Visitation of Our Lady

A poll was released recently stating that only 1/3 of the Catholics in this country believe the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist. This means that 2/3 of the Catholics in the U.S. believe that the Eucharist is only a symbol, and not really and truly Jesus’ Body and Blood. This failure begins with the clergy. Yes, catechesis is part of it too, but it is the shepherds who are at the root of the cause. I am not writing this to throw blame at those who have been ordained longer than me (I’ve been a priest 6 years for those keeping score at home.). Besides just restating the Church’s teaching, are there other arguments, or other ways, that we can come to know and believe that the Eucharist is Jesus’ Body and Blood? I think so. Here are a few in no particular order.

This is what the Lord says: “ Let my people go, so that they may worship me” (Exodus 9:1). This was God’s design for the people of Israel when He led them out of Egypt. God desires that His chosen people serve and Worship Him as their one true God. In the book of Exodus, we see Moses fulfilling this promise as he led Israel to prayer and worship. Our God is a jealous God who does not want to share His glory with anyone. All He wants is to have a true communion with us, His chosen people. However, for us to enter into that intimacy with God, we must be men and women of prayer.

Part of the rub, or the difficulty that comes with being a disciple of Christ, is the responsibility that comes with it. What I mean by this is that our life no longer becomes our own. We can no longer do what we want to do anymore. Christ now has a stake in our lives. We were created from nothing by God, and redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ. We are following the steps of Jesus Christ, not blazing our own trails. This is what St. Paul is trying to get across to us in the Second Reading from his letter to the Colossians.

One of the tragedies in today's world is our inability to pray well. Today, men and women are getting too busy with the struggles of life that they forget to spend little time with God in prayer. Prayer, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, is “the raising of our minds and our hearts to God.” By the above, it means for us to pray, we must set aside a few minutes daily to speak with God as we do with our friends and loved ones. Lack of communication destroys our human connections with one another. Likewise, when we stop praying we drift away from God who desires to be in communion with us always.

In the Gospel this weekend we hear about the known story of Martha and Mary. Jesus was very close to them and their family, as Lazarus was their brother. He was visiting them one day and was teaching them. Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, glued to Him and hanging onto every word that He had to say. Martha, meanwhile, was concerning herself with the household things, and being a good hostess to their special guest.