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It’s been making the rounds lately: a recent PEW religion survey has found that 7 in 10 American Catholics believe the Eucharist is merely a “symbol”. The number falls among weekly Mass-goers, the majority of whom believe in the True Presence, but among fallen away and seldom-attending Catholics, a large majority either do not understand or do not believe in transubstantiation.
But the words of Jesus Himself, and Church teaching, are clear: Christ is fully present in the Eucharist, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. It is this True Presence that is “the source and summit of the Christian life” (CC 1324). As Flannery O’Connor wrote to a friend, “Well, if it’s a symbol, to hell with it.”
In this episode, Bishop Wall and guest Fr. Matthew Keller break down the study, its ramifications for the American Church, and how parents and priests, in a two-pronged approach, can properly evangelize and address widespread misconceptions about the Eucharist.
References and Further Reading:
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Outro music: Golden Hour by Broke for Free is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial License.