I've often had discussions with non-Catholics about the various aspects of the Catholic faith that they either misunderstand, or think are wrong, regardless of whether they fully understand them or not. Ironically, they very rarely mention the Eucharist, which is the single most important distinction between Catholics and Protestants. In fact, I would argue, that it is the single most important thing that makes Catholics, Catholic. And it is extremely unfortunate that many Catholics do not believe in the real presence of Christ - Body, Soul, and Divinity, in the Eucharist.

Before going further, I must admit that, as a Catholic convert, the Eucharist was the last thing I came to fully accept about the Catholic faith. Originally I thought that, since I accepted pretty much everything else about the Catholic faith, I could be Catholic without accepting the Eucharist. Now that I not only fully accept the Eucharis, but have experienced the Eucharist, I know that I was wrong. Again, it is now my belief that if you do not accept the Eucharist, you are not truly Catholic.

My theory on why non-Catholics who wish to criticize the Catholic Church rarely bring up the Eucharist, is that they can't go pulling out bible quotes to defend themselves. Sure, those who say they are "Bible only" (few truly are, they only think they are) are apt to ignore the fact that all of the early Christian writings show that the Church, from it's very beginning, accepted the real presence in the Eucharist. And these same writings, show that the Apostles not only accepted it, but that they absolutely understood that at the Last Supper when Jesus said, "This is my Body," and "This is my blood," he meant it very literally. Even though these writings are very credible, since they aren't actually in the Bible, the "Bible only" people will chose to ignore them. However, it is very hard to ignore the Bible itself on this. And Jesus repeatedly states that unless you eat the flesh of his body and drink his blood, you will not have eternal life. And nowhere, I repeat nowhere in the Bible, is there any indication that he is speaking figuratively. In fact, in John, Chapter 6, he makes it very clear that he is not. He starts out by emphasizing it "Amen, Amen, I say unto you...", and then when questioned about it, rather than explaining it away, he doubles down on it. To the degree that many of his followers left. Why did they leave, because they clearly understood that he was speaking very literally, and they could not accept it. In the end he turns to the Apostles and asks if they too are going to leave him. When Jesus asks this, he is not only asking the twelve Apostles who are there with him, he is asking all of us in the future, are we too going to leave him. Or, will we accept his true presence in the Eucharist.

The are several reasons why I believe the Eucharist is so important. First, it is the primary focus of the Mass. Many non-Catholics, and even may Catholics (and yes, I used to be one of them), say that they find the Mass to be repetitive and boring. However, if you realize that when you go to Mass, not only is the real presence of Jesus there, but you are preparing yourself to receive that real presence, then there is no way that the Mass can be boring, no matter how bad the priests Homily is, or how dull you find the music to be. You are there in the presence of Christ, as part of the Trinity, the creator of the Universe. And, in the end, you get to receive his entire Body, Soul, and Divinity, within you. To say that this is boring would be like going to a Yankees game, getting to sit in the dugout with the players, getting signed baseballs and bats from each of the players, and then saying that the game was boring. In fact, it would be worse. By receiving Christ in the Eucharist, we receive his full redemption. More than that, we receive spiritual nourishment directly from Christ. Jesus said he is the bread of life, his flesh is true food, his blood is true drink There is nothing that can help us more in our spiritual life than receiving the Eucharist.

Outside of receiving the Eucharist at Mass, there is Holy Adoration. While not directly receiving Christ, here you are in the direct presence of Christ. And, in a way that cannot be experienced any place else. If you truly love Christ, if you truly want to get to know Christ better, the best way to do that is spend time with him. And Holy Adoration is the best place to do that.

How do I know all of this. As I eluded to earlier, I've experienced it. For those who haven't, all I can say is there is no experience here on earth like it. I, like many of you, both Catholic and non-Catholic, have been to Christian gatherings, retreats, and even Christian concerts where I felt the Holy Spirit come down and enter within me. And, it is truly an amazing experience. However, it still does not compare with going into Holy Adoration and experiencing the direct presence of Jesus Christ. Could I live a good Christian without it? Probably. But, I probably would not be as good of a Christ follower, and I certainly wouldn't be as much of a Christ lover.