Real Presence: How We Give Witness

Hello Dear Reader!

I am so excited to be writing to you again! My family has had a lot going on lately and with everything going on in my life right now, I honestly had some sort of “writer’s block” and for the last month or so I really haven’t been able to figure out what I wanted to talk about next. I kept trying to come up with different article topics and arguments that I could present to counter different comments I hear regarding the Christian faith everyday. But, in the end, I decided that I’d use this article to touch on what I love more than anything else on this planet (yes, even my family)… The Eucharist.

With that being said, let’s dive right in! Let’s start with a question… Do you my dear reader truly believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist? If you don’t, contact me and I’ll be more than happy to talk with you about it. I myself did not truly believe in our Lord’s presence (body, blood, soul and divinity) in the Eucharist until I was in my mid-twenties, and even then I didn’t fully come to appreciate His presence until I was about 30 years old. It is truly the biggest regret I have in my life, that I went so long without accepting Jesus’s physical presence in my life when He was there and waiting for me the whole time…

There are so many words from sacred scripture and texts from early church fathers that I could quote to you to help you understand Christ’s true and very real presence in the Eucharist, but I will save that for another time. With this article I want to focus on why we as Catholics do what we do when we honor our Lord, that what we do (at least in my home parish) isn’t just a bunch of tradition that distracts from our worship of God and isn’t meaningless and empty motions/rituals that we go through.

First of all, when we enter a Catholic church, we should immediately look for the Tabernacle. This is where Jesus resides sacramentally (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) in each consecrated host. Before we sit in the pew, we gaze upon this vessel filled with Christ’s presence and we genuflect. Our right knee hits the ground and we make the sign of the cross. Why? BECAUSE JESUS IS THERE! Okay… If Jesus walked into the room with you standing there, would you not fall to your knees or flat on your face in awe and worship?? The least we can do is fall on one knee for Him.

Why is Jesus kept in the tabernacle? To keep Him away from the people (a rather common myth)? NO! We keep Him there in His Eucharistic Presence to protect Him! If you remember, the tabernacle in the Old Testament housed the Ark of the Covenant which was the dwelling place of God. Quick side note… What was the first tabernacle that held the presence of Christ? Our Blessed Mother Mary… That is why we call her The Ark of the New Covenant!

Secondly, what is it that we see near the tabernacle? We see a candle called the Sanctuary Candle or Sanctuary Lamp. We should see it either above or near the tabernacle. It lets us know that we are in the presence of the Lord. Now, the sanctuary candle can actually be any color, but usually it is a red color. Why is this? What do you think of when you see the color red? How about a stop light or stop sign? When we see this candle, we should STOP and give worship to our Lord who is present in the tabernacle….

Third, what about Chalices and Patents? What are the insides lined with? Gold! Jesus deserves nothing but the best. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! I know when I think of gold I tend to think of a wedding ring. If I saw fit to give my wife a gold wedding band and engagement ring… Would I really want to give any less to my Lord? Does He deserve less than my wife?? Absolutely not! Okay, moving on…

Have you seen at Mass, the flat white almost cardboard looking thing that is placed over the Chalice? It’s called a “Pall” (pronounced like “Paul”). It’s a hard sacred covering that rests on top of the chalice to prevent dust, incense, and or other contaminants from entering the chalice. It’s especially important after the words of consecration to prevent outside substances from mixing with the Precious Blood. In other words, we use it to protect the Blood of our Lord and to keep it pure.

Now, my favorite of all of the things we Catholics do during Mass during the liturgy of the Eucharist is what some people refer to as… Catholicthenics. I hear people say that all the time (and it drives me crazy because most of the time the person saying it doesn’t understand what they’re making fun of)… “You Catholics do so much up down up down… What’s with that?!”

Once again, I ask you… “What would you do if Jesus walked into the room with you?” Would you stand there and say something like… “Hey what’s up? Nice sandals… Oh, and thank you for what you did for me up there way back when…” NO!! You would fall on your face in awe and worship Him right then and there… That’s why we humble ourselves and kneel during Mass… Because HE… IS… THERE… before our very eyes…

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

The last devotional act that I’ll talk about here is the ringing of the bells… The altar bells are truly special for us. when you hear them during Mass, you know that something incredible is about to happen! They’re used to signal the coming of the Holy Spirit, to signal that Jesus is now sacramentally present in the Holy Eucharist, but they’re also used for another purpose… To draw our attention to the altar. We all have times where we’ve gotten bored or our attention has drifted. So the next time you hear the altar bells rung during Mass… Pay attention! You won’t want to miss what’s coming next because if you watch, you’ll have the privilege of witnessing the greatest miracle on earth!

Well dear reader, I did not go into as much detail as I would have liked about each devotional act and I honestly didn’t even cover everything that we do to reverence and witness to the Real Presence of Christ in The Eucharist… But I hope that by touching on several of these topics, that it will help you to more fully appreciate that we Catholic Christians are not involved in empty rituals or idolatric motions… We recognize the truth in Jesus’ words when he tells us “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”

Finally, I want to share with you one last thing… The study that was done this past August, completed by the Pew Research Center, suggests that only 31% of “self-described Catholics” say that they believe in the miracle of transubstantiation. That is as one priest put it… ALARMING!!! So, if you know of someone who has trouble with or is struggling with their faith in the Real Presence of our Lord and Savior in The Eucharist… Please pray for them…

Lastly, I leave you with this offer… If you know of anyone who has questions about transubstantiation or if you’d like to talk with someone about Jesus’ real presence and how important it is, please know that I’d be happy to speak with them or you. You can rach me either by utilizing the Contact Me page on this site or leaving a comment on this article below.

Until next time dear reader…

Your Humble Servant in Christ,

William