The Real Presence and Acceptance-in-Faith

A few years ago the Pew Research Center published the results of a study that sent ripples of concern and outright consternation throughout the Catholic world.  The study found that only about one-third of those questioned believed that during Mass the bread and wine actually became the Body and Blood of Jesus.  The researchers therefore felt justified in stating that “the majority of Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine used at Mass become the body and blood of Christ.” Bishop Robert Barron described the results as “a wake-up call to all of us in the Church.”
     The results of this study should not be easily dismissed or ignored.  However, I believe the findings can be viewed as misleading and the resultant anxiety misplaced.  Why?  Because the Church does not require belief that the body and blood of Christ are truly present.  Rather, we are obligated to accept this teaching in faith.  This is clearly stated in the Catechism, where it says that the Real Presence “cannot be apprehended by the senses, but only by faith, which relies on divine authority” (1381).  St. Augustine put it this way: “What you see is the bread and the chalice…but what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the Body of Christ and the chalice…the Blood of Christ” (Sermon 272).  Joyce Stolberg, in her book God Calls You By Name, writes that “We accept the profound invitation to receive this loving self-gift of Jesus on Faith without struggling to comprehend it with our intellects.”  Our obligation is not to believe, but to accept.
     Acceptance and belief are quite different, primarily because we cannot directly control what we believe.  We do, however, have complete control over what we accept.  For example, imagine a woman (let’s call her Jane) who struggles to believe in the Real Presence.  She has read, prayed, and meditated on the issue, to no avail.  She wonders if she can somehow make herself believe, and one night she tells herself, “Tomorrow morning, beginning at 6 A.M., I will begin to believe.” 
     Obviously, attempts like this to directly control what we believe won’t work.  Instead of fretting about her lack of belief, Jane should be focusing on what she can control – acceptance of  the Real Presence, in accordance with the teaching of the Magisterium.  Consider this statement from the Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “When all the Bishops throughout the world, together with the Pope…proclaim a doctrine that has been divinely revealed, it must be accepted with the obedience of faith by the whole people of God” (from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults). 
     It should be noted that the term acceptance-in-faith does not imply passive acquiescence or disinterested agreement with the Church.  Quite the opposite.  Acceptance of a teaching requires that we understand it, commit to it, and follow up this commitment with action.  We must first discern precisely what the teaching consists of.  As Blessed John Henry Newman puts it, “We cannot not assent to a teaching without some intelligent apprehension of it” (from the John Henry Newman Collection).  Then we must pray and reflect on its meaning in our lives and decide what form our commitment will take.  Finally, we must enact an action plan, which inevitably includes, at a minimum, regular meaningful participation in the liturgy.  Understanding, commitment, and action:  these are the essential ingredients any time we accept a teaching in faith. 
    We should never, therefore, look upon acceptance-in-faith as a weak substitute for belief.  Acceptance is the bedrock of our faith, the foundation upon which we build our Catholic lives.  Acceptance of the Real Presence is the primary means by which we ascend the ladder of faith to the heart of Catholicism, the Kingdom of God, and eternal life.