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According to a recent poll only 32% of the laity, and 50% of priests in the Catholic Church believe in the Eucharistic presence.

Good morning to all.

Dear Mike, I have never, ever met a priest or layperson who did not believe in the Eucharistic presence. I know of only one friend who has met someone with such unbelief. Before accepting or quoting such polls, I would suggest that certain questions be asked, among them: who took the poll; how were the question(s) phrased; what were the parameters (?spelling) which were set for the poll population; in asking persons identifying themselves as Catholics, were there any questions asked to validate the level of faith participation in the respondents` lives (e.g., do they participate in the liturgy daily, weekly, or only on special occasions); what was the educational level of each respondent; did the person(s) taking the poll have the expertise to design a valid poll; did the poll-taker(s) have an axe to grind.

Personally, I don`t put much stock in these polls. People who haven`t seen the inside of a church since their wedding (if they chose to have a church wedding) or a relative`s funeral should not be included in the poll population and I do not think that poll-takers have enough screening questions to have a truly valid poll.

I am not a member of the "gloom and doom" party who see the Church going full-throttle down the highway of destruction and ruin. There have always been problems, disputes, and issues which have caused division and dissension and the last thing that we (the ecclesial we) should do is run about casting anathemas and making up - yes, making up - litmus tests. For anyone who actively practices her/his faith, it is readily apparent when a person`s beliefs do not appear to be in agreement with the faith of the Church. I advise my family and friends to keep in mind that Jesus told us that He would always be with us. The Church, which is the bride of the Christ, will not be allowed to go astray.

Dear Teen: Please, please do not tell anyone to "shut up." That is just plain rude. Please try to be respectful of the dignity of others. IMHO, telling someone, albeit a person not on the Forum, to "shut up" is not respectful. We owe every person respect, indeed, great respect, even those who do the most objectively evil acts, because each person is a child of God, a unique creation of a loving Creator.

Take care and God bless,

Charles

At lesat some of this so-called "lack of faith" is really based upon confusion. Only a few weeks ago I had visitor who kept asking me whether the Holy Gifts are the genuine Body of Christ or are symbolic of the Body of Christ. He was most frustrated when I persisted in saying that his question involves a false dichotomy and a poor understanding of what a symbol is. By the same token, there are certainly people who somewhere along the line were introduced to the term "Transubstantiation" but don't honestly know what it means. We truly could do with better and more fequent teaching on the subject. But confusion is not the same phenomenon as lack of faith.
Incognitus

Incognitus- It seems to me possible that you were misunderstanding your visitor. He may well have been testing you; Catholics these days are for good reason suspicious of priests, as so many priests are not true to the Faith. Especially if he knows of your political liberalism [which many identify with theological shakiness] he may have been sounding you out. From what you say of your response you probably flunked.

I have never met a priest who did not believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Now I have met one or two who seemed really indifferent to the Eucharist and what they were doing in consecrating the bread and wine. But I thought it might have been a case of familiarity breeding contempt, not a case of unbelief.

Yes. Pearls of wisdom do indeed fail to please some creatures.

I'd still like to know where Mike C.'s numbers come from.

Oh, I don't know; by definition we don't know Incognitus. If a layman was suspicious of him he would have done well to directly affirm the Real Presence rather than attempt some subtle theological "pearl of wisdom" which no doubt seemed evasive...

I too, had heard these statistics quoted in a recent homily. I don't know the source or the exact question(s) posed by the pollsters. I tended to believe the statistic about lay people more than the one about priests, but again, without knowing the source or the questions, it's hard to know what the numbers mean.

Unlike someone who posted above (I'm sorry that I forgot his name, it was a gentleman, though), I have met MANY lay people who are skeptical about the Eucharistic presence. Honestly, at least half of my friends fall into that category and it makes me feel quite sad - some of them say they'd like to believe, but they feel the need for tangible evidence.

All I can say to them is that I believe and take to heart the story of St. Thomas and the blind men Jesus made see. We don't necessarily see the spiritual with our eyes. We see it with our souls and with faith and hope. Your eyes can play tricks on you, as they say, so it is better to trust something deeper. I urge my friends to engage in honest and open spiritual study and reflection.

Btw, some of these same friends believe that the church should just keep quiet about "controversial" issues (abortion, euthanasia). Why? Because, when you dig deeper, they feel embarrassed to "seem" different from main stream society.

All I can say to them is that I wouldn't see much truth in a church that didn't give me moral guidance. "Do whatever you find easiest" was never the message of Jesus. He took the difficult path for us. Feeling a little socially uncomfortable in choosing right from wrong in the modern age is a far cry from the martydom our Christian ancestors and their Jewish neighbors suffered when they refused to partake in the mainstream pagan, Roman society around them.

Ah, well, no matter what the numbers let us pray for an increase in faith for us and for all of our brothers and sisters!

Please give the source.

Paul

complete text:

http://www.catholicculture.org/docs/doc_view.cfm?recnum=1340


Author:
Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan, Archbishop of Santa Fe

May 1995

Recently, a Gallup poll was taken on Catholic attitudes toward Holy Communion. The poll showed serious confusion among Catholics about one of the most basic beliefs of the Church.
� Only 30 percent of those surveyed believe they are actually receiving the Body and Blood, soul and divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ under the appearance of bread and wine.
� 29 percent think they are receiving bread and wine which symbolize the spirit and teachings of Jesus and, in so doing, are expressing their attachment to His person and words.
� 10 percent understand their action to be receiving bread and wine in which Jesus is present.
� and 23 percent hold that they are receiving what has become the Body and Blood of Christ because of their personal belief.
Any well-informed Catholic will recognize that only the first option, chosen by the 30 percent, is true Catholic teaching. The other options represent various forms of Protestant belief. As Archbishop, I am deeply concerned about the inaccurate and distorted views of the Eucharist apparently held by many of our people. I believe it is important to clearly understand the correct doctrine; then, to live according to that doctrine...

This girl was offered gluten free hosts made by the aforementioned cloistered nuns, but her mother insisted the Church giver her rice wafers. The gluten free hosts would not harm the girl--the mother wants to dictate to the Church.

The girl was, in fact, offered to receive from a special chalice consecrated just for her, without the small fragment of the host present in the priest's chalice.

The mother declined, saying she did not want her child to have any alcohol (personal belief, not medical)

The Diocese offered mustum ( wine which had the fermentation process prematurely stopped, very little alcohol)

The mother also refused this offer, stating that ANY alcohol is too much for a child and it was her right as a parent to not have alcohol 'forced' on her child.

By all accounts it seems that the Church tried to accommodate the girl's problem, but maybe the mother had a pre-determined agenda.

james

James - I think you have hit the nail on the head - fair and square too.

I have the feeling that this mom wants everything changed to suit her daughter.

Wonder what will happen if she eats in the school cafeteria - will all wheat there be ruled out ??

Sorry - have had a bad day but iIstill think that this mom is being unreasonable

Anhelyna

When we were kids, how many people did you know that were allergic to wheat or peanuts? I knew no one. Now, half of my wife's friends have kids who are allergic to these things and much more. It seems like any time a kid comes to our house, they have a list of things they're allergic to! There is a syndrome call Munchausen's by Proxy--I don't have the space to go into it here, but anyone interested can google this and this might shed some light on the "wheat allergy" wafer situation.