A Priest’s Stirring Response to Catholics’ Disbelief in Real Eucharistic Presence

[mdgspencer]

–This is from a post at churchpop at ["This Has to Change": A Priest's Stirring Response to Catholics' Disbelief in Real Eucharistic Presence |
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“A very shocking Pew Study came out in Aug. 2019, and it said that 69 percent of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, but that it is only a symbol,” Fr. Esshaki begins.

“This is not very surprising, because even at the time of Jesus, some of those who claimed to be his disciples left him because they did not believe this.

“Jesus turned to the 12 apostles, and he asked them, ‘Do you also want to leave?’

“St. Peter responded on behalf of the 12 apostles. He did not say, ‘Lord we’re going to stay because we completely understand all of this.’

“Instead he said, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go?’

“So I encourage you all to not run away if you do not completely understand this great mystery. Don’t think that God, who is infinite in love, would not take extreme measures to show his love for us.

“He becomes a piece of bread so that we can eat His body and have eternal life.

 

[Dovekin]

Fake news.

The Pew researcher who designed the study did not understand the Church’s teaching on he Eucharist. His questions offered two possible opinions, both of which were correct statements of Catholic theology. The only reasonable conclusion is that 100% of the people surveyed believe in what the Church teaches, though they may not understand it.

The good priest here has a good approach. He corrects the researcher’s mistake by inserting only into the statement “the bread and wine used in communion are symbols.” Without only this is an accurate statement; with only it is not. The Pew study never says “only” in its research tools, though it was slipped into some of the commentary. Father says no one understands the Eucharist fully.

Think if this was done with other subjects. Trump followers support the Republican Party. If someone read that as “Trump followers only support the Republican Party” they might be justified in saying Trump followers are unpatriotic traitors who do not support the American military, Congress, or our country. This is an absurd conclusion, yet it is comparable to the conclusion about Catholic belief in the Eucharist.

Sacraments are symbols that effect what they symbolize. The bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ precisely because they symbolize the Body and Blood. If they did not symbolize, they would not become the Body and Blood.

 

[Dan_Defender]

It is a consequence of the mentality of this age, dominated by the secular dogma that everything must be fully understood to be true. Never mind that they cannot understand/explain dark matter, dark energy or the presence of supermassive black holes at the center of every galaxy.
People should instead focus on being grateful that Jesus gave us the Eucharist, a great gift for our spiritual benefit.