A Mystery to Be Believed

"In the bread and wine under whose appearances Christ gives himself to us in the paschal meal, (cf. Lk 22:14-20; 1 Cor 11:23-26), God's whole life encounters us and is sacramentally shared with us."

-Sacramentum caritatis, 8

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, through a grant from the American Bible Society, will offer a Sunday Seminar Series of five videos about Sacred Scripture in the life of the Church. These videos, offered in English and Spanish, will be offered by some of the finest biblical scholars in the United States.

Information (Eucharistic Revival Blog)

Website / Videos (English & Español)

‍

"I suspect that many of the reasons Catholics today don't see God's real
presence in the Eucharist is because they don’t see God's presence
anywhere." - Dr. Micah Kiel

Click here to read the article... 

LEX CREDENDI

"The mystery of faith!" ... The Church's faith is essentially a eucharistic faith, and it is especially nourished at the table of the Eucharist. Faith and the sacraments are two complementary aspects of ecclesial life. Awakened by the preaching of God's word, faith is nourished and grows in the grace-filled encounter with the Risen Lord which takes place in the sacraments: "faith is expressed in the rite, while the rite reinforces and strengthens faith." (14) For this reason, the Sacrament of the Altar is always at the heart of the Church's life: "thanks to the Eucharist, the Church is reborn ever anew!" (Sacramentum caritatis, 6)

Sacrosanctum concilium 7. To accomplish so great a work, Christ is always present in His Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, not only in the person of His minister, "the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross", but especially under the Eucharistic species. By His power He is present in the sacraments, so that when a man baptizes it is really Christ Himself who baptizes. He is present in His word, since it is He Himself who speaks when the holy scriptures are read in the Church. He is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings, for He promised: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20) .

Pope St. Paul VI: Mysterium fidei (español)

The Four-fold Presence of Christ

Brochure (Diocese of Davenport)

Here you will find links to (and translations of) our article series published in The Catholic Messenger. In addition, we are providing a short synopsis of each article that can be reprinted in parish bulletins. 

15. The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Eucharist (7/27/23) - Bulletin paragraph
   >La obra del Espíritu Santo en la Eucaristía (Bulletin paragraph)
   >Hoạt Động của Chúa Thánh Thần trong Bí Tích Thánh Thể (Bulletin paragraph)

14. Eucharist: the presence of Christ (6/8/23) - Bulletin paragraph
   >Eucaristía: La Presencia de Cristo (Bulletin paragraph)
   >Thánh Thể: Sự Hiện Diện của Chúa Kitô (Bulletin paragraph)

13. Eucharist as 'sacrifice' (4/20/23) - Bulletin paragraph
   >Eucaristía como “Sacrificio” (Bulletin paragraph)
   >Thánh Thể  là “Hy Tế” (Bulletin paragraph)

12. Eucharist: Thy Kingdom Come (3/30/23) - Bulletin paragraph
   >Eucaristía: Venga Tu Reino (Bulletin paragraph)
   >Bí Tích Thánh Thể: Nước Cha Trị Đến (Bulletin paragraph)

11. Sacred Dining at the Lord’s Supper (2/9/23) - Bulletin paragraph
   >Comida Sagrada y la Cena del Señor (Bulletin paragraph)
   >Tiệc Thánh trong Bửa Tiệc Ly của Chúa (Bulletin paragraph)

10. Faithfully enflesh the presence of Christ (12/22/22) - Bulletin paragraph
This is an extra article exploring the connections between the Eucharist and Advent-Christmas. We'll return to our regular columns unpacking Msgr. Kevin Irwin's Models of the Eucharist next month.
   >Encarnar fielmente la presencia de Cristo (Bulletin paragraph)
   >Mùa Vọng và Giáng Sinh (Bulletin paragraph)

9. The Eucharist as Covenantal Renewal (11/24/22) - Bulletin paragraph
     >La Eucaristía como Renovación de Alianza (Bulletin paragraph)
     >Phép Thánh Thể như là Sự Canh Tân Giao Ước (Bulletin paragraph)

8. Eucharist: The mystery of faith (10/27/22) - Bulletin pararaph
   >Eucaristía: Misterio de la fe (Bulletin paragraph)
   >Thánh Thể: Mầu Nhiệm Đức tin (Bulletin paragraph)

7. The "Effective Word of God" - Nourished at Mass by the Word and at the altar table (9/15/22) - Bulletin paragraph
     >“Palabra de Dios eficaz” (Bulletin paragraph)
     >“hiệu quả của Lời Chúa” (Bulletin paragraph)

6. The Church's Eucharist (8/18/22) - Bulletin paragraph
     >La Eucaristía de la Iglesia (Bulletin paragraph)
     >Thánh Lễ của Hội Thánh (Bulletin paragraph)

5. The Cosmic Mass: Matter, mattters (7/14/22) - Bulletin paragraph
     >La Misa Cósmica: la materia importa (Bulletin paragraph)
     >Thánh Lễ Hoàn Vũ: Điều quan trọng làm nên ý nghĩa (Bulletin paragraph)

4. The Eucharist lived out for many (6/9/22) - Bulletin paragraph
     >La Eucaristía vivida por muchos (Bulletin paragraph)
     >Phép Thánh Thể Mời Gọi Sống Cho Kẻ Khác (Bulletin paragraph)

3. Eucharistic Processions, Eucharistic Transformations (6/2/22) - Bulletin paragraph
     > Procesiones Eucarísticas, Transformaciones Eucarísticas (Bulletin paragraph)
     > Việc Rước Kiệu Thánh Thể, Sự Biến Đổi Hình Dạng thuộc Thánh Thể (Bulletin                              paragraph)

2. Processions publicly proclaim the Eucharist as food for the journey (5/12/22) - Bulletin paragraph
     > Las procesiones expresan públicamente que la Eucaristía es alimento del camino
        (Bulletin paragraph)
     > Việc Rước kiệu tuyên bố công khai Phép Thánh Thể là thức ăn cho cuộc lữ hành             
        (Bulletin paragraph)

1. Eucharistic Revival to Begin this Summer (3/31/22)  -  Bulletin paragraph
     >El Avivamiento Eucarístico empezará este verano (Bulletin paragraph)
     >Sự Hồi sinh qua Bí tích Thánh thể được bắt đầu vào mùa hè này (Bulletin paragraph)

Eucharist: The word means “thanksgiving” and it refers to the holy communion that we share at Mass. In adjectival form, it is used for “eucharistic prayer” because this prayer of thanksgiving effects the consecration and opens the door to holy communion. We also speak of the liturgy of the Eucharist as the second half of the Mass, and sometimes the Mass is called (by synecdoche) “the Eucharist.” 

Holy Communion: This refers to the act of receiving the consecrated bread and wine. Whereas “Eucharist” generally refers to something directly related to the Mass, Holy Communion may be administered outside of Mass. That is why we more properly speak of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, rather than Eucharistic Ministers. They function both within and without the Mass.

Real Presence: This is our belief that Christ is truly present in certain forms. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal speaks of four ways that Christ is really present at Mass: in the assembly, in the minister, in the Word, “and indeed substantially and uninterruptedly in the Eucharistic species” (27).

Blessed Sacrament: This is how we refer to the hosts reserved in the tabernacle. They were once consecrated during a celebration of the Eucharist, but they remain after other hosts were consumed in holy communion. All these hosts offer the faithful the real presence of Christ, but when referring to the contents of the tabernacle or a monstrance at exposition, it is more appropriate to call such hosts the “Blessed Sacrament”, not “holy communion.”

Eucharistic Adoration: Even though adoration takes place apart from Mass, it most appropriately follows Mass so that a host consecrated in the celebration of the Eucharist is put on display in a monstrance immediately after communion and is available for the adoration of the faithful after the prayer after communion.

Jesus Christ: Whereas the gospels speak about “Jesus”, the prayers in the liturgy refer to him as “Jesus Christ” or perhaps “Jesus our Lord.” In distributing communion, the minister says, “The Body of Christ,” not “The Body of Jesus.” This makes a distinction between the historical body of Jesus of Nazareth and the glorified body of Jesus after the resurrection. When we receive communion, we receive the risen Jesus. When you bite the host, you are not biting skin or inflicting pain. You eat and drink the Body and Blood of the risen Lord.

Our Lord: All three Persons of the Trinity are properly addressed as “Lord”, so it’s important to know which one is the object of our prayer. The liturgical books refer to the hosts in the tabernacle as the “Blessed Sacrament,” rather than “Our Lord.” Some people refer to the tabernacle hosts as “our Lord”, but more precisely they are the Sacrament of our Lord, the Blessed Sacrament in which our Lord is truly present. When we pray to our Lord, we are not praying to consecrated hosts, but to the God who becomes present to us in this mysterious way.
 

Courtesy of Fr. Paul Turner. Posted with permission.
Original source available here.

US Catholic Catechism for Adults

USCCB: The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist

Archdiocese of Cincinnati: Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist

ICEL: Theological Reflection on the Mass (Irwin)*
-Sources*
-Summary*

Cardinal Cantalamessa, OFM Capuchin: Sermons to the Papal Household 2022
(Sermones de la casa pontificia)

Christ Present in the Eucharist
Perfect for small groups, the four sessions are designed to deepen appreciation for the Eucharist using synodal style listening and reporting.

Scripture and the Eucharist: Nuggets and Nudges
Presentation by Dr. Micah Kiel from St. Ambrose University for the Sunday of the Word of God 2023. 

*Excerpts from Become One Body, One Spirit in Christ © 2010, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.