Column: Why We Believe

Alleluia and greetings to all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Third Sunday of Easter.

This weekend we rejoice with Catholic School families, and next weekend with Faith Formation families, as more than 130 children will receive their ist Holy Communion. We want to extend a warm welcome to family and friends that may be joining us at St. Michael for these important liturgies. 

In our Gospel reading today, we hear St. Lukes account of the first post-Resurrection encounter of Jesus with the disciples. The Gospel begins with two disciples, Cleopas and another unnamed follower of Jesus, who after encountering Jesus on the road to Emmaus, were rushing back to report to the Twelve what had happened. We learn that the "two disciples recounted what had taken place on the way, and how Jesus was made known to them in the breaking of bread." (Lk. 24:35} These are fitting words for us to reflect upon as we joyfully celebrate with so many of our young parishioners who are receiving Christ in Holy Communion for the very first time. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, we are invited to encounter Jesus Christ in the "breaking of the bread" at the Eucharistic table of the Lord. We are called to see, with the eyes of faith, the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.

The Church teaches definitively that "under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity." (CCC 1413) The Church has been unwavering in upholding this biblical and apostolic teaching for nearly 2000 years. Nevertheless, the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is a challenging belief for some Catholics, with many today holding to a more symbolic view.

This begs the question as to why we would believe this doctrine at all. Today, April 14th, is my 23rd anniversary of becoming a Catholic. I recall my own study and formation as I was preparing to be received into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Boniface Catholic Church in St. Bonifacius MN. During a period of about nine months, I was immersing myself in and wrestling with the Catholic mind in many things, including the Church's teachings about the Eucharist. This was a time of incredible grace and enrichment in my life as I was discovering, really for the first time, biblical and historic Christianity.

So, when answering the question as to why we would believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, it is not difficult to make the case from either sacred scripture or from a historical perspective. Biblically, we could consider many passages including John 6, l Corinthians 11, or the last supper narratives themselves from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. From a historical perspective, we can look to multiple sources from the church fathers who taught the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist explicitly. Theologians Leon Suprenant and Philip Gray note that during "Christianity's first thousand years there was virtually unanimous acceptance of the Church's teaching on the Real Presence by faithful Christians." (St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology) The long and the short is that the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist has been the belief for most Christians for the entirety of Christian history. Knowing these truths is extremely important for our formation and for our ability to pass on the Catholic and Apostolic Faith to the next generation. And yet, I would argue that the ultimate reason why we should believe in the real presence is simply because our Lord Jesus Christ said it is so. Our intellect, as important as it is, will only take us so far as a faithful disciples of Jesus. He said, "This is my body. .. this is my blood." (Mt. 26:26, 28) He also said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven" and "whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." (Jn. 6:50, 56) We believe in the real presence because Jesus said it, established it, and died for it! Let us pray: "I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches because you have revealed them who are eternal truth and wisdom, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. In this faith I intend to live and die. Amen."