As we continue apace through the Year of Faith called for by Pope Benedict XVI, it is good for us to periodically step back and see how we are doing. Advent and the Christmas Season have already passed. Did we enter into them well and spiritually? Lent is now just around the corner and the sacrament of reconciliation always beckons to us.

We have plenty of opportunities to take advantage of the prayers and programs and talks offered in our parishes to give us new insights and just plain new enthusiasm to live our Catholic faith. (By the way, the next lecture on the Year of Faith sponsored by the Diocese of Rockford will take place on Feb. 21 at Aurora Central Catholic High School. Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre will speak on Vatican II and its constitution, Lumen Gentium. Mark your calendar!).

Still, underlying the rest of our practice of the faith is the great gift of himself that Christ has left us. That is, the Eucharist.

The celebration of the Mass and our worthy reception and adoration of the Eucharist is a truth entrusted to our faith that distinguishes us from so much of the world and even from many of our non-Catholic fellow Christians. When Christ said, “This is my body,” well, he meant it.

There is, I would say, a growing crisis among Catholics with regard to the Eucharist and the Mass. (Yes, I know the term crisis is used too often and too casually, but here I think it is appropriate.)

Periodically, studies have been done that show that a high percentage of Catholics either does not know or does not believe that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. But at the core of the faith given us by Jesus is the reality of his presence in the host and in the chalice after the priest has said the words of consecration. To believe Christ and not be deceived by our senses is at the heart of our challenge in this Year of Faith.

Christ also told his Apostles and us, “Do this in memory of me.” For us, the “Do this” means that we have an obligation to attend Mass each and every Sunday and on holy days of obligation, unless of course we are impeded by serious illness or a grave circumstance.

But as I look around, I fear that Mass attendance is becoming more scattered and more casual. One hears too often comments like, “I go pretty often.” But that usually means,” I skip Mass fairly often because it’s not my highest priority.”

Unfortunately, when that attitude takes root in our hearts, missing Mass even more often becomes easier and easier.

In our own beloved Diocese of Rockford, recent studies have confirmed this concern. In a typical parish, over the past decade Mass attendance has declined nearly 20 percent. This cannot happen without spiritual consequences for us.

If we do not come to Mass to adore the God who made us and to bring our joys and sorrows to Him, if we do not receive the graces from the Mass and worthy reception of holy Communion, our souls and our spiritual resolve will necessarily be weakened before the challenges of life.

As part of this Year of Faith, we must rededicate ourselves to Christ in the Mass and in the Eucharist. We need to inflame our hearts. There is no greater moment each week than when we whisper to ourselves “My Lord and my God” as the priest raises the host, and when we respond proudly “Amen” when we hear the words, “The Body of Christ.” He is truly present and that presence is his great gift to us.