The Mass – Real Presence

- July 26, 2009

1. Being “really present” to the “Real Presence”

These weeks when the Sunday liturgies focus on Jesus as the “Bread of Life” provide a good time for us to be reminded of how Christ is present in our celebration of the Eucharist. To quote the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council:
…Christ is always present in his Church, especially in its liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of his minister, “the same offering now, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,” but especially under the Eucharistic elements. By his power he is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his word, since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for he promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Article 7, ¶ 1)

To summarize then, there are four ways in which Christ is present in our celebration of the Eucharist: 1) in the person of the priest-celebrant, 2) in the Eucharistic elements under the form of bread and wine, 3) in the word proclaimed, and 4) in the assembly which prays and sings together.

It’s important that we come to Mass properly disposed to participate and experience these modes of Christ’s presence as acutely as possible. People often say they don’t get anything out of Mass. Just as a chain can only be as strong as its weakest link, so too with liturgy: it can only be as effective as those who are attending have been properly disposed to celebrate it! Are we bringing anything to the liturgy? One way we can prepare…one way we can have something to bring to Mass… is by using the readings of the coming Sunday’s liturgy in our personal prayer during the week prior. The reflection questions we are providing during these weeks here in the bulletin and on the back of the worship aid at Mass are another aid in preparing ourselves. The goal is to be more mindful and intentional in our celebration of the Eucharist. A beautiful way of stating this might be: “We prepare ourselves for Mass so that we are properly disposed to be ‘really present to the Real Presence.’” (Dr. Paul Ford) This includes attentiveness and reverence not only toward the Body and Blood of Christ on the altar, but also to the Word proclaimed and to the people around us, who also are part of the Real Presence of Christ.

Polls are showing that less and less Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It is no longer assumed that every Catholic believes that the host they receive and the wine they drink at Mass really are Christ, and not just a symbol. Could part of the problem be that too many people are not having a compelling experience of the Real Presence in all of its modes as we celebrate the Eucharist together? Maybe if they did experience this, it would not be so difficult for them to believe in it. If ever we became truly convinced of the truth of Christ’s Real Presence in our celebration of the Eucharist, we would be totally in awe of this mystery! The potential for our lives being changed forever…and our world…would be beyond imagining!

-David Orzechowski, Liturgy & Music