The Real Presence of Jesus

Hello Friends,

It is a common theme of my faith journey that many of the rich Catholic practices I now cherish were late discoveries for me but are, in fact, well-established practices in our Catholic faith. Visiting the Blessed Sacrament has only been a part of my prayer life for the last ten years or so. I have always been Catholic, but I was not always attentive to God’s prompting to draw me closer. Once I finally responded to God’s calling to spend time with Him, I found my appointments to meet our Lord in Eucharist adoration to be the most fruitful time of prayer.

At first, carving out a few minutes to pray before the Blessed Sacrament was almost a survival tactic. During rough patches of living out career and family life, I sought refuge with the Blessed Sacrament. I became very familiar with several parishes across the LA area as I was usually far from home during the workday. A fifteen-minute stop to visit the Blessed Sacrament would turn into thirty minutes – time flew. Once outside of the church or chapel, life’s problems were still there waiting for me, but prayer before the Blessed Sacrament had changed me, and my reaction to those same problems was different. This is the great gift that God gives us of His presence in the Blessed Sacrament. Jesus said, “I will be with you always until the end of the age” (Mt 28:20), and in the Blessed Sacrament, through faith, we are in the presence of our Lord. After receiving many graces during those moments of prayer, I wanted to go back and just spend time with Him and be attentive to what God wanted to tell me. Whether out of desperation or in gratitude, God always responds with His grace.
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Today, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, and our attention turns to the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. The long-awaited (it has been 83 years since the last one) 10th National Eucharistic Congress will take place in July in Indianapolis. Last year, Pope Francis wrote to the organizing committee of the National Eucharistic Congress, “It is my hope, then, that the Eucharistic Congress will inspire Catholics throughout the country to discover anew the sense of wonder and awe at the Lord’s great gift of himself and to spend time with him in the celebration of the Holy Mass and in personal prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.” The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist has been central to the Church’s teaching since the beginning. From Paul’s first letter to the Church in Corinth (1 Cor:10-16) to Pope Francis, the Eucharist remains the Source and Summit of the
Christian life (L.G. 11). In his book “Visits to the Blessed Sacrament” St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote, “Realize that you may gain more in a quarter of an hour of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament than in all other practices of the day” Those words ring true in my spiritual life.

I encourage my friends to try this most fruitful devotion. Let us come and adore the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.



​Manuel Leon
Business Manager 

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