Christ’s presence in the Eucharist ‘unmatched by any other way’

Christ is present in multiple ways in the Church, said Father Tom Margevicius, director of worship for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. Pope Pius XII and others have proclaimed that Christ is present whenever the Word is proclaimed. And Jesus said whenever two or three are gathered in his name, he is their midst, Father Margevicius said. 

But Catholics believe that the bread and the wine offered at Mass literally become Jesus’ body and blood, soul and divinity, Father Margevicius said. “We Catholics call that the real presence of Christ.” 

Christ is substantially present, he said. The substance of bread really becomes the substance of Jesus’ body, and the substance of wine becomes the substance of his blood, he said. “The Church understands that the presence of Christ in the consecrated Eucharist is presence par excellence,” Father Margevicius said. “Christ is present there in a way that is unmatched by any other way. 

“We need to understand and accept it in order to better understand the rituals of the Communion rite itself,” Father Margevicius said in an interview for the Oct. 19 episode of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show with host Patrick Conley.  

During the interview, Father Margevicius answered questions related to Communion, including when Catholics need to refrain from receiving the Eucharist. He referenced St. Paul’s message in Corinthians, “an often-overlooked” aspect of Chapter 11, where Paul says everyone should examine themselves before receiving holy Communion. “Lest you receive holy Communion unworthily, you could be eating and drinking condemnation to yourself,” Father Margevicius said of the passage.  

In other words, Father Margevicius said, “if my soul is in a place where I am truly not at peace with God or neighbor in a serious way, because I have committed a grave sin that hasn’t been confessed in the sacrament of reconciliation, then I can actually commit the sin of sacrilege. I can do an offense to the dignity of the Eucharist.” 

The sin is indicating in action something that is not true in the person’s heart, Father Margevicius said. “I am saying I’m in communion with God and neighbor, when in reality I know I am not. So to take Communion when I know I’m not in a state of grace is to commit something of libel,” he said, testifying to something that’s not true “in my heart.” 

During the interview, Father Margevicius recalled distributing Communion at a Mass with many non-Catholics present. He announced that those who were not Catholic could be in the Communion line to receive a blessing, asking them to indicate so with arms across their chest. One woman walked up in the Communion line, said she was not Catholic and “was going to take Communion anyway.” 

To hear the conclusion of that incident, and to hear the full interview, listen to this episode of the “Practicing Catholic” show at 9 p.m. Oct. 21, which repeats 1 p.m. Oct. 22 and 2 p.m. Oct. 23, all on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. 

Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Ryan Hamilton, government relations associate for the Minnesota Catholic Conference, who discusses legislative priorities ahead of the elections and how to practice faithful citizenship; and Kendra Tierney, speaker and expert on liturgical living and owner of the Catholic All Year blog, who describes liturgical living. 

Listen to interviews after they have aired at PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.