The words of Our Lord in the sixth chapter of St John’s gospel shocked His Jewish listeners. It was unthinkable that a man would give his flesh and blood as food to others. Our Lord did not modify his words but insisted that His flesh was real food and His blood real drink.

Even the apostles did not claim to understand Him: St Peter simply showed their trust in Him by saying “Lord to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life.” At the Last Supper, Our Lord showed them the way in which He would give His flesh and blood to them and to the Church until the end of time.

From the very beginning, the Church has insisted on the real and substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist. In the face of heresies at various times she has continued to do so, especially at the Council of Trent in answer to the new doctrines of the reformers.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI reaffirmed this teaching. He said:

“Once the substance or nature of the bread and wine has been changed into the body and blood of Christ, nothing remains of the bread and the wine except for the species—beneath which Christ is present whole and entire in His physical reality,” (Mysterium Fidei n.46)

Our external reverence can both show our faith and confirm it. Genuflecting devoutly, receiving Holy Communion with care, attending Benediction, showing reverence in the Church, all help to remind us that we do not believe the Eucharist to be “blessed bread” but the true body and blood of Christ.