What does the Real Presence mean?

Jesus promised he would always be with us. Jesus fulfilled that promise by giving the Church the gift of his Real Presence in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a unique and incomparable way. He is present in a true, real, and substantial way, with his Body and Blood, with his Soul and his Divinity. In the Eucharist, therefore, there is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine, Christ whole and entire, God and Man. —Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 282

What does the Real Presence mean? The Sacrament of the Eucharist is the heart and summit of the Church’s life. In this Sacrament our gifts of bread and wine are consecrated by the power of the Holy Spirit and the words of the priest. The physical bread and wine are changed and become the Body and Blood of Jesus. What still appears to be bread and wine is no longer bread and wine. It is Christ whole and entire, God and Man. ‘Transubstantiation’ is the term used to describe this unique change of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.

Bread, wine and Scripture Sacrifice: A response of praise and gratitude to God The ancient Israelites celebrated and expressed their relationship with God through the offering of sacrifice. The word ‘sacrifice’ comes from Latin words that mean ‘to make holy’. This was the Israelites’ way of acknowledging that everything ultimately comes from and belongs to God and also of expressing their gratitude for all that with which God had blessed them. The Church from her beginning saw Jesus’ own sacrifice, his suffering and Death on the Cross and his Resurrection, prefigured in the Israelites’ sacrificial rituals.

The sacrifice of Christ prefigured in the Old Testament The sacrifice of Christ and the Eucharist is prefigured in the Old Testament in three well-known bread stories: The story of the priest-king Melchizedek who ‘brought out bread and wine’ and blessed Abram when he returned from battle. (Genesis 14:17–20) The command to eat unleavened bread during the Passover. (Exodus 13:2–10) The story of God providing manna during the Exodus journey. (Exodus 16:9–15, 31–35 and Deuteronomy 8:3) Bread, wine and Scripture

The account of Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves and fish is present in all four Gospels: Matthew 14:13–21 and 15:32–3 Mark 6:31–44 and 8:1–9 Luke 9:10–17 John 6:5–15 and 6:22–59 Christian Tradition sees in these Gospel passages the faith of the Apostolic Church in the Eucharist. Jesus is the ‘bread of life’ (John 6:48) and the ‘living bread that came down from heaven’ (John 6:51), who is present with us and feeds us in a unique way in the Eucharist.

The word ‘Eucharist’ derives from a Greek word meaning ‘to give thanks’. Every time we celebrate Eucharist we join with Christ, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, we give thanks, praise and glory to the Father. In the Eucharist Christ unites us with himself, and the same sacrifice he offered once and for all on the Cross is made present again. The Eucharistic Meal, or the Lord’s Supper, is the family meal of the Church. At the Last Supper Jesus transformed the Passover Meal of the Old Covenant into the Paschal Banquet, or Eucharistic Meal, of the New Covenant. It is right and just to give you thanks and praise!

Other Names for the Eucharist: Lord’s Supper Holy and Divine Liturgy Sacred Mysteries Breaking of Bread Holy Communion Holy Mass

Celebrate! The Mass is a celebration of the whole Church, of Christ the Head of the Church and all its members. The risen Jesus is present in and with the Eucharistic assembly: in the Word of Scripture in the person of the priest, who acts in the person and name of Christ in the worshiping assembly in the consecrated bread and wine What is the difference between ‘going to Mass’ or ‘attending Mass’, and ‘participating in Mass’?

The Liturgical Celebration of the Mass THE STRUCTURE OF THE MASS The two main parts of the Mass are the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, which are preceded by the Introductory Rites and followed by the Concluding Rite. Introductory Rites: During these rites we acknowledge and respond to God’s invitation to gather in his name, to assemble as the community of Jesus’ disciples and to prepare ourselves for the celebration. Liturgy of the Word: We open our heart and mind to respond to God’s holy Word, We listen to the readings from Sacred Scripture and to the homily. We confess our faith by reciting the Creed. We also offer God our prayers of intercession.

The Liturgical Celebration of the Mass Liturgy of the Eucharist : Preparation of the gifts : Members of the assembly walk in procession carrying the offerings of bread and wine and present them to the priest or deacon. Sometimes the gifts also include the money given in the collection to support the poor. The Eucharistic Prayer: The Eucharistic Prayer consists of the Preface and acclamation of the people, epiclesis, Institution Narrative and Consecration, anamnesis, intercessions, and concludes with a doxology. The Communion Rite: The faithful profess their faith in the Eucharist; they prepare their minds and hearts and process forward to receive Holy Communion. The priest, deacon or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion offers us either both the consecrated bread, the Body of Christ, and the consecrated wine, the Blood of Christ, or only the consecrated bread, to which we respond, ‘Amen’.

The Liturgical Celebration of the Mass Concluding Rites : Mass ends with our receiving God’s blessing and the commission to ‘go forth’ to live what we have received. We are sent forth to be Christ for others by loving and serving God and one another. Blessed Pope John Paul II reminded us: ‘All who take part in the Eucharist [are called to be] committed to changing their lives and making them in a certain way completely “Eucharistic” ’. ─ On the Eucharist and its Relationship to the Church, no. 20

Dom Gregory Dix (1901–52), Church historian and liturgical scholar Dom Gregory Dix was an Anglican Benedictine monk, Church historian and liturgical scholar who devoted much of his life to the study of the Liturgy of the Church. Dom Gregory’s book The Shape of the Liturgy (1945), a study of the development of the rites of the Mass, had a significant influence on the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Dom Gregory liked to say that there is only one commandment of Jesus that Christians have faithfully obeyed over the centuries. This is Jesus’ command to his disciples and the Church at the Last Supper: ‘Do this in memory of me.’