According to a Pew Research Center Survey released in 2019, only about 30% of Catholics say that they believe that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. 

 

The other 70% believe that the bread and wine that are consecrated at Mass remain bread and wine. Our reverence for them, in that case, is because they are symbolic but not truly the sacramental presence of Jesus Christ.

 

The result of this survey is cause for deep concern. The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is fundamental for us as Catholics.

 

To begin with, the faith of the Church from the earliest days has taken Jesus at His word, spoken at the Last Supper. “This is my body” He told the Apostles. “This is my blood.” 

 

Linked to the sacrifice of Jesus’s body and blood on the cross on the following day, the Church’s acceptance of Jesus’s words were foundational.

 

Because Jesus entrusted to the Church, to us, His true presence, it means that our goal of a personal love and friendship with the Son of God is made available to us even in this life. 

 

Jesus is not simply with us in memory or in our best imagination of Him. The ability to be with Jesus in His sacred Body and Blood at Mass, in eucharistic adoration, or in prayer before the tabernacle is God’s gift of His presence to us.

 

Because our Catholic faith affirms the real presence of Christ, we must also reflect on the full meaning of God among us in such a physical and intense manner. When we are in the presence of the Eucharist it is the all holy and all powerful God before whom we stand or kneel. Our hearts must rejoice at that gift. 

 

But at the same time we should examine our souls, our lives and our efforts at living a life of holiness. We must rise well above a casual attitude when we are in the presence of the Eucharist.

 

Above all, our reception of Christ in the Eucharist, during the Mass or when brought to us, in the hospital for example, brings with it a great personal responsibility. We must examine our lives and be as certain as our conscience will allow that we are free from mortal sin, which is a profound contradiction to the love of God. 

 

St. Paul reminded the early community at Corinth that there is such a thing as receiving the Eucharist unworthily with the deadly consequences for salvation (see 1 Cor 11). That is why regular confession has such a profound connection to receiving the Eucharist.

 

Additionally, our reception of holy Communion is more than simply a personal sign of love for Jesus. It is itself a public witness of our acceptance of the fullness of the faith taught and held by the Catholic Church. That is why we refer to “communion.” We testify that our faith and our lives are in communion not only with the truth of the eucharistic presence, but with the faith of the whole Church. 

 

If at any moment of life we cannot make that public witness for any reason, we should still come to Mass. God’s love is still offered to us and our worship is still essential. Nevertheless, we should not present ourselves to receive the Eucharist until our faith or life situation is resolved. 

 

“My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him …” (Jn 6: 55-56). What a great gift the Eucharist is. We can see why our faith and life need to reflect that truth.