The statistics are troubling!  According to recent polls, seventy percent of American Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Some might tend to be dismissive of the polls’ accuracy; yet, clearly a crisis of belief exists.

    A few years ago, I was invited to preach Forty-Hours Devotions at a large eastern parish.  The pastor also asked me to address his eighth grade students. I began by asking a question: "Is the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, “real” or symbolic?" After some hesitation, one young man confidently responded:" Symbolic!” When a swell of agreement crammed the classroom, I realized that these youngsters did not know the Church’s doctrine.  I spent the next hour telling them of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

    The Church is unambiguously clear. Our Lord’s presence in the Eucharist is Real! “The mode of Christ’s presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all sacraments as `the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the 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’”  (Catechism N. 1374).

    Everyone who has attained the use of reason can adequately achieve this belief.  Let me give you an example. During my deacon year, I spent the summer on the Indian Reservation west of Tucson. One day a Native American lady came to me with her seven-year old daughter.  She assured me that her child was prepared to make her First Confession and Holy Communion. I asked the girl: "What is Holy Communion?" Without hesitation, she answered: "Holy Communion is Jesus." Not even the Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas Aquinas, could have given a better answer.  Yes! “Holy Communion is Jesus!”

    Before long, it was my profound privilege to say to this young lady: “The Body of Christ.”  Dressed in white and with head veiled, she responded, “Amen.” My friends, in that moving moment of Communion, she became one with Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  And Yes! Jesus became one with her in the inscrutable intimacy of His Eucharistic Presence!

    This is the faith that Our Lord expects of us. It is the sine qua non condition of Catholicism. When we receive Holy Communion, our, Amen affirms our belief in His Real Presence.  It unites us in faith with His Mystical Body as we receive Jesus! “For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.”

    My dear people, Our Redeemer bestows countless graces on us in the Eucharist.  His Sacred Heart is an infinite fount of love and mercy embracing everyone.  Jesus, the Son of God, yearns to be united with you.  Do not our hearts long for this intimate union? Approach Him with devotion and confidence.  His Heart will become one with your heart in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar.

    As we begin this Lenten Season, let us renew our devotion to the Gift Beyond Compare, Jesus really and truly present in the Eucharist.  May this Year of the Eucharist become truly holy during Lent by daily Mass, fervent reception of Communion, Eucharistic spiritual readings, and frequent visits with Jesus, in the Blessed Sacrament.

    Before our tabernacles, let us adore Our Lord with the Church’s ancient prayer: “O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine!  All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment, Thine!”