We contemplate the Real Presence of Christ

My Brothers and Sisters in the Lord:

Again this month, I continue reflections on the sacraments and forming a "culture of vocation" within the archdiocese. Inasmuch as we will be celebrating the feast of Corpus Christi, the feast of the Body and Blood of the Lord, the weekend of June 17-18, I would like to offer some insights into the Lord's Eucharistic presence among us, especially from the point of view of how this sacrament is at the heart and center of all Church life, and therefore, the source for creating a "culture of vocation."

Sacrament of loving presence
The Holy Eucharist is one of the seven sacraments, and yet, it is much more than just one of the sacraments! We can rightly say that the Holy Eucharist is the source of all the sacraments. As Pope John Paul II put it, "the Holy Eucharist creates the Church; the Church comes into being in and through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist." All the other sacraments and all Christian life are extensions of this fundamental manifestation of the Risen Lord Jesus and His desire to heal, nourish and sustain us. The other sacraments flow from and connect back to the Holy Eucharist; that is why they are generally celebrated within the context of the Holy Eucharist.

In the Holy Eucharist, we remember the promise of Christ to be with us always and we obey His command to continue the Eucharistic action He left us the night before He died: "Do this in memory of me…." The Eucharist is intended to be a living remembrance of His love, so much so that He is truly present in and through the bread and wine consecrated in the eucharistic celebration. Christ has promised to be with us but we must do our part by gathering faithfully to celebrate the Holy Eucharist, sharing in the sacrificial meal of His death and resurrection and then going forth to translate His love into concrete service on behalf of justice and peace.

Eucharist: Source of vocation
In the Holy Eucharist, Christ reveals to us in a very intense and concise way the full depth of His presence and committed love for us. In the Holy Eucharist we see fulfilled the parable or teaching He gave in John Chapter 12 when He said, "Unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat, but if it dies it produces much fruit…." In the Holy Eucharist, we celebrate and experience anew the mystery of Christ's own vocational identity, His free decision to lay down His life for our salvation, His loving readiness to nourish our hunger as the bread of life.

As we share in the mystery of Christ's presence in this sacrament, we are challenged to live more fully and deeply our own vocation and commitment as His disciples. Like the apostles of old, as we drink of the cup, we are literally sharing in His destiny, accepting our share of the cross with hopes for an eventual share in His victory in the resurrection. In the Holy Eucharist, we unite our own daily joys and sorrows to the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ. As the bread and wine are changed, we believe that our own hearts and minds are also transformed and we attain reconciliation with God and one another. In the Holy Eucharist we discover our identity as brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus, sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father; we come to understand and appreciate our rights and responsibilities as members of His Body.

Here in the Archdiocese of Detroit this very month, we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the presence and ministry of the Cloistered Dominican Sisters. In their early years, their monastery was near the cathedral, and for the last half-century, they have been in Farmington Hills, at the corner of 13 Mile and Middlebelt. Despite geographic changes, their community has continuously given adoration to the presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. These cloistered sisters have as their main vocational focus adoration of His presence and prayer of intercession for the needs of the Church throughout the world. They are a wonderful witness and sign for us all of the connection of vocation and the Holy Eucharist, specifically adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Eucharistic adoration
The Holy Eucharist is a meal, a sacrifice and a sacrament. In the Holy Eucharist, we commemorate the Last Supper and the way Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover meal into the sacrificial meal of His Body and Blood. As we celebrate the Holy Eucharist and enter into the prayer of Christ to the Father, we also commemorate and renew the sacrifice of the cross. In the Holy Eucharist, we also encounter the Christ of the resurrection, the living Lord, who has conquered death and lives forever at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us and to nourish us. And so, in this celebration, we also begin to experience already here and now a foretaste of the banquet of eternal life.

While it is true that Christ's Eucharistic Presence was intended for our nourishment, it is also clear enough that Christ intended His presence to remain in an abiding fashion. Note that at the Last Supper, Jesus could have said "eat my Body and drink my Blood," but instead, His words proclaim the reality of His abiding presence, "This is my Body… this is my Blood." In giving of His Body and Blood, Christ placed no limits on His presence; He intended to be a complete gift to us, with, and for us, a gift without restriction. And so it is fitting that we should adore His presence and worship Him even outside the eucharistic celebration.

Adoration of the real presence of Christ complements the Eucharistic sacrifice and meal; it prepares us for receiving the Lord's presence in the Holy Eucharist and deepens our hunger for this sacrament. Eucharistic Adoration can be thought of as a continuation of the experience of the sacrifice and the meal, a way of savoring the spiritual fruits of the celebration. Through Eucharistic Adoration, we have the opportunity to contemplate and penetrate more deeply the love we have shared and celebrated in the eucharistic action.

Adoration of the Lord's presence in the Holy Eucharist outside of Mass was developed gradually in the history of the Church, particularly in the 13th century at the time the feast of Corpus Christi was established. In the 14th century, exposition of the host in the monstrance was introduced. By around the 15th century, Forty Hours devotion became common, a means of commemorating the 40 hours Christ spent in the tomb. Around the same time, tabernacles were also erected on the main altars of churches and private visits to the Blessed Sacrament were encouraged, especially by saints such as Alphonsus Ligouri.

The Council of Trent (1546-1564) clearly proclaimed the Church's faith in the real presence of Christ, using the special word "transubstantiation." I quote from the Council itself: "The precious sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist, after the consecration of the bread and wine, our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true human being, is contained truly, really, and substantially, under the appearance of those sensible things."

We believe that there is truly a conversion or change from one substance to another; even though "species" of bread and wine remain, substantially, the bread and wine have become the Body and Blood of Christ.

Here in the Archdiocese of Detroit, many parishes have the laudatory custom of perpetual adoration of the Lord's presence. It is truly consoling and peaceful to spend time in quiet prayer before the Lord present in the tabernacle; our heart can be totally present to His abiding love for us present in the eucharistic species of the consecrated bread. In our prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, more than ever, we are conscious of our communion with the Church throughout the world and our departed loved ones who now behold the fullness of His presence in the Kingdom.

Celebration, adoration,service
When the Lord Jesus commanded His disciples "Do this in memory of me…," first and foremost, he was speaking about the continuation of the eucharistic meal. It could also be argued from the context of the Last Supper that the Lord was calling the disciples to a life of concrete service; after He washed the disciple's feet, He told them He had given them an example to imitate. Sharing in the mystery of such a perfect and selfless love naturally energizes and motivates us to serve — like Christ, with Christ, and for Christ. Again, it is clear enough that the Holy Eucharist is not only a sacrament of love, but also a sacrament of service, the source of all life and ministry in the Church.

In the Holy Eucharist, we see enacted one of the central mysteries of our faith — the fact that God takes the initiative of reaching out to heal and nourish us. As our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, put it in his encyclical on charity, quoting the First Letter of St. John, "God first loved us …." Unlike other religious rituals prior to Jesus, in the Holy Eucharist, God takes the initiative. As Jesus gives His life on the cross in fulfillment of His Eucharistic promise at the table, the initiative is clearly God's. Our role is to accept this great love, to receive the sacrament, to be washed and nourished by this gift of His Body and Blood. Our "work" is basically thanksgiving or being a "eucharistic" people. We express our thanks to the Lord in and through a life of service.

Living the Eucharist
All of this brings us back to our central theme of Christian vocation and a life of committed service. There are many ways to live the Eucharist, to be eucharistic people. When husbands and wives are faithful to each other in Christian marriage, they are living out the eucharistic covenant of Jesus; in their own way, they are saying to each other the words that they celebrate in the Eucharist: "This is my body for you … this is my blood for you … ." A single person also lives out the mystery of the Eucharist as he or she embraces a life of generous service and imitates as fully as possible the chastity of Christ with a love that is pure and open to all.

Consecrated religious have a very beautiful way of living out the Holy Eucharist for they give their whole body and spirit to the Lord as a living offering in union with the Lord Jesus; every time they celebrate this sacrament and adore His Presence, they are able to renew and deepen their own commitment of love. One "Real Presence" calls for a response of another "real presence." And of course, it is very clear that ministerial priesthood is essentially tied to the Holy Eucharist; in fact, the very raison d'etre for the priesthood is the celebration of the Holy Eucharist itself. As the priest proclaims the Lord's Word, he draws the flock into unity so that they might celebrate the Holy Eucharist; and from that experience, the flock is ready to go forth to share the Good News with others. From the depths of his being, a priest tries to live the very words he proclaims each day as he says, "This is my Body … this is my Blood … " to the point that at the eucharistic altar, the voice and face of Christ shine through the priestly minister.

Forming a Culture of Vocation
How can we form a "culture of vocation" here in the Archdiocese? May I suggest that the most powerful way would be for each of us to spend a reasonable amount of time in contemplative prayer before the Blessed Sacrament each day or at least once a week. Celebrating the Holy Eucharist is one of the great joys of Christian life. But we also have the privilege and opportunity to adore His presence in this great sacrament; as we do so, let us contemplate the mystery of His love for us and through us, pledging to respond to His love with our whole life.

With all best wishes, I remain
Sincerely in the Lord,
†Adam Cardinal Maida