Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
December 13, 2015
Spiritual Ponderings
Hunting for God’s Church

What would cause a successful pastor of a Christian mega-church to give up everything and become Catholic? In the book: Confessions of a Mega-Church Pastor: How I Discovered the Hidden Treasures of the Catholic Church , Allen Hunt explains why he left his successful mega-Church to become Catholic. He also invites Catholics to reflect and learn more about their Catholic heritage so that they may come to understand the sometimes hidden (or at least sometimes taken for granted) of the Catholic Church. Quotes from the book will be in bold and my thoughts will be in regular font.

Not only does Paul describe the Eucharist, he does so in language just like that of the first three Gospel writers. That Eucharist language must have been really important in the early Church. Everyone was speaking the same language.
Moreover, John in a world unto himself. His Gospel is totally unlike the other Gospels. Yet again he uses the same language they do on one key topic; the Eucharist? How can this be? Very simple. The early believers all spoke the same language when it came to the focal point of their faith, the Eucharist
Virtually no other words of Jesus in the gospel are replicated, almost verbatim, word for word, in the letters of Paul. Yet Paul’s phrasing matches that of the gospel writers too. Sometimes I had also missed that important fact in all my studies and in all my preparations.
In other words, there is more uniformity of language in the key New Testament writers regarding the Eucharist and Jesus’ word about His Body and blood than on any other topic.

Historians often point out that laws are not made unless there are problems and things that everyone agree upon are not debated. The early Church argued, debated, and discerned many things: the nature of the Trinity, Jesus’ divinity, Mary’s role in salvation, and much more; but the early Church never argued or debated about the Eucharist. The Eucharist was the Body and Blood of Jesus.

Fulton Sheen in the Life of Christ, I think summarize the Church’s feelings about the Eucharist when he comments on Jesus declaring Himself the Bread of Life in John 6 and allowing people to leave: “Our Blessed Lord would certainly never have permitted them to leave if they had not understood what He had said, namely, that He would give us His very life as our life. It could only be that understanding it correctly, they could not swallow it. And He permitted them to leave.”

After all, early martyrs had been willing to die so as not to compromise their convictions about the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

It is sad that so many people do not realize what a gift they have in the Eucharist since so many people have died throughout history protecting it.

By going to a Catholic church, I knew exactly what I would be getting. The worship would not be focused on the sermon, the preacher, or the music; it would be focused on the altar and on the Eucharist. If the message was good that would be great. If the music was rich, that would be just fine too. But that really was not the point. The point is the Eucharist.

There are sometimes in which I give great homilies that are torn apart by someone because I have challenged them where they did not want to be challenged. There are times in which I have given horrible homilies which have been applauded because they did not challenge the people who needed to be challenge. No matter the quality, I know Jesus is present and I know He is teaching me, loving me, and challenging me by His presence in the Eucharist.

I felt simultaneously completely at home and completely out of place.

Sometimes it is good to realize that contradictory feelings can exist together. We should feel at home in God’s presence to a certain extent but we must be careful that we do not domesticate God and forget about His awesomeness.

It became obvious why Catholics had build such beautiful cathedrals and church throughout the world. Not as gathering or meeting places for Christians. But as a home for Jesus Himself in the Blessed Sacrament.