In a few days, Catholic Churches throughout the world
will resonate with thousands of voices singing “O Come Let Us Adore Him!” But will they?
We do not need polls to
determine whether or not and/or how many Catholics believe that Jesus is really
and substantially present in the Holy Eucharist hidden in the tabernacles of
our Churches and in the Sacred Hosts placed on their tongues.
We need only open our eyes and ears:
Our Churches are
virtually empty; that would never happen if we actually believed God was
present there.
Many of these Churches have
been permanently closed.
More than 50 million
Catholics have left the Catholic Church in recent decades.
Reportedly,
less than a third of those claiming to be Catholic even attend Mass on Sundays
and holy days. And of that number, less than a third of them believe that Jesus
is really, truly and substantially present in the Blessed Sacrament.
Few
Catholics understand that that the Mass is the representation of our Lord’s Passion,
Death and Resurrection.
In
too many of our Churches, the tabernacle is no longer prominently displayed; it
has been hidden and is nowhere to be seen.
We have lost the sense of
the sacred.
Our Churches are no
longer silent, sacred oases. The
loud bantering occurring before and after Mass is no different than what we
experience in social, fraternal and athletic venues.
Few genuflect when
entering Church and even fewer know why they should do so.
If
one believed that God Himself was present in the tabernacle and the Eucharist,
would he/she: wear casual attire,
immodest clothing, chew gum, talk to those on line waiting to receive Holy Communion
and/or wave to family and friends as they walk down the aisle to receive?
Would Mass only take 12 minutes
to complete, including a homily and prayer petitions?
Would
priests fail to say the “Body of Christ” when distributing Holy Communion while
irreverently dropping or tossing the Sacred Host into the extended hands of a
communicant?
Would
one run out of Church every week immediately at end of Mass if they believed that God
was still physically present in their bodies for up to 10-15 minutes after
receiving Him?
Virtually, no one even
attempts to visit our Lord during the week and the few that try to do so
cannot get in because the Church doors are locked.
Many spiritual writers over the centuries have taught that
when we spend time with Jesus before the Blessed Sacrament, we become more like
Him. Why then are we not encouraged to do so?
Houston, we have a problem. We are afraid to teach and
live the Truth.
No doubt the 60,000 individuals
who participated in the 10th National Eucharistic Congress and the thousands
of others who participated in some way along the various procession routes preceding
the actual five-day Congress in Indianapolis or online, were profoundly impacted by that
experience. These souls will no doubt impact thousands of others as they share
their experiences and try to more boldly live out their Eucharistic Faith. For
this we must be eternally grateful.
But let’s be real. Most
of the 72 million living in this country and identifying themselves as Catholic
weren’t there and are unlikely to interact with too many that had been. Has much of anything changed in our parishes?
Our Churches are still locked. More are in the process
of being closed. Lack of belief in the Real Presence of our Lord in the Eucharist
is still sorrowfully the norm.
Belief in the Real Presence
of our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is a gift from God – one He wants to share
with everyone. But He will not force Himself on any soul. It’s time to evict
the elephants of irreverence and unbelief that have tainted our Church for too long. It is
time to unlock our Church doors and invite Catholics to become more like God - to come and spend time on
their knees before their Lord and Savior. That’s when God will “do His thing”
and the tide of unbelief will end.
This would be so simple to do. Experience suggests only a few will make the effort to do so. Our Lord will likely remain alone, abandoned,
and ignored and our Churches locked or forever closed.
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