Yes! Along with the saints and all the choirs of angels, God, the creator of the universe, allows eternity to fold into the present and the present to fold into eternity at each mass, as we place ourselves at the foot of the cross and celebrate Christ’s one and only sacrifice for the past, present and future sins of all humanity, as Transubstantiation occurs at the moment the priest speaks the words of consecration.
If we believe that God created the universe and all it contains, why is it so hard for some of us to believe Jesus is really present in the Eucharist?
To believe that Christ is really present in the bread and wine following the words of consecration is a matter of faith. It is the Sacred Mystery and the center of our Catholic faith! Jesus instituted this Sacrament on the night before he died as he shared a meal with his friends.
As St. Thomas Aquinas points out in his Summa Theologica, that it is fitting and proper that we as corporeal beings need to be led to spiritual things through the senses of sight, touch, feel smell and hearing. Jesus knew this and so established a way in which he could remain physically present among believers until his return.
The same way he strongly desired to be with his friends at the last supper, Jesus so desires to be with all of us! Do we strongly desire to be with him? As Catholics, we are invited to his table daily, where Jesus himself provides the spiritual nourishment for our journey!
We read in Luke’s gospel, “When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." (Luke 22:14-16 NASB)
If we believe that God created the universe and all it contains, why is it so hard for some of us to believe Jesus is really present in the Eucharist?
To believe that Christ is really present in the bread and wine following the words of consecration is a matter of faith. It is the Sacred Mystery and the center of our Catholic faith! Jesus instituted this Sacrament on the night before he died as he shared a meal with his friends.
As St. Thomas Aquinas points out in his Summa Theologica, that it is fitting and proper that we as corporeal beings need to be led to spiritual things through the senses of sight, touch, feel smell and hearing. Jesus knew this and so established a way in which he could remain physically present among believers until his return.
The same way he strongly desired to be with his friends at the last supper, Jesus so desires to be with all of us! Do we strongly desire to be with him? As Catholics, we are invited to his table daily, where Jesus himself provides the spiritual nourishment for our journey!
We read in Luke’s gospel, “When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." (Luke 22:14-16 NASB)
Research more about the Eucharist @ http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/realpres/a12.html, as well as what St. Thomas
Aquinas has to say about the sacraments, including the Eucharist @ http://www.newadvent.org/summa/4.htm
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