Party of God or Satan?
The Real Presence
Photo By: Flickr/catholicimages
A recent poll has found the 2/3 of Catholics don't believe in the real presence. Yep, that's right 2/3 of Catholics don't believe that Christ is found Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. Of course, these are probably ironically the same Catholics who embrace the "Spirit of Vatican 2". It shows just how ignorant most of us are and have become about our faith, since Vatican 2 proclaimed the Eucharist as the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ and insisted that it is the source and summit of the Christian life.
I am not sure though why so many seem so surprised by this finding. In an era where we embrace our own individualistic ideas and fashions of our Faith, why do we find it so shocking that this is just way too much for so many to believe and to handle. I mean, maybe we should be relieved that so many don't believe in the real presence since they approach and behave so irreverently in the communion line and even in the act of receiving.
Seriously, take a look at how we approach our Lord and Creator. We come to Mass in shorts and flip flops, that is if we decide that meeting and relating to our Lord in such an intimate way is worthy of our time at all. We jovially bounce up the aisle in the communion line shaking hands and hugging those in the seats along the way. We trip over our neighbor trying to shake hands with everyone we can during the peace offering. WE receive in the hand, without a bow or any sign of recognition about the awesomeness that we are privileged to encounter. So, maybe it is better that those behaving in such ways don't believe, because. if they act this way and believe, that could actually be the even bigger and greater tragedy.
Friends, the true tragedy in the Church today is not this sexual abuse scandal, the real tragedy is this, that most of us have totally lost the Faith altogether. Yes, we may be in the pews every Sunday, but that doesn't mean we know why we are there, and how we are to worship our God. Don't think that these two tragedies are not related. The latter is the disease, the former just the symptom. We must treat the disease because honestly it has reached epidemic proportions and still being ignored to such a huge degree. The death that this disease reaps is not just a temporal one, it is death that will last an eternity for many.
So, maybe it is time to embrace that Spirit of Vatican 2 and come to know Jesus more actively, genuinely and gratefully in the Eucharist. Coming to him in a state of humility and awe instead of one of jovially and cavalierly.
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About the Author
I am a wife and mother of two grown sons. Although I am Cradle Catholic, I experienced a profound reversion to the True faith several years ago that motivated and inspired me to dive more deeply into an understanding of the Church and Her teachings, and why She has these teachings and where they come from. Surprisingly, for me, the more I read and discovered, the deeper my love of the Catholic Church and her teachings became. This certainly is a journey that doesn't end, and so as I uncover more amazing facts about our Faith and Church, I just can't help but want to share what I'm learning. So, I began writing for Catholic 365.
I have recently served for a year and a half as the Executive Director of a very active and busy Crisis Pregnancy Center on the West side of Cincinnati. God is so good and does answers prayers, even though He knows at times, we have no idea what we are asking for. The pro life cause is paramount to our times, I am so honored and humbled to have had the experience and opportunity to serve women and the unborn in this capacity! I am also very grateful to God, for allowing me to see for myself, that perhaps such a calling was not His long term plan for me. We go where God seeminly calls us, and for me, that was a return to corporate America. I currently work as a recruiter and sales onboarding specialist where I am helping a Franchising company open and support small businesses that serve seniors and the elderly, giving them opportunities to age in place and live thier final chapters with dignity. It is the other end of the pro life spectrum and such an amazing endeavor!
I love being able to share this great faith of ours and use this platform as a way to express my deep love and devotion to our Lord. We need each other, and this effort has truly become a wonderful way to connect with all of you- my brothers and sisters in Christ!
