KAY MURDY
Author, Columnist, Speaker

Kay Murdy has a Masters of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles, CA.
Kay is a regular columnist for Ministry and Liturgy magazine. Her latest book is A Closer Walk with Jesus for Lent.
You can purchase Kay's books from Resource Publications, Inc., 160 E. Virginia Street #290, San Jose, CA 95112-5876. 

Visit Resource Publications: http://www.rpinet.com

REAL PRESENCE

The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the
Eucharist above all the sacraments as "the perfection of the spiritual life and the end
to which all sacraments tend." In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist "the
body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and,
therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained." "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 wholly and entirely present." (The Catechism of the Catholic Church: # 1374)

Eucharist is both Communion and Sacrifice

Fr Raniero Cantalamessa OFM Cap, the preacher to the papal household, wrote on the relationship between the Eucharist and Christian, "The Eucharist is not only sacrifice, but also a banquet! By instituting it Jesus wanted to establish the messianic banquet, foretold by the Prophets in imagery of such splendor: 'On this mountain the Lord will prepare for all peoples a banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy, of fine strained wines'" (Isaiah 25.6)

It is only when it retains these two aspects of sacrifice and of banquet, that the Eucharist fully expresses the nature of the Christian life, which is not just sacrifice, mortification and renunciation, but also joy, happiness, togetherness, poetry and song. . . . If Jesus had chosen bread and water for the Eucharist, he would have brought about the sanctification only of suffering ("bread and water" suggests fasting, austerity and penance") But Jesus chose bread and wine; he wanted to open the way for the sanctification of joy as well as suffering. 

The Eucharist was the subject of the Holy Father's catechesis at the General Audience October 18, 2000: "The commands, "Take, eat ... Drink of it ..." (Mt 26:26-27), which Jesus gives his disciples in that room on the upper floor of a house in Jerusalem on the last evening of his earthly life (cf. Mk 14:15), are rich in meaning. The universal symbolic value of the banquet offered in bread and wine (cf. Is 25:6) already suggests communion and intimacy. Other more explicit elements extol the Eucharist as a banquet of friendship and covenant with God. For, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church recalls, it is "at the same time, and inseparably, the sacrificial memorial in which the sacrifice of the cross is perpetuated, and the sacred banquet of communion with the Lord's body and blood" (CCC, n. 1382).

The Holy Father said that the Covenant on Sinai foretold the new covenant in Christ's blood

"Just as in the Old Testament the movable shrine in the desert was called the "tent of meeting", that is, of the encounter between God and his people and of brethren in faith among themselves, the ancient Christian tradition called the Eucharistic celebration the synaxis, "meeting". . . If we wish to reflect more deeply on the genuine meaning of this mystery of communion between God and the faithful, we must return to Jesus' words at the Last Supper. They refer to the biblical category of "covenant", recalled precisely through the connection between Christ's blood and the sacrificial blood poured out on Sinai: "This is my blood of the covenant" (Mk 14:24). Moses had said: "Behold the blood of the covenant" (Ex 24:8). The covenant on Sinai which united Israel to the Lord with a bond of blood, foretold the new covenant which would give rise, to use an expression of the Greek Fathers, to a kinship as it were between Christ and the faithful" (Cyril of Alexandria). 

Every celebration of the Eucharist is a foretaste of our union at the banquet of heaven:

"See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away" (Rv. 20:3-4). 

The sacrament of the Eucharist is the "real presence" of Christ in the Eucharistic bread and cup, and reminds us that we are the body and blood of Jesus to one another. The Eucharist contains such a richness and depth that Catholics understand various ways in which Christ is truly present in it. The Second Vatican Council Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy reminds us that Christ is present in the Eucharistic celebration in at least four different ways. All provide us with the opportunity to be transformed by our encounter with the real presence of Christ.

Four ways of Christ's Real Presence: The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy says:

To accomplish so great a work Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of is minister- but especially in the Eucharistic species- He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings (S.C.#7).

When the Eucharistic celebration begins, Christ reveals himself as the leader of our worship through the priest or bishop who presides at the Liturgy in persona Christi. This is the ministry given as a gift through the sacrament of Holy Orders. This is called the ordained or "ministerial priesthood," which assists us in our baptismal call. As Peter says, "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" [1 Pet 2:9].

The U.S. Bishops statement: "The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist" (June, 2001) affirms that:

In the Eucharist "the whole Christ is truly present, body blood, soul and divinity, under the appearances of bread and wine—the glorified Christ who rose from the dead after dying for our sins. This is what the church means when she speaks of the ‘real presence’ of Christ in the Eucharist." 

In the Middle Ages, back in the 13^th century, people had a great sense of the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. They wanted to celebrate the presence of God in their midst, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The feast developed as a procession feast, not where people came together in Church. No, it was an action feast. The people carried the Blessed Sacrament around their whole village; through the town, their homes, their workplaces and marketplaces, the hospitals where the sick were, or places where the poor and hungry were, to dramatize the conviction that God journeys with us wherever we go in our everyday life.

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal makes the following statement regarding Communion under both species:

"Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when it is received under both kinds. For in this manner of reception the sign of the eucharistic banquet shines forth more completely and the divine will by which the new and everlasting covenant is ratified in the Blood of the Lord is more clearly expressed, together with the relationship of the eucharistic banquet to the eschatological banquet in the Father's Kingdom." GIRM (1975) n.281

3) Christ is Present in his Word: "It is he himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in church" (#7).

When Christ speaks to us in the word proclaimed in our midst, reverence requires that we listen attentively with open ears and with open hearts so that his word can take root in us and bear fruit. Let us be attentive to today’s gospel to see Christ’s coming into our lives: God’s word demands a response. Amen. Our "Amen" is like a signature on a dotted line. No half-heartedness is allowed. Amen means: "I approve. I promise. I am of one mind with you Jesus. So be it!" Be careful when you say, "Amen! Yes, that is God’s word for me." In the fifth Century, St. Augustine said:

"You reply ‘Amen’ to that which you are, and by replying you consent. For you hear ‘The Body of Christ’ and you reply ‘Amen ...’ Be what you see, and receive what you are."

When Christ reveals himself as the leader of our worship through the presider, reverence urges us to respond with "full, conscious, active participation" in the singing, the prayers and the actions of the liturgy. "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt 18:20). As one nun encourages us to see, "Christ in our midst as well as our altars." Eucharist is not only about changing bread, it is about changing people. Christ dwells in each member of his body and we too are asked to see the blessings and burdens of our brothers and sisters who gather for Eucharist, "Oh, Jesus Christ, is it you again?" The Aramaic sense of Jesus’ words, "This is my body" carries the connotation of "This is me. This is my body and blood. This is my life." As we process up to communion we also say, "This is me. This is my body and blood. This is my life." Together we are the Christ’s body and blood, carrying our prayers, works, sorrows and suffering, our body broken, hands and feet and hearts pierced, pouring out our life’s blood, entering into Eucharist with Christ. Teresa of Avila says:

Christ has no body now but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.

If we want to know to what extent we are truly the Body of Christ whom we have received, we have only to look at the way we are with one another in the world. At the end of our lives, Jesus tells us there will be a final exam, but he also tells us what the questions will be. Jesus will not ask how many times we attend Mass, read the bible or prayed the rosary. He will ask:

"Did you give me to eat when I was hungry? Did you give me to drink when I was thirsty? Did you clothe me when I was naked? Did you visit me when I was sick or in prison?" Then we will ask, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?" Then he will answer, "Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me" (Mt 25:44-45).