Living with Real Presence

Joseph Krans

Something seems missing…

We are now into year two of the Eucharistic Revival in the church. “Jesus Christ invites us to return to the source and summit of our faith in the celebration of the Eucharist. The National Eucharistic Revival is a movement to restore understanding and devotion to this great mystery here in the United States by helping us renew our worship of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.”[1]  During the first year of the Eucharistic Revival, I have attended several different conferences, listened to many different talks and podcasts, and read numerous articles about the need for us to return to, and unite together in our worship of Jesus in the Eucharist. We are encouraged to participate in Eucharist Adoration, to remember the many Eucharistic miracles that have happened over the centuries, to become active participants in the Eucharistic Liturgy, and to draw others to unite with us around the source and summit of our faith in the celebration of the Eucharist.

This seems like a valuable effort, and indeed it is. So, what’s missing? 

Earlier this year, I had the privilege to talk with my parish’s High School youth about the meaning and importance of the Eucharist. The dialogue went something like this…

“Every Sunday, Deacon or Father stands in front of the altar and distributes the Eucharist, Communion, to us.  When he’s done, what does he do with the leftover Jesus?” I asked.

“He puts Jesus away in the Tabernacle.” They respond.

“Tabernacle? What’s that?” I asked quizzically.

“It’s the gold box over there with the candle next to it, where we put Jesus.”

“Wow, that’s great. Jesus gets a great place in that gold box.  Why the big deal?” I follow-up.

“To show respect to Jesus. He is God after all, and you can’t just toss him to the side somewhere.”

“Fair enough.” I say. “That makes a lot of sense.  Is there anything else we do to show Jesus respect?”

“Well, yeah. We genuflect, bow, or kneel when we pass in front of the tabernacle.”

“Anything else we do to show respect for Jesus in the Eucharist?” I continue.

“Yeah. Sometimes we do Eucharistic Adoration, where we put the big host in that monstrance thing and then sit and pray with Jesus.  You can also come and sit any time you want before the tabernacle and just be alone with Jesus.  And of course, we celebrate the Eucharist every week.” They respond with a little help and coaxing.

“Wow.” I eagerly respond. “Sounds like this Jesus being really present in the Eucharist thing is a pretty big deal.”

But I continue. “Okay then, let’s rewind all the way back to the beginning of this conversation… Deacon and Father are standing in front of the altar… They put all the leftover Jesus in the tabernacle… Where’d they put the rest of Jesus?”

“They gave Him to us.” They quickly respond.

“And what did you do with Him.”

“We put him in our mouth.” They say.

“So, you’re saying Jesus is inside you, and inside everybody else?”

“I guess so.” They admit.

“And you also said that where Jesus resides is called a tabernacle, and we treat it with great respect… So, I guess that makes each of us a tabernacle, and even more, because we consumed Jesus, he becomes part of us.  I guess that means that we need to treat ourselves and each other with the same respect and dignity that we show to Jesus in the tabernacle or the monstrance.”

“In fact.” I continue. “The whole point of Jesus establishing the Eucharist was not simply for us to worship him in the host, although that is wonderful, but more importantly, we need to become Christ for the world.  We need to bring his love outside the walls of our churches.” “"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another."[2]

“And…” I continued, “Why do you think Jesus chose bread and wine? He chose bread and wine because they were the most common and simple things, available to everyone.  His message was that the Eucharist is not meant to be something for the privileged, but rather for everyone, regardless of your economic, social, political, or national position.”

“And he chose to make himself sacramentally present in a special way in the simple elements of bread and wine, not to make just the bread and wine special, but to remind us that God is present in all of creation, even in the most basic things.  In fact, all of creation is held together only in and through him.  Eucharist calls us to see and experience God in everyone and everything.”

“We are not simply called to sit and worship Christ in the bread and wine, mystically transformed into his body and blood. We are called to recognize the Divine DNA in all of creation, and to let this realization transform us, calling us to be become the real presence, and to experience the real presence of Christ everywhere.”

A few weeks later, in a Sunday homily, Father said “If we do not become the real presence of Christ... if when we leave the church, we don't see Christ in others and be Christ for others... then we do not truly understand the real presence of Christ." 

So, what’s missing?  While we are focused on convincing people of the Real Presence of Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the bread and wine, we may be overlooking the most important message, the reason Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the first place, so we can become the presence of Christ for others. Living with Real Presence… together.

“Our creator has a far greater interest in moving hearts and stirring souls than in making laws. That's how Christ went about his work as well. Jesus gifted us with a much better path to walk toward a life of unity, harmony, peace, and love - Eucharist. We needn't rely on the proceedings of governments and other civil structures to pave humanity's way toward happiness and joy. We can do it ourselves by breaking bread together.

Once we open ourselves to the deeper mystery of real presence, we are able to glimpse the magnificence of the gift. The Body and Blood of Christ is so much more than a physical specimen. It is a soothing balm, a healing salve. It is hope, compassion, and mercy. It is the promise delivered and the potential realized of unity between creator, creating, and creation. It is love. And it is given to us freely, asking only that we open ourselves to it.

I am reminded that I am broken and on a journey toward wholeness. We all are. The gift of Eucharist, and the joy of living a eucharistic way of life, brings us into real presence with self, with others, and with all creation. Here we find wholeness.”[3]

If you’re interested in reading more on this subject, I suggest reading “Living with Real Presence - Eucharist as an Approach to Life, by S. James Meyer from Twenty-Third Publications. It is a short, easy to read book, with a deep and important message for us all.

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[1] National Eucharistic Revival website, https://www.eucharisticrevival.org/

[2] John 13:34

[3] S. James Meyer, Living with Real Presence - Eucharist as an Approach to Life, Twenty-Third Publications, pgs. 120-121

Note: In keeping with the book of Genesis, where God says "Let us create humans in our own image, after our likeness... Male and female they created them." I have chosen to us They/Them to refer to God in the above reflection, reflecting the relational nature of God as Love, rather than God as Father/Mother/Parent/Creator.