When one intends to desecrate the Host, doesn't Christ depart?

[Scotty_PGH]

This is in response to your answer to this question.

I’ve heard it said that once a person intends to desecrate a consecrated host, Christ’s presence departs. Given the scenario the original poster brings up (desecration of the host), that would seem to make much more sense to me. Christ willingly becomes present in the Eucharist. Why could He not willingly leave? It’s not as if He is conjured and then trapped until the bread deteriorates.

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear Scotty,

What you heard was incorrect. The presence of Christ in the Eucharist is not determined by those who receive it. How people feel about it, what they believe or do not believe, what they intend or do not intend—does not affect the Real Presence. He determines when to be present in this way through His priests who act in His person. Jesus is never trapped in the bread. He is sacramentally present in that the substance of the bread which is His Body. But He is not hurt by what happens to the appearance of the bread as when one chews it or even if one should desecrate it. When one attempts to desecrate the Eucharist, he hurts himself, not Jesus.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.