Nearly 70 percent of US Catholics do not believe that the bread and wine they receive at Communion has, during Mass, become the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. That statistic is among the findings reported in a recent Pew Research Center study, and it should concern every one of us.
During a recent homily I heard, the priest noted that St. Paul was on fire for the Lord. Normally, these words would drift over my complacent self, but this time, the Holy Spirit dropped a bucket of water on my head. I realized that my candle is a mere flicker that comes and goes at will, and with one strong wind – poof, it might be extinguished. But St. Paul, who was in prison and shackled by his horrendous conditions, had such zeal that his fire blazed strong, lighting others’ matches and sending them out to preach the Gospel.