Summarizing Christ’s eucharistic presence

There are four key aspects of it; ultimately, His presence in the Eucharist can only be discerned by faith

The transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is both miracle and mystery, something that we can never fully comprehend. But for 2,000 years the Church has diligently reflected on this mystery and has deepened her understanding of Christ’s eucharistic presence. We can summarize His eucharistic presence this way: the Eucharist is the substantial presence of Christ’s glorified body under the appearances of bread and wine discerned by faith In this column I want to look at the four italicized terms that indicate four key aspects of the Christ’s eucharistic presence.

First, Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is a substantial presence. St. Paul VI explained that “the way in which Christ becomes present in this sacrament is through the conversion of the whole substance of the bread into His body and of the whole substance of the wine into His blood.” The Church calls this “unique and truly wonderful conversion” transubstantiation, the complete change of one substance into another substance. 1 The result of this complete change of the substance of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ “is presence in the fullest sense…by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present.” 2 All that remains of the bread and wine are the outward characteristics—appearance, texture, and taste.

Furthermore, the substantial pres-

Crowning Mary at the basilica

The Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul held its annual May Crowning on Mother’s Day, May 14. Crowning

Mary with the assistance of basilica rector

Father David Carter is Melanie Russell. In the top-left photo, Melanie is pictured with her mother, Kimberly Russell (right), and older sister, Mya (left). All three Russells came into the Church this Easter. Melanie and Mya are homeschooled students in the basilica’s religious-education program and in the basilica’s Jubilate Deo Youth Schola. Both are also accomplished in taekwando. At far right, Shannon Hinson photographs son Thomas and close friend Zelie Cooper after the crowning.

Daily readings

Thursday, June 1: Memorial of St. Justin, martyr, Sirach 42:15-25; Psalm 33:2-9; Mark 10:46-52

Friday, June 2: Sirach 44:1, 9-13; Psalm 149:1-6, 9; Mark 11:11-26

Saturday, June 3: Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and companions, martyrs, Sirach 51:12-20; Psalm 19:811; Mark 11:27-33

Sunday, June 4: Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9; Daniel 3:52-56; 2 Corinthians 13:1113; John 3:16-18

Monday, June 5: Memorial of St. Boniface, bishop and martyr, Tobit 1:3 and 2:1-8; Psalm 112:1-6; Mark 12:1-12

Tuesday, June 6: Tobit 2:9-14; Psalm 112:1-2, 7-9; Mark 12:13-17

Wednesday, June 7: Tobit 3:1-11, 1617; Psalm 25:2-9; Mark 12:18-27

Thursday, June 8: Tobit 6:10-11; 7:1, 9-17; and 8:4-9; Psalm 128:1-5; Mark ence of Christ in the Eucharist is not His body during His earthly ministry but his resurrected and glorified body. “The flesh of the Son of Man, given as food,” explained St. John Paul II, “is His body in its glorious state after the resurrection.” 3 To appreciate the significance of this, recall the Gospel accounts of Christ’s resurrection appearances. Sometimes His disciples recognized Him, but other times they did not. He wasn’t a ghost or a spirit—he ate with them and showed them the wounds from the crucifixion. Instead of coming and going, He appeared and vanished, and barriers to time and space were gone. What these encounters convey is the mysterious yet powerful reality of Christ’s glorified body after the resurrection.

The resurrection, wrote Pope Benedict XVI, is “something akin to a radical ‘evolutionary leap,’ in which a new dimension of life emerges, a new dimension of human existence. Indeed, matter itself is remolded into a new type of reality. The man Jesus, complete with His body, now belongs totally to the sphere of the divine and eternal.” 4 Similarly, Pope Francis wrote, “Christ’s resurrection is not an event of the past; it contains a vital power which has permeated this world…It is an irresistible force.” 5 This is the “secret” of the resurrection that we digest when we receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

Finally, Christ’s presence in the Eucharist can only be discerned by faith, not by our senses. Our senses tell us that what we receive is just bread and wine. But our faith discerns the truth with absolute certainty, for it is based on the words of Christ—“This is my body,” “This is my blood” (Mark 14:22, 24). The Church has always believed and taught this truth. St. John Paul II quotes the instruction of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (who died in 386) to the new Christians, “Do not see in the bread and wine merely natural elements, because the Lord has expressly said that they are His body and blood; faith assures you of this, though your senses suggest otherwise.” 6 St. Paul VI quotes these words of St. John Chrysostom (died 407): “Let us submit to God in all things and not contradict Him, even if what He says seems to contradict our reason and intellect; let His word prevail over our reason and intellect. Let us act in this way with regard to the eucharistic mysteries, and not limit our attention just to what can be perceived by the senses, but instead hold fast to His words. For His word cannot deceive.” 7 The Catechism quotes the eucharistic hymn, Adore te devote, attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas (died 1274): “Seeing, touching, tasting are in thee deceived; How says trusty hearing? That shall be believed; What God’s Son has told me, take for truth I do; Truth himself speaks truly or there’s nothing true.” 8

Most importantly, the substantial presence of Christ’s glorified body under the appearances of bread and wine and discerned by faith is a per- sonal presence. “Jesus is not present in the Eucharist as a ‘thing’ or an object,” wrote Cardinal Cantalamessa, the preacher to the papal household, “but as a person.” 9 This is the astonishing mystery—beneath the appearance of a “thing” is a person. After receiving Communion, wrote St. Teresa of Avila, “you have the Person Himself present.” “Behold the lamb of God,” says the priest as he elevates the host and chalice, “Behold Him”—not “it” but “Him,” Jesus! In the Eucharist, Christ fulfills His promise to the apostles, “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Matthew 28:20). In the Eucharist, Christ is truly Immanuel, God with us.

1 Paul VI, Mysterium Fidei (MF), no. 46

2 Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), 1374

3 St. John Paul II, Ecclesia de Eucharistia (Boston: Pauline Books and Media), no. 18

4 Jesus of Nazareth, Vol. II, p. 274

5 The Joy of the Gospel, no. 276.

6 Ecclesia de Eucharistia, no. 15.

7 MF, 17.

8 CCC, 1381.

9 Raniero Cantalamessa, The Eucharist: Our Sanctification, revised edition, Collegeville, Minn.: The Liturgical Press, 1995), 82-83. ■

Father Randy Stice is director of the diocesan Office of Worship and Liturgy. He can be reached at frrandy@dioknox. org.

12:28-34

Friday, June 9: Tobit 11:5-17; Psalm

146:1-2, 6-10; Mark 12:35-37

Saturday, June 10: Tobit 12:1, 5-15, 20; Tobit 13:2, 6-8; Mark 12:38-44

Sunday, June 11: Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16; Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John

6:51-58

Monday, June 12: 2 Corinthians 1:1-

7; Psalm 34:2-9; Matthew 5:1-12

Tuesday, June 13: Memorial of St. Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church, 2 Corinthians 1:18-22; Psalm 119:129-133, 135; Matthew

5:13-16

Wednesday, June 14: 2 Corinthians 3:4-11; Psalm 99:5-9; Matthew

5:17-19

Thursday, June 15: 2 Corinthians

3:15–4:1 and 4:3-6; Psalm 85:9-14; Matthew 5:20-26

Friday, June 16: Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Deuter- onomy 7:6-11; Psalm 103:1-4, 6-8, 10; 1 John 4:7-16; Matthew 11:25-30

Saturday, June 17: Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21; Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12; Luke 2:41-51

Sunday, June 18: Exodus 19:2-6; Psalm 100:1-3, 5; Romans 5:6-11; Matthew 9:36–10:8

Monday, June 19: 2 Corinthians 6:110; Psalm 98:1-4; Matthew 5:38-42

Tuesday, June 20: 2 Corinthians 8:19; Psalm 146:2, 5-9; Matthew 5:43-48

Wednesday, June 21: Memorial of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, religious, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11; Psalm 112:1-4, 9; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Thursday, June 22: 2 Corinthians 11:1-11; Psalm 111:1-4, 7-8; Matthew 6:7-15

Friday, June 23: 2 Corinthians 11:18, 21-30; Psalm 34:2-7; Matthew 6:1923; vigil of St. John the Baptist, Jeremiah 1:4-10; Psalm 71:1-6, 15, 17; 1 Peter 1:8-12; Luke 1:5-17

Saturday, June 24: Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 139:1-3, 13-15; Acts 13:22-26; Luke 1:57-66, 80

Sunday, June 25: Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33

Monday, June 26: Genesis 12:1-9; Psalm 33:12-13, 18-20, 22; Matthew 7:1-5

Tuesday, June 27: Genesis 13:2, 5-18; Psalm 15:2-5; Matthew 7:6, 12-14

Wednesday, June 28: Memorial of St. Irenaeus, bishop and martyr, Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18; Psalm 105:1-4, 6-9; Matthew 7:15-20; vigil of Sts. Peter and Paul, Acts 3:1-10; Psalm 19:2-5; Galatians 1:11-20; John 21:15-19

Thursday, June 29: Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, Acts 12:111; Psalm 34:2-9; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; Matthew 16:13-19

Friday, June 30: Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22; Psalm 128:1-5; Matthew 8:1-4 n ington Retreat House. They will leave early on the morning of Friday, Aug. 4, and return late Sunday night, Aug. 6. Pilgrimage sites will include the St. John Paul II Shrine, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America, and more. A Diocese of Knoxville seminarian, Daniel Herman, will join the group as a spiritual guide. Cost is $150 per person and includes lodging, transportation, two breakfasts, and pilgrimage materials. Travelers should bring extra cash for lunches and dinners out as well as for any donations they would like to make at the holy sites. Register, view a pilgrimage flyer, and see links to the websites of the two shrines and the monastery at dioknox. org/events/wyd-stateside-pilgrimage For more information, contact Brittany Garcia at bgarcia@dioknox.org or 865-776-9635.

The Diocese of Knoxville Youth Ministry

Office is offering the Reach Summer God Camp for all rising seventh- and eighth-graders July 24-27 and the Discover Summer God Camp for all rising fifth- and sixth-graders July 27-29, both at Adventure Ocoee in Ocoee, Tenn. Campers will be staying in air-conditioned bunkhouses. God Camp activities will include lake day inflatables, a water park (with wave pool, lazy river, and giant water slide), a high ropes course, an adventure race, outdoor sports, bonfires with s’mores, prayer services, skits, crafts, the celebration of Mass, team-building activities, group games, and time to simply enjoy camp. Some more camp highlights include four square, basketball, volleyball, capture the flag, and some surprise activities planned by the leaders. Youth at the camps can make new friendships, enjoy the great outdoors, and grow in their relationship with the God who created them. To register, download a camp flyer, or view medical-release and code-of-conduct forms and an Adventure Ocoee waiver, visit dioknox.org/ events/reach-camp-2023 or dioknox.

Parish notes continued from page B4 ties’ Samaritan Place, and (weekly) to Catholic Charities’ Crazy Quilt Friendship Center in Newcomb. To volunteer to load food or serve as a driver, or to learn more, contact John Najberg at 865-671-3930 or jnajberg@tds.net.

The Knights thanked all who came to its Lenten fish dinners, which raised $3,081 from 781 meals served, and its April parish breakfast, which raised $620 from 120 meals served. The revenues from both events support four diocesan seminarians, and the Lenten dinner funds help support a number of Knights charities.

The Knights will be volunteering as food concession workers at University of Tennessee home football games for the third year this fall. To volunteer or learn more, call Pete McKenzie at 865-6802116. Recently, the Knights gave checks for $3,750 each to the Shangri-la Therapeutic Academy of Riding (STAR) and The Arc of Knox County from revenue generated by their 2022 UT football concession sales, their Belk charity ticket sales, and a January parish breakfast.

The St. Vincent de Paul Society thanked parishioners for helping it collect a van full of food and $7,753 in donations and gift cards recently to benefit the Ladies of Charity.

Five Rivers Deanery

Holy Trinity, Jefferson City

The parish congratulated its high school graduates: Kyra Bowers, Alex Miranda, and Jasmin Morales.

The “Flags on the Hill” at Holy Trinity in honor of the men and women who have served in the armed forces, sponsored by the Council of Catholic Women, have been displayed since Armed Forces Day on May 20 and will remain through July 4.

Pastor Father Jim Harvey thanked everyone who helped assist him and for all of the prayers, cards, and well wishes during his recovery from a recent surgery.

Anniversaries: James and Lillian Katzbeck (65), Chris and Katy Richards (25),

Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga is currently accepting applications for the 2023-24 academic year. Apply by visiting www.myndhs.com and submit an online application. Contact Lisa Costello at 423-624-4618 or costellol@ myndhs.com with any questions.

The Ulster Project of East Tennessee needs teen hosts ages 14 to 16 for this year’s project June 28 through July 21. The Ulster Project brings a group of teens, half Protestant and half Catholic, from Northern Ireland to the United States for three weeks with the goal of breaking down the sectarian divide that separates Protestants and Catholics there. To learn more, contact Christina Adams at 973-280-1747 or chrisrizad@ hotmail.com or visit www.ulster projecteasttennessee.org

A Picture of Love retreat for engaged couples is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Sept. 22 and 23, at St. Stephen Church in Chattanooga. This marriagepreparation program is a supplement to a couple’s marriage formation with their parish priest or deacon. Picture of Love explores the joys and challenges of living out the sacrament of matrimony with special focus on the importance of inviting Jesus to be the center of marriage and family life. The program will help each couple gain insights into their relationship as well as give them practical ideas and tools to help smooth their journey and become the “Picture of Love” to one another. Meeting times are 6:45 to 10 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Cost is $150 per couple. Payment is due two weeks before the weekend. For a registration form, visit dioknox.org/events/pictureof-love-retreat. Also at the website are three exercises: a personality test, a “love language profile for couples,” and a fillable budget worksheet. Couples are asked to complete the exercises in advance and bring them to the retreat— see the website for more details.

Michael and Tina Sexton (25)

Newcomers: Kyra Bowers, Chris Henry, Dave and Cindi King

Notre Dame, Greeneville

The parish has adopted a section of Holly Creek Road as part of the Keep Greene Beautiful program. Volunteers 18 and older (who should bring gloves) are being sought to help clean up the roadside Saturday, June 24. Meet in the church parking lot at 9:30 a.m. Sign up in the narthex.

Help is needed after morning Mass on Friday, June 23, to set up for a yard sale to be held Saturday, June 24. The sale will benefit pilgrims attending this year’s National Catholic Youth Conference. Clean items for the sale (no old electronics or outdated baby items) are being collected in the Ganz Youth Center.

A church picnic was held after the 11 a.m. Mass on June 4.

Anniversary: Mark and Martie Benko (52)

St. Elizabeth, Elizabethton

Father Dennis Kress, pastor of St. Elizabeth since 2003 and also pastor of St. Anthony of Padua in Mountain City for many years, has been reassigned. His last Mass at St. Elizabeth will be on Sunday, June 25. The Ladies Guild at St. Elizabeth hosted a farewell party for Father Kress on June 10. A welcome party for Father Jesús Guerrero, who becomes the parochial administrator at St. Elizabeth on July 1, will be scheduled after he has time to settle in.

Wedding anniversaries in May and June include Maureen and Gordon Strickling (35 years), Larry and Mary Cirillo (50), Leroy and Agnes Policky (55), and Jim and Sandy Laurilla (60).

In March, the Knights of Columbus honored Rick and Beth Kortze as family of the month and Tom Cary as Knight of the month.

Friday prayer time in the church will be from 6 to 7 p.m. in a change that began June 2, with the rosary to be prayed at

A pilgrimage to Poland with Father Martin Gladysz is scheduled for July 17-26. The group will spend a day in Warsaw visiting the sites before continuing on to Czestochowa, where pilgrims will visit the Jasna Gora Monastery, the Treasury, and the famous icon of the Black Madonna, to which many miracles have been attributed. They will visit Wadowice, the hometown of Pope St. John Paul II, and visit his childhood home, and visit the church where he was baptized. They will visit the Shrine of Divine Mercy and visit St. Faustina’s convent chapel and her tomb, and have a tour led by one of the Sisters. Another visit will be to Europe’s oldest salt mine, which UNESCO has listed as a World Heritage Site. The mines are a unique place where many generations of Polish miners have created a world of underground chambers and decorated chapels carved out of salt, including the famous Chapel of St. Kinga. The group will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Ludzmierz, the Niepokalanow Sanctuary, and the Franciscan Monastery, linked with St. Maximilian Kolbe, and have a chance to visit Auschwitz, where St. Maximilian Kolbe died a martyr. Other sites visited will be Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, a popular pilgrimage place for Pope St. John Paul II, and Zakopane, in the highlands of Poland, and the group will enjoy a peaceful river trip through the beautiful towering cliffs. Father Gladysz is from Krakow and is excited to be leading this pilgrimage to his homeland of Poland. For more information, contact Lisa Morris at 865-5671245 or lisam@select-intl.com

Join Father Alex Hernandez on a pilgrimage walking the Camino to Santiago de Compostela, Spain from Aug. 29 to Sept. 8. Upon arrival in Santiago de Compostela, pilgrims will be met by their tour guide and depart for Sarria, the last point at which a pilgrim can start the journey and still complete the 100 kilometers needed to claim the compostela. The journey will follow a pilgrim path that

6:15 (on first Fridays, the Stations of the Cross will be prayed instead of the rosary).

The Knights of Columbus have scheduled a holy hour beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 11, in the church. This holy hour is a reschedule of the Lenten holy hour, which had to be postponed because of the ill health of key participants.

St. Patrick, Morristown

Knights of Columbus Council 6730 is the beneficiary of a fundraiser through Ultimate Shine Car Wash pay locations in Morristown and elsewhere through Aug. 31. To take part at a pay location, choose a wash and any additional services, hit the orange “enter fundraiser” code button, enter code 3040 before paying, then insert cash or a credit/ debit card and 30 percent of the sale will go to Council 6730.

The Knights hosted their annual Memorial Day event May 29 at the columbarium.

A total of 167 youth were confirmed by Bishop Richard F. Stika on the weekend of April 30.

Anniversaries: Joseph and Patricia Sniezek (69), Richard and Valerie Hidalgo (59), Charles and Barbara Chapleau (54), Sam and Theresa Comodari (51), Andrew and Susan Vrba (50), Ronald and Connie Ailey (40), John and Barbara Robey (35), David Slutz and Anne Chadwell (15), Norman and Beth Henderson (10), Charles and Annette Christensen (5), Kevin and Lauren Hanson (5)

Smoky Mountain Deanery

Holy Ghost, Knoxville has existed since the ninth century. Mass and confession will be available daily. Cost is $4,199. To register, call 508-505-6078. To view full details and an itinerary, visit dioknox.org/events/ pilgrimage-to-santiago-de-compostela.

The parish’s Our Lady, Spouse of the Holy Ghost Praesidium of the Legion of Mary held a Memorial Day rosary on May 28 at the Knoxville National Cemetery near the church.

The annual parish picnic on the vigil of Holy Ghost’s feast day of Pentecost took place May 27.

Father Bill and Sherri McNeeley are leading a Holy Land pilgrimage Sept. 13-22 with an optional post-tour to Rome from Sept. 22-26. Places visited will include Tel Aviv, Caesarea, Stella Maris, Nazareth, Tiberias, Cana, the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, Mount Tabor, Jericho, Jerusalem, Temple Model, Ein Karem, Bethlehem, Bethany, the Dead Sea, the Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, Mount Zion (Upper Room), the Western Wall, the Via Dolorosa, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. For more information, including pricing and a daily itinerary, visit www.pilgrimages.com/frmcneeley or contact Danielle at danielle@206tours. com or 800-206-8687.

A pilgrimage to Greece, including a four-day Aegean cruise, is set for Sept. 18-29. Join Glenmary Father Steve Pawelk “In the Footsteps of St. Paul” as pilgrims visit the places where St. Paul preached the Gospel—Thessaloniki, Philippi, Corinth, and Athens— and visit the Meteora Monasteries. The Aegean cruise stops on the islands of Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, Rhodes, and Patmos and will also visit the ancient city of Ephesus, featuring some of the most magnificent excavations in the world, and visit Mary’s house. For more information, contact Lisa Morris at 865567-1245 or lisam@select-intl.com

Mass in the extraordinary form (“traditional Latin”) is celebrated at noon each Sunday at Holy Ghost Church in Knoxville; every Sunday at 8 a.m. at St. Mary Church in Athens; at 2 p.m. each Sunday and at 6 p.m. most Mondays at St. Mary Church in Johnson City; and at 11:30 a.m. every Sunday at the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Chattanooga. For more information, visit www.KnoxLatinMass.net n

The Gladius young-adult group hosted Dr. Kelly Kearse of Knoxville Catholic High School for a talk on the Shroud of Turin on May 19 in Henkel Hall.

Immaculate Conception, Knoxville

The parish congratulated its high school and college graduates this spring: Matthew Calloway, Lane Harris, Kyrie Kirezi, and Mary Zengel, St. Joseph School; Bryson Harris, L&N STEM Academy; Lauren Willard, granddaughter of Mary Catherine Willard, Ann Richards High School, Austin, Texas; Bailey Cummings and Tucker Riley, Career Magnet Academy; Lorelei Sholly, Hardin Valley Academy; Natalia Jolly, Karns High School; Matthew Corum, Selva Hanna, and Joseph Keffer, Knoxville Catholic High School; Megan Hurley, granddaughter of Pat and Therese Hurley, Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles; and William Sholly, Pellissippi State Community College.

Marian Howard, a former longtime IC parishioner and leader of RCIA and adult faith formation who has been living in Cortez, Colo., returned to Knoxville for her grandson’s graduation. She attended Mass at IC on May 20 and a get-together afterward to allow parishioners to catch up with her.

Parishioner Victoria Ostermayr took part in the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Walk-a-Thon on May 20 at Mayor Ralph McGill Plaza in Farragut. To make a donation to NAMI, visit www.namiwalks.org/participant/ Victoria-Ostermayr

St. John XXIII, Knoxville

Parishioners again provided “Food for Finals,” also known as the “Groaning Table,” for University of Tennessee students taking exams in May.

St. Joseph the Worker, Madisonville

A rosary for world peace is prayed at 7 p.m. Thursdays at the grotto, weather permitting.

A potluck party for parents and students was held May 21 to mark the last day of religious education for the year. n