A recently published poll conducted by the Real Presence Coalition (RPC) is making its rounds on Catholic social media. The big news? Polling results plainly indicate that the #1 factor precipitating “the loss of faith in the Real Presence” is “receiving the Eucharist in the hand.”
What the poll – more properly, reaction to it – actually reveals is that most of the people applauding it, sharing it, and commenting on the results have lost their ability to reason.
According to the pollsters:
“97 percent of respondents saying that they attend Mass at least once a week and believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist … Asked what has contributed most to loss of faith in the Eucharist, respondents overwhelmingly cited reception of Holy Communion in the hand while standing.”
Well, that settles it: Communion in the hand is the primary reason so many self-identified Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence!
Oh, really?
If this were the case, then simply requiring Communion on the tongue while kneeling would have a profound impact on belief in the Real Presence. Does anyone honestly believe that this is so?
Imagine the Mass as typically celebrated at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, for example, with its multi-piece band, its dancing nymphs with wooden bowls of incense, its bizarro alter dressing ceremony (pictured above), etc.
Sure, it’s an abomination, but if Communion in the hand was eliminated, the throngs of homos and feminists that attend this ungodly spectacle would start believing in the Real Presence, said no one with even half a Catholic brain.
That’s an admittedly extreme example, but if the U.S. bishops were to act on the RPC’s recommendation to “encourage the practice of receiving the Eucharist on the tongue while kneeling,” there can be no doubt that many non-believers and believers alike would simply go parish shopping (again) until they found a Mass that suited their fancy.
As for the poll results and the conclusions drawn by those who participated: Of course those who attend Mass at least once a week and believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist find Communion in the hand blameworthy. It certainly wasn’t necessary to conduct a poll in order to figure this out.
Moreover, to suggest that this is the primary reason for a lack of belief in the Real Presence is to confuse cause with effect. Does irreverence toward the Blessed Sacrament beget more irreverence? Certainly, but it seems rather obvious that people treat the Most Holy Eucharist like common bread because they believe that it’s merely a symbol.
The question that must be addressed, therefore, is why so many believe that the Lord’s presence in the Blessed Sacrament is merely symbolic. We’ll get to the answer momentarily, but for now let us ask:
What exactly is this Real Presence Coalition?
The RPC describes itself as “an informal group of influential Catholics working to restore belief in Jesus Christ’s Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist.” Further, its “initial effort will be to conduct a survey of U.S. lay Catholics to better understand the root causes that have contributed to the loss of faith.”
According to the Coalition, “RPC has engaged a professional polling firm to assist in the development of the survey and analyze the results.” In other words, RPC contracted with and paid a professional polling firm. The RPC website doesn’t provide a “donate” link, nor does it otherwise make any appeals for money.
So, who provided the funding for the poll?
I think that’s a fair question. Unfortunately, no clear answer is available as of this writing.
Based on information provided on the RPC website, the Coalition was (at the very least) inspired by the USCCB’s National Eucharistic Revival, the primary function of which is to organize and promote the National Eucharistic Congress (NEC), an event that bills itself as a “joyful, expectant, grassroots response of the Church in the United States.”
Grass roots? According to the NEC website:
The National Eucharistic Congress is a milestone moment of a three-year initiative of the USCCB designed to renew the Catholic Church in the U.S.
Why the subterfuge? There’s nothing “grass roots” about any of this, including the Real Presence Coalition.
Aw-shucks, man, we’re just an informal group of influential Catholics.
Horse hockey. While there does not seem to be any readily available evidence that the Real Presence Coalition is a subsidiary of Church of Man, Inc., directly beholden to those who exercise authority at its North American Headquarters (aka, the USCCB), the following taken from its website tells us everything we need to know about the RPC’s orientation:
“In the spirit of Synodality, the RPC believes the laity can provide valuable input to bishops in their mission.”
The spirit of Synodality, otherwise known as the spirit of [HINT: it’s not the Holy Spirit].
Does this mean that the persons named as members of the Coalition are necessarily a bunch of con artists?
No, but it does indicate that they have been tapped to take part in – whether knowingly or not – an operation that is firmly committed to furthering the godless aims of the conciliar counterfeit church with its unique lex orandi, the Novus Ordo.
In all likelihood, funding for the recent RPC poll came from either the USCCB directly or perhaps one of its not-for-profit stepchildren (e.g., National Eucharistic Revival, National Eucharistic Congress, etc.) If its conclusions reveal anything at all it’s that those driving the RPC either have no idea what is causing the lack of belief in the Real Presence or (more likely) they don’t have any interest identifying it much less rectifying the situation.
So, what is the cause?
Well, it’s not because the leaders of the conciliar church don’t officially teach the doctrine of the Real Presence. They do, at least in word if not in deed.
IT’S THE NOVUS ORDO, STUPID!
The liturgical reform encouraged by Vatican II – given the objective sense of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy – as made known according to the meaning and the force that the Council itself assigns to that text – was all about creating a Mass where those who reject the Church’s doctrine on the Real Presence would feel right at home.
And who was the driving force behind that effort?
This is another topic for another day, but consider: The traditional Latin Rite prayers for the Offering of the Host and the Offering of the Chalice have been replaced in the Novus Ordo by two earthbound blessings that are derived from the blasphemous anti-Christian Talmud. Let that sink in for a moment…
At this, I invite you to watch (if you haven’t already) this 9-minute excerpt taken from my recent talk at the CMRI Fatima Conference regarding the Council’s true intent regarding the matter of liturgical reform as expressed in Sacrosanctum Concilium.
