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The question too often asked by Church leaders is, “Do you believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist?”. The more profound question raised by today’s reflection is whether we understand the implications of the Divine decision to become incarnate in our midst. Are we truly present to the Divine in our midst?

June 11, 2023: Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a

Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

I Corinthians 10:16-17

John 6:51-58

Corpus Christi: Saying “Amen” to the “Real” Real Presence of Christ

A reflection by David Jackson 

Some years back I asked a number of people what the feast of Corpus Christi meant to them.

My brother-in-law was a Eucharistic minister and told me that he was always in awe when noticing the people who came for Communion. He said, "I'm in wonder at the different hands that receive communion. A young professional woman comes with her nails beautifully done. I say, ‘Body of Christ,’ and she says ‘Amen.’ She is followed by her daughter who has just received first Communion. Her hand is small and soft. I say, ‘Body of Christ,’ and she says, ‘Amen.’ Her husband comes with hands that are rough and stained by his work as a mechanic. I say, ‘Body of Christ,’ and he says, ‘Amen.’ Then an elderly man comes, and his fingers are bent by arthritis. I say, ‘Body of Christ,’ and he too says, ‘Amen.’”

This reminded me of something I did once. As Communion time approached, I told the people that we were going to do something different. I would hold up the host before putting it in their hand and they were to say, "Body of Christ," and I would say, "Amen.” Some people were obviously disoriented in trying to make this change and the exchange was awkward. But others told me after Mass that it helped them realize how, at times, they received Communion by force of habit. This small role reversal helped them to consider what and who they were receiving.

These days, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops encourages dioceses to host Eucharist renewals. They present the statistics about how many people do not believe in the "real presence.” For these Catholics, the Eucharist is symbolic or metaphorical but not “real,” in some sense. The US bishops are investing great deal of money and energy to bring about this Eucharistic renewal.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, where I live, often speaks on the connection between the Eucharist, our faith, and our response to immigrants at the US-Mexico border. (Hear Bishop Flores’ Easer homily here, and an interview on EWTN here.) Bishop Flores, who is very much involved in the Synod process, has been called by Pope Francis to Rome to be involved in further discussions on the Church’s synodality. I am sure he is aware of Pope Francis saying: "You pray for the hungry. Then you feed them. That's how prayer works." Authentic prayer is followed by action.

To be honest, I am not sure these gatherings about the “real presence” of Christ in the Eucharist that are being prepared by the USCCB will have the effect of revitalizing Eucharistic experience among American Catholics – because I am not sure they include the second half of Pope Francis’ equation. Although a resurgence in our faith is surely needed, it seems to me that there may be more effective ways to bring about the renewal to which we are called.

If we are not careful these calls to Eucharistic renewal can simply be intricate exhortations to believe in Jesus’ presence under the form of bread and wine at Mass – as if the belief itself qualifies as moral righteousness. Instead, I suggest the critical belief within our “Corpus Christi” proclamation is that God’s Spirit is made flesh in God’s people and God’s creation – this truth is personified in Jesus and encapsulated in our Eucharistic ritual – and we must treat one another and our world accordingly. The ritual act of the Eucharist is a gift to help us see the reality of God’s presence in the world more clearly – and live it more convincingly. I fear that any renewal of the Eucharist that is not clear on this relationship within the Body of Christ (prayer and action) unnecessarily truncates the teaching in a way that risks perverting its meaning.

What ideas and thoughts do you have about the Eucharist? What is your experience of the receiving the Eucharist? What changes would you like to see in our practice of the ritual or our teaching of this article of faith? Maybe most importantly, what of our own practice of recognizing Christ’s Body in the outcast and marginalized in our world and in our communities? I suspect our respect for the “real presence” of Christ in our ritual exists in a symbiotic relationship to our capacity to recognize that “real” presence in the real people and real struggles that populate the liturgy of our real lives.