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There is more behind this answer than many Catholics realize.
When the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century defined the meaning of the
Eucharist, it declared that "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 in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist."
Shortly after Trent, Pope St. Pius V authorized the publication
of the Roman Catechism, which built on the Council of Trent and explained
its teachings for the pastors of the Church.
Regarding the Real Presence, the pastors were told to explain
that "in this sacrament is contained not only the true Body of Christ — and that
means everything that goes to make up a true body, such as bones, nerves, and so
on — but also Christ whole and entire." Consequently the Eucharist contains
Jesus Christ in the fullness of his divinity and the completeness of his
humanity.
Jesus is therefore in the Blessed Sacrament "whole and entire:
the Soul, the Body and Blood of Christ, with all their component parts. In
heaven a complete human nature is united to the divine nature in one… person. It
is a denial of the faith to suppose that in this sacrament there is anything
less."
It is not speculation but cold revealed fact that the Holy
Eucharist is the Son of God who became the Son of Mary.
Whatever makes Christ, Christ, is in the Holy Eucharist; nothing
less.
Consequently when we speak of transubstantiation, we mean
that the whole substance of bread and wine, its "breadness" and "wineness," is
replaced by the living and glorified Jesus Christ. What remains of what had been
bread and wine, is only their external properties that can be perceived by the
senses. As the Greek Fathers of the Church say, the ousia or being of
bread and wine is changed into the being or reality of Jesus Christ. On the
altar after the consecration there is no longer bread and wine but the same
Jesus who was crucified, died and rose from the grave; and who will come in his
glory on the last day to judge the living and the dead.
Is there any real difference between Jesus in heaven and Jesus
in the Eucharist? No, it is the same Jesus. The only difference is in us. We now
on earth cannot see or touch him with our senses. But that is not a limitation
in him; it is a limitation in us.
Jesus is really now on earth in the Eucharist.
Jesus is really now on earth in the Eucharist.
Jesus is really now on earth in the Eucharist.
Jesus is really now on earth in the Eucharist.
Jesus is really now on earth in the Eucharist.
Jesus is really now on earth in the Eucharist.
The foregoing six statements, repeated and separately
emphasized, explain why the Catholic Church has defended the reality of the Real
Presence so strenuously down the centuries.
What else could she do? She believes that our Lord's promise, "I
will be with you all days, even to the end of the world," is being literally
fulfilled in every tabernacle of the Catholic world. He is in our midst with all
that makes him man, including his pulsating Sacred Heart. And he is here to
continue his work of redemption by giving us the light and strength we need to
serve him with all our heart.
We speak correctly of believing in the Real Presence. But we
should grow in our understanding of what this implies.
The living, breathing Jesus Christ is in the Blessed Sacrament.
This is the reality. When we speak of presence, however, we are saying something
more.
Two people may be really near each other physically, but not
present to each other spiritually. To be present to some, one means to
have another person in mind by being mentally aware of their existence, and to
have them in one's heart by loving that other person.
What, then, is the most important implication of our belief that
Jesus is on earth in the Holy Eucharist? It is our duty to cultivate an
awareness of this fact and to act on the awareness with our love.
When we sing the Tantum Ergo at Benediction, we ask,
"that our faith may supply for what our senses cannot perceive." What are we
saying? We profess to believe that Jesus is in the Eucharist with all the
qualities of his risen humanity, although our senses cannot perceive what we
know, on faith, is true.
The reality of the Eucharist is clear. It is Jesus of Nazareth
who was born of the Virgin Mary. But we must make ourselves mentally conscious
of this reality and voluntarily respond to what we believe.
Jesus is on earth in the Blessed Sacrament. Why? In order that
we might come to him now no less than his contemporaries did in first century
Palestine. If we thus approach him in loving faith, there is no limit to the
astounding things he will do. Why not? In the Eucharist he has the same human
lips that told the raging storm, "Be still!" and commanded the dead man,
"Lazarus, come forth!"
There are no limitations to Christ's power, as God, which he
exercises through his humanity in the Eucharist. The only limitation is our own
weakness of faith or lack of confidence in his almighty love.
Taken from the November-December issue of "Soul Magazine"
(1989)
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