The Real Presence Through The Ages, # 6204

For twenty centuries countless witnesses have testified through their writing, music and works of art to their unwavering faith in the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. The examples cited in this work have been chosen simply and somewhat at random to illustrate the constancy of this faith in this fundamental truth of the Church down through the ages. These witnesses to belief in the Real Presence are like "voices" echoing the invitation and challenge of Jesus himself who, in providing sustenance for the multitude, not only promised to satisfy their spiritual hunger by giving himself to them under the appearances of bread and wine, but also challenged them to accept the truth of his words with the question, "Would you likewise go away?" (Jn 6:67). It is an existential and personal question that cannot be brushed aside casually. It calls for a response. To neglect it is to throw away the richest dimension of being human, namely, the experience of personal union with Him who alone can satisfy our heart's deepest yearnings.

About the Editor: Father Michael L. Gaudion-Parker is a priest from England who lives near Assisi in Italy and collaborates with the Pontifical Committee of the Holy See for International Eucharistic Congresses. He is the author of two other studies on the Eucharist published by Alba House: Heart in Pilgrimage: Christian Spirituality in the Light of the Eucharistic Mystery (1994) and A Window on the Mystery of Faith: Mystical Umbria Enlivened by the Eucharist (1997).