BAC K TO M AS S
Real Presence is the Real Present BY F AT H E R JE F F R E Y M . K E M P E R
“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that all who believe in him may not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn: 3:16) God calls us not to simply follow the rules, but to be in a relationship of love and life with Him. Any loving relationship needs nourishment, and our relationship with God is nourished par excellence in the celebration of the Mass. The Mass is an encounter with the Lord in which there is a give and take, a dynamic encounter of love with the Lord. Gathered by the Holy Spirit, listening to God speak to us through His word, led by the priest, we are drawn into the very life and saving action of God that comes to its climax in the reception of His Son’s Body and Blood in the forms of bread and wine. We call the reality of Christ presented 8 | TH E C ATHOLIC TE LEG R A PH
this way as “the real presence.” What do we mean by this expression? In theological terms, it means Jesus Christ is present to us in every aspect of His being. He is present as the Second Person of the Trinity who always was, is and will be. He is present as God in His human form as God conceived Him in Mary’s womb. He is present in His passion, in His death and in His risen state, ascended into glory. There is nothing lacking in His presence to us. In traditional theological terms, we refer to Christ being present in body, blood, soul and divinity. As Catholics, we believe that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, the actions of Christ (via the priest in whom He is present) and the words of
