus about being born again. But in this passage Jesus does not clarify or reexplain because there is no symbolism present. He is speaking literally and many people are too disgusted to accept it.

Moreover, Jesus’s reaction to the departure of many of his disciples was to turn to Peter and the Apostles and ask, “Will you also go away?” Here He isn’t trying to water down His words and calm down the shock of telling people to chew his flesh. Jesus is prepared to start all over again with new followers, if necessary, if his Apostles refuse to accept His weighty truth.

Returning to Paul’s words about receiving Communion worthily, the Church teaches that receiving worthily requires three fundamental conditions. Without these three, one should not approach the Eucharist:

1. A belief in the Real Presence;
2. A fast from food and drink at least one hour prior to receiving Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament;
3. Being in the state of grace, which means going to Confession and receiving Absolution before Communion if having committed a mortal sin.

Similarly, whereas not rules like the above three, there are other directives an authentic Catholic should follow when receiving the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion. Parents should make sure they teach these and expect these from their kids:

1. Approach the Eucharist with great reverence, which includes when walking in the Communion line having your hands clasped in prayer and not looking around for or acknowledging friends you pass by. A good idea is to focus on the crucifix at the front of the church as you process forward, silently asking your Savior that this reception of Communion may increase your faith, hope, and charity.
2. Great reverence also includes the manner in which you take the bread. The preferred manner throughout most of history is to receive kneeling and on the tongue. The Church in recent generations has allowed receiving in the hand, but if done this way it must be done in the most careful and reverential way. (In a future post, I will discuss why, if you’re not currently doing it, receiving the Sacred Host kneeling and on the tongue makes more sense and will bring you more fulfillment.)
3. When walking back to your pew after receiving Communion, again keep your hands clasped and do not look around to sneak glances at others. Contemplate that Jesus will never be closer to you in this lifetime than at this exact moment.
4. Immediately upon returning to your pew, kneel and spend quiet time to thank Jesus for making your soul His dwelling place and for giving you a foretaste of the peace that a future eternal paradise will bring.

When it comes to Our Lord and Catholicism, we may not be able to wrap our heads around everything. There are times it is hard to accept certain truths and specific teachings, such as transubstantiation and the Real Presence. It can cause us to become frustrated, confused, or even feel a little guilty. In these cases where we struggle with knowing what we should believe, we are called to trust God, telling ourselves, “I might not get it and understand how or why, but I trust that You – Father/Son/Holy Spirit – will lead me to the true conclusion.” Remember, even Peter and the Apostles at times had trouble understanding and believing what they were told, and they were closer to Jesus than any humans other than his earthly parents, Mary and Joseph.

It requires faith to believe that the bread and wine by divine power are changed into the Body and Blood of Christ even though they still look and taste like bread and wine. It is a mystery which, like the Trinity and the virgin birth of Jesus, we will never fully comprehend in this life.

God bless the believer who, through faith, believes the Catholic teaching on the Eucharist, and with this is given inspiration knowing Jesus, under the appearance of bread, nourishes us during our journey through life.