Oblate School of Theology

Liturgy of the Eucharist

The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist

Lester Antonio Zapata Guerrero OMI

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In the following essay, I will explain in what ways the Church teaches that Jesus is really
present in the liturgy and the significance of this teaching for understanding the Eucharist
today. Also, I will try to explain what the Church means when she teaches that Jesus is
really present in the Eucharist.
John Paul II, meditating upon the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, remind us
that “the Church draws her life from the Eucharist...(The Eucharist) is “the source and
summit of the Christian life” 1. The Eucharist is one of most beloved treasures. We must
know what we treasure. The presence of Jesus in the liturgy of the Eucharist cannot be
reduced to the presence of the consecrated Bread and Wine. The Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy explains that:
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…,
but especially under the Eucharistic species. (Also), 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).”2
Christ is present in the minister who presides the celebration, the Eucharistic species,
the proclaimed word from the bible and the gathered assembly. Vatican II was a time of
renewal and of going back to the sources. In the decade before the Council French scholars
studied the theological concept of the gathered assembly as a biblical notion and recovered
the communal dimension of the assembly. They presented the Christian assembly as the
new People of God who are gathered as disciples of Christ and continue his mission and
ministry3. Sacrosantum Concilium did a great job incorporating and retrieving this
concept, but the council did it partially. The Council did not used the word “gathered
assembly”. The document used the word “Church”, or the term “mystical body”. “At times
it was difficult to know (because of the lack of a precise vocabulary) if the Church in
general was meant as the subject of the liturgical action or the gathered assembly. In the
years after the Council, Church documents became much clearer in this regard.”4 The
gathered assembly is now the subject of the liturgical action, and the Council demands
from her “full, conscious, and active” participation in the liturgy. The Council overturned
centuries of passivity of people during the Mass and empowered them to take full

1
John Paul II, Encyclical letter Ecclesia De Eucharistia,04-17-2003, at http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-
paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_20030417_eccl-de-euch.html , consulted 11-21-2017. He
refers to Lumen Gentium 11.
2
Libreria Editrice Vaticana, The documents of Vatican II council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, no 7, China:
Saint Paul edition., 2009.
3
David Power and Catherine Vincie, Theological and pastoral reflections in a commentary on the General
Instruction of the Roman Missal, edited by Edward Foley, Nathan Mitchell, Joanne Pierce: (Collegeville:
Liturgical Press, 2007), 51.
4
Ibid.

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responsibility of their roles in the liturgy according to their proper roles. Now, I cannot say
that all people are aware of that, many are still passive, but a lot have changed.
Sacrosantum Concilium acknowledges the presence of Christ in the proclamation of the
Scriptures. When the document refers to the proclamation of the Scripture it does not refer
just to the reading of the Bible, it refers to the sharing of the Word in community, the Word
received within the faith of the Church. The Church reads the Scriptures like the disciples
of Emmaus in the light of the Paschal Mystery. It is the risen Christ who comes to their
encounter and explains to them the Scriptures 5.
The General instruction for the Roman Missal “in line with (the Church) theological and
liturgical history, makes it quite clear that the Eucharist may be called a sacrifice inasmuch
as it is memorial and sacramental…The ordained priest prays in the name of the whole
people, offering the Church’s offering… Later, during the Eucharistic Prayer the priest says
the institution narrative.”6 “The inclusion of the people in the sacrifice is treated in
numbers 5 and 79 of the instruction: their role is to offer their spiritual sacrifice, to offer not
only Christ but also themselves. This is the exercise of their royal priesthood, as distinct
from the ministerial priesthood. The document makes a clear distinction therefore between
the royal priesthood of the people and the ministerial priesthood of the ordained.7”
“Indeed, it claims that the former can be exercised only in virtue of the latter. Even more,
the priesthood of the laity is fully comprehensible only by being related to the latter8.
The nature of the ministerial priesthood also puts into its proper light another
reality, which must indeed be highly regarded, namely, the royal priesthood of the
faithful, whose spiritual sacrifice is brought to completeness through the ministry
of the Bishop and the priests in union with the sacrifice of Christ, the one and only
Mediator9.
This understanding of Jesus present in the gathered assembly and the Word was quite
innovative at the time of the Council. The people who were present at the Mass were
almost forgotten by the celebrant priest. Now the Council calls us to participate fully in the
liturgy. This new understanding of Jesus present at the assembly calls us to be aware of the
presence of our neighbors at Mass, to create community and share with one another and
join this liturgical celebration as a family in Christ that rejoices together waiting for the
return of the risen Christ. Before the Council, scriptures were almost inaccessible to the
laity, especially if they were uneducated. Nowadays, we listen to the Scriptures as a faith

5
Ibid., 55.
6
Ibid.,59.
7
Ibid.
8
Ibid.
9
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, General Instruction of the Roman
Missal, No 5, at
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordiname
nto-messale_en.html#Preamble, consulted on 11-22-17.

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community, we are more familiar with the Word of God and are waiting every Sunday to
be nourished by the Scriptures. Fifty years after the Council, some challenges remain, for
example, always there is a need for constant catechesis. I have observed that many people
still have the mindset of the Mass before the Council. Some people have asked me if it is
ok to miss the Mass readings and receive communion; other times I have observed people
who leave after receiving communion. I might be wrong, but I think that both examples
show laity who just want to receive Christ who is present in the Eucharist, but they do not
to recognize Christ present in the Word or the gathered assembly.
In this second part of my essay I will try to explain what the Church means when it says
that Christ is really present in the Eucharist. I don’t pretend to be exhaustive about
explaining this. A lot of ink has been spilled trying to explain Jesus’ real presence in the
Eucharist. “The Eucharist is a very great mystery, properly speaking and in the words of
the Sacred Liturgy, (is) the mystery of faith” 10. Pope Paul VI advised to“approach this
mystery … with humility and reverence, not relying on human reasoning…, but rather
adhering firmly to Divine Revelation”11.
Nonetheless, that does not mean we cannot say anything about this mystery. We can
understand the basics about the mysteries of God because God wants to reveal himself to
us. But we can’t understand the mysteries of God fully until we share with him full
communion on the last day. Christ’s followers have struggled with this mystery since the
beginning. We can read that in the Gospel of John 6: 48-69.
(Jesus said) “I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but
they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven; whoever eats this bread
will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying “How can this man give us [his] flesh
to eat?”…Then many of this disciples who were listening said, “This is hard; who
can accept it?” Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he
said to them, does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before? …As a result of this many [of] his disciples returned to their
former way of life and no longer accompanied him. Jesus then said to the Twelve,
“Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answered him “Master, to whom shall we
go? You have words of eternal life…”12
First, we must start with the biblical sources. From the writings of Paul and John
there is no doubt that the first Christians believed that Christ was present in the
Eucharist. Christ gave himself completely. From this self giving of Jesus, Paul

10
Paul VI, Encyclical Mysterium Fidei, No 15, at http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-
vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_03091965_mysterium.html, consulted on 11-22-17.
11
Ibid, No 16.
12
Donald Senior, John J Collins, May Ann Getty, The Catholic Study Bible NAB revised edition, Third
edition (Korea,Oxford University Press), 2015.

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developed the concept of koinonia when he refers to the fellowship with Christ that
happens during the Eucharist 13. “Saint Paul compares what happens in Holy
Communion with the physical union between man and woman. He refers us to the
creation story ‘The two shall become one’ and he adds that he who is united to the Lord
becomes one spirit with him(1 Cor 6: 17)” When we eat something our body
transforms what we have eaten into nutrients for our body, when we receive Christ the
process is inversed; “we are assimilated into him, we become one with him and through
him”14. He transforms us into new persons and calls us to a deeper conversion and
intimacy with him.

When John uses the word Sarx (flesh) in the passage of John 6:53 it needs to be
understood in relationship with John 1:14 (The Word became flesh). It was not enough
the communication of God through the knowledge(gnosis), only a manifestation of God
through the flesh will reveal who God is 15. When the believer receives the Eucharist he
eats his flesh, this was in clear opposition to the Gnostic understanding of the world 16.
Gnostics rejected the material world. At this point Christians did not worry or
theologize about the details and the meaning of receiving the flesh of Jesus.
Also, we need to consider the development of the understanding of the Eucharist.
During the patristic era when the debates against the Gnostic intensified, the Greek
Fathers like Ignatius of Antioch, Justin, Hippolytus, Cyprian and Cyril of Jerusalem
affirmed that when we receive the consecrated bread and wine we receive the Body and
Blood of our Lord17. At that time, this explanation was satisfactory. But it was not for a
long time. During the IX and XI centuries another controversy about the meaning of the
real presence of Christ in the Eucharist arose. This controversy made the Church think
about the meaning of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist and the physical
presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The key to properly understand the real presence of
Christ in the Eucharist is in the resurrection18. In this epoch, there were many
misinterpretations about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharisth.
“Paschasius’ concern was to affirm the fact or the truth of the presence (of Jesus
in the Eucharist). Ratramnus on the other hand was conscious both of the glorified
state of Christ’s body, which made it different from the way in which he had lived
and suffered on earth, and of the figural or sacramental manner of his presence in

13
José Aldazábal, La eucaristía(Barcelona: Biblioteca litúrgica), 1999, 302.
14
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God is near us: The Eucharist the heart of life, edited by Stephan Otto Horn and
Vizenz Pfnur translated by Henry Taylor (San Francisco, Ignatius), 2003, 78.
15
Horst Seebass, “Carne-Sárx,” in Diccionario teológico del Nuevo Testamento, eds. Coenen, Beyreuther
and Bietenhard, (Salamanca: Sígueme, 2012),232.
16
Ibid.
17
José Aldazábal, La eucaristía, 302.
18
Ibid., 303.

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 the sacrament…The question of the body’s presence in truth rather than of the
passion’s presence generated most debate and discussion. The debate came to its
highest point in the Berengarian controversy of the eleventh century19.
I have never heard about this controversy and I must admit that for me it was quite
complicated. Ratzinger explains that both groups that were debating were not successful in
understanding the real meaning of Christ’s presence in the Eucharist20. The first group
interpreted the real presence of Christ in a simplistic way and deformed its real meaning.
“Reality, for them was simply physical, bodily. Consequently, they arrived at the
conclusion: In the Eucharist we chew on the flesh of the Lord; but therein they were under
the sway of a serious misapprehension. For Jesus has risen. We do not eat flesh as cannibals
would do…this was a primitive realism”21 The other group took a contrary position, but
also missed the point and again oversimplified it. Ratzinger explains that: “They, too, had
fallen into the same fundamental error regarding only what is material, tangible, visible as
reality. They said: Since Christ cannot be there in a body we can bite on, the Eucharist can
only be a symbol of Christ: the bread can only signify the body, but not be the body. A
dispute such as that has helped the Church to develop a more profound understanding of
reality”22.
Aquinas gave some light and helped to clarify this controversy. First it is important to
understand what Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist is not. Aquinas explained that the
real presence of Christ is not a “movement from place to place, taking presence in a place
alongside bread and wine, coming to be present through corruption and generation”23.
Through the consecration the substance of the bread and wine are transformed in the
fundamental basis of its being. Christ is really present in the bread and the wine24. A
transformation take place here. There is something new that was not before 25.
It is important to clarify something about this real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Today few people are familiar with the Aristotelian philosophy and concepts of substance
and accidents. There has been much progress since that theory came up; today microscopes
allow us to see small cells, telescopes allow us to see the deeper part of the universe,
electromagnetic waves and X- Rays allow us to see inside the human body. Can any of this
help us to verify the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist? Scientific methods help us to
discern what is real and what is mythical belief. It is important to consider that when we
talk about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist we can not judge its presence using

19
David Power OMI, The Eucharisth mystery: Revitalizing the tradition (New York, The Crossroad
publishing company), 1992, 210.
20
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God is near us, 84.
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
David Power OMI, The Eucharisth mystery: Revitalizing the tradition, 222.
24
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God is near us, 85.
25
Ibid.

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these same criteria of the scientific method. “Reality is not just what we can measure. It is
not only quantifiable entities, that are real…But here, where Christ meets us, we have to do
with this true being. This is what was being expressed with the word substance. This does
not refer to the quantums, but to the profound and fundamental basis of being…Jesus is not
there like a piece of meat, not in the realm that can be measured or quantified 26. It is not a
thing (to be examined). What is present in the Eucharist is a person, Jesus who gives
himself for us. It is the presence of the risen Christ among his disciples like on the road to
Emmaus 27. “The risen Christ exists beyond the limits of place and time…we will never
understand what is happening in the sphere of the resurrection”28
Ratzinger says that the dispute about the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist should not
be a heartless and scholarly dispute, but something that affects the way we relate with this
new reality. This question should challenge us and lead us to ponder our relationship with
Christ who is present in the Eucharist 29 . Receiving communion is not just a ritual, it is a
personal act. Receiving sacramental communion also implies having a spiritual
communion. By spiritual communion Ratzinger means initiating a dialogue of friendship
with the Risen Lord. A consequence of this deep intimacy is that we allow him to transform
our lives and become more like him 30.

Bibliography

Aldazábal José, La eucaristía(Barcelona: Biblioteca litúrgica), 1999, 302.

Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, General
Instruction of the Roman Missal, No 5, at
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20
030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html#Preamble, consulted on 11-22-17.

26
Ibid.
27
José Aldazábal, La eucaristía, 304-305.
28
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, God is near us, 78.
29
Ibid. ,85.
30
Ibid., 83.

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John Paul II, Encyclical letter Ecclesia De Eucharistia,04-17-2003, at
http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-
ii_enc_20030417_eccl-de-euch.html , consulted 11-21-2017. He refers to Lumen Gentium
11.

Libreria Editrice Vaticana, The documents of Vatican II council, Sacrosanctum Concilium,

no 7, China: Saint Paul edition., 2009.

Paul VI, Encyclical Mysterium Fidei, No 15, at http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-

vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_03091965_mysterium.html, consulted on 11-22-
17.

Power David OMI, The Eucharisth mystery: Revitalizing the tradition (New York, The
Crossroad publishing company), 1992, 210.

Power David OMI and Vincie Catherine, Theological and pastoral reflections in a
commentary on the General
Instruction of the Roman Missal, edited by Edward Foley, Nathan Mitchell, Joanne Pierce:
(Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2007), 51.

Ratzinger Joseph Cardinal, God is near us: The Eucharist the heart of life, edited by
Stephan Otto Horn and Vizenz Pfnur translated by Henry Taylor (San Francisco, Ignatius),
2003, 78.

Seebass Horst, “Carne-Sárx,” in Diccionario teológico del Nuevo Testamento, eds.

Coenen, Beyreuther and Bietenhard, (Salamanca: Sígueme, 2012),232.

Senior Donald, Collins John J, Getty May Ann, The Catholic Study Bible NAB revised
edition, Third edition (Korea,Oxford University Press), 2015.