What kind of Presence are you expecting?

Earlier this year several U.S. Catholic bishops issued statements that at first glance seemed routine and fell into the "so what else is new?" category. But they were not really routine and deserve careful attention. The bishops spoke out to call attention to the centrality of the eucharistic celebration at the Sunday Mass. Their concern was that with so much attention paid to other aspects of the liturgy -- the prayers of the faithful, the homily, the hymns -- the enormous importance of the Eucharist, with the Consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ as well as the reception of the Eucharist in Communion, is sometimes sidetracked.

Bishop Matthew Clark of Rochester, New York, in his guidelines emphasizing the centrality of the Sunday Eucharist, insisted that "any other liturgical celebration in lieu of Sunday Eucharist is an extraordinary measure and not the norm.

"When the Sunday Eucharist will not be celebrated in a parish due to the lack of a priest" and "it is not possible for members of the faithful to participate at Mass at another parish ... they are encouraged to take part in the Liturgy of the Word or the Liturgy of the Hours celebrated in their parish church or engage in prayer personally," the Rochester guidelines say.

In a somewhat different context, Bishop James Garland of Marquette, Michigan also spoke of the centrality of the Mass. "The church has always sought a balanced and full understanding of the Eucharist." That is why the church teaches that the celebration of the Mass "should hold the preeminent place in the church's prayer life." Garland was speaking to the concern that he and others are sharing about the growing popularity of "a movement to encourage perpetual adoration of the exposed blessed sacrament in parishes."

Prior to the Second Vatican Council, Garland explained, "private and silent adoration of the Lord truly present on the altar or in the tabernacle appeared to be our primary understanding of eucharistic worship."

However, Garland continued, "external and internal participation in the eucharistic sacrifice, especially by reception of Holy Communion, was key to the liturgical renewal that Pope Paul VI and the Vatican Council instituted. With the renewal now in place, we realize that our worship is not limited to adoration of the blessed sacrament. Rather and preeminently our eucharistic worship is an act of participation in the Mass."

The Diocese of Rochester guidelines emerged from year-long discussions in parishes. Not only was the centrality of the Sunday Eucharist emphasized, but the discussions revealed confusion among the participants about the Eucharist itself.

"A lot of people have a little of the truth (in this matter), but not everybody has all of it," says Joan Workmaster, director of the Rochester Office of Liturgy, who was a leader of the discussion. But in light of a survey of the study's participants, Workmaster may have understated the confusion.

At the eight parishes studied thus far, parishioners filled out evaluation forms that included a question on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

"It's interesting the number of people, 60 to 65 percent, who have indicated that they do not believe this!" (Exclamation point added by this author.)

These results were consistent from parish to parish and between age groups, Workmaster adds.

These numbers also parallel those of a poll conducted by The New York Times/CBS News in April 1994. Of Catholics surveyed, 34 percent said they believed the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ, while 63 percent said they are just symbolic reminders of Jesus.

"Such survey results are frightening," says Franciscan Sister Ann Rehaver, associate director of the U.S. bishops' Secretariat for the Liturgy.

The surveys indicate "we have some major work to do in helping people to understand what happens when we celebrate the Eucharist," she says. "This isn't just a reminder of something that happened historically."

What this confusion about the Real Presence may indicate is that some, perhaps many, articles of our Catholic faith that we learned by rote, or at least without careful catechetical instruction, are fragile reeds that bend easily in almost any wind.

Perhaps even more important is that in taking the truths of our Catholic religion for granted, we have not taken the leap of faith upon which all of them are grounded. If we fail to believe that "with God all things are possible," it's no wonder that we sometimes stumble when confronted with the miracle of transubstantiation, bread and wine becoming the Body and Blood of Jesus.

Yes, faith is a gift of God, not something we can blithely pack in our bag of lifetime experiences. But we are not likely to receive this gift if we don't open our minds and hearts to welcome it.