The two together can deliver an irresistible one-two punch, knocking into the Church one who is wavering at her doorstep. The Church Fathers and the Real Presence so powerfully persuade those seeking the truth, because the former convince the mind, while the latter wins the heart. The earliest Christian writings inform the intellect that the Church's magisterial teaching, especially with regard to the Eucharist, is indeed the safeguarded faith of the apostles. Visits to Catholic churches, especially those with reverent liturgies and openly displayed tabernacles, fill one's heart with a longing to receive and adore the Body of Christ. It is such a pity, then, that some of the changes in design and worship that have occurred in many Catholic churches since the Second Vatican Council obscure the Eucharistic faith of the Church.
Structure is statement.
And whether the form is architecture or liturgy, it has the power to convey belief or unbelief in the Real Presence, not only to potential converts but also to the faithful. So spoke the new pastor of a large San Francisco parish after each Mass one recent Sunday to justify his rearrangement of furnishings in the sanctuary. A Theology of the Eucharist by Fr. The Hidden Manna is not a new book and it is not yet old enough to be called a classic. But as a reliable guide to the Church's continuous faith in the Real Presence from the patristic age until the present it deserves a place in every Catholic library.