If all of us truly believed that Jesus Christ comes to us in the Eucharist, and that He offers Himself to us in His Body and Blood, which is the food that will make us live forever, then our churches would be packed. Not only on Sundays, but every single day. If we truly believed in that, then the Eucharist would become our main priority; we wouldn’t miss it. Unfortunately, many Catholics don’t believe in that -- they don’t believe in the real presence of Jesus in Holy Communion. And those of us who are ministering in the church, we try to be creative and think of other ways that would attract people to church and to holy Mass. Maybe better music, maybe a reception after Mass, maybe invite some famous preacher, how about special Mass times that would be convenient for everyone, or how about giving out holy cards, or a small gift, would that bring more people to Mass? Again, if only people believed that Jesus is truly here on the altar, that He is not just a symbol, but truly Jesus Himself -- then we wouldn’t need anything else to attract others to come to church; the church would be so busy and so packed. “Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth: Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.” Do we really accept Jesus that is here in our place of worship?
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