“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to
me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” Many Catholics take the bread of life
discourse in the 6th chapter of the Gospel of John for granted, but
there are indeed some Catholics who do not believe in the real presence of
Christ in the Eucharist. Yet, going back
to the Early Church and the followers of Christ after his death and
resurrection, the belief was in the real presence. St Ignatius of Antioch, a Church Father from the 1st Century, had this to say about the Eucharist: "Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the
heterodox in regard to God’s grace which has come to us. They have no regard
for charity, none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the man in
prison, the hungry or the thirsty. They abstain from the Eucharist and from
prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior
Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in
His graciousness, raised from the dead."
Notice that in this same quote, Ignatius calls us to performs various
works of mercy in addition to believing in the real presence of Christ. And even though we have four different masses
every weekend here at St James and usually at least four daily masses during
the week, with ample opportunity to receive Christ into our lives in this
Sacrament, many who claim to be Catholic do not have time for the real presence
of Christ in the Eucharist in their lives.
How are we living out the values of the Body and Blood of Christ that we
receive?
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