Real Presence: What Does It Mean and Why Does It Matter?

Winner of a first-place award for popular presentation of the faith and second-place in pastoral ministry, catechetical resource from the Catholic Media Association.

Many Catholics don't believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist. Rather, they see the bread and wine of Holy Communion as mere symbols of Christ's body and blood. Is that disbelief just a misunderstanding or is it a blatant rejection of one of the central beliefs of the faith?

In Real Presence, University of Notre Dame theologian Timothy P. O'Malley clears up the confusion and shows you how to learn to love God and neighbor through a deeper understanding of the doctrine of real presence.

A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center found that almost seventy percent of Catholics don't believe that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist.

O'Malley offers a concise introduction to Catholic teaching on real presence and transubstantiation through a biblical, theological, and spiritual account of these doctrines from the early Church to today. He also explores how real presence enables us to see the vulnerability of human life and the dignity of all flesh and blood.

O'Malley leads you to a deeper understanding and renewed faith in Catholic teaching about transubstantiation and real presence by helping you learn

• how the doctrine of real presence is rooted in divine revelation and how the Church's teaching regarding transubstantiation is spiritually fruitful for the believer today;
• how to make your own the doctrine of real presence by worshipping Christ in the Eucharist and therefore making a real assent to real presence;
• how the Eucharist, although not the exclusive presence of Christ in the Church's liturgy and mission, is crucial in growing our capacity for recognizing those other presences; and
• the important relationship between Eucharistic communion and adoration.

Timothy P. O'Malley is a Catholic theologian, author, and professor. He serves as the associate director for research at the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame and academic director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy. He regularly teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in sacramental theology, marriage and family, catechesis, and spirituality.

O'Malley earned his bachelor's degree in theology and philosophy and his master's degree in theology with a concentration in liturgical studies from the University of Notre Dame. He earned a doctorate in theology and education from Boston College, where he wrote on liturgical formation in the writings of Augustine of Hippo.

O'Malley is the author of many books, including three award-winning books published by Ave Maria Press: Off the Hook: God, Love, Dating, and Marriage in a Hookup World; Real Presence: What Does It Mean and Why Does It Matter?; and Becoming Eucharistic People: The Hope and Promise of Parish Life. His most recent book, Behold, Believe, Become: Meeting the Hidden Christ in Things We See, Say, and Do at Mass, has also been well received. He has written for scholarly journals, the McGrath Institute for Church Life's Church Life Journal, and popular magazines throughout the United States.

O'Malley is the lead investigator on two grants from the Lilly Foundation: one related to preaching and the other to children and worship. These grants pertain to his interest in cultivating a contemplative and sacramental imagination in an age dominated by technology, spectacle, and polarization.

He lives with his family in the South Bend, Indiana, area.

The McGrath Institute for Church Life was founded as the Center for Pastoral and Social Ministry by the late Notre Dame president Fr. Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, in 1976. The McGrath Institute partners with Catholic dioceses, parishes, and schools to provide theological education and formation to address pressing pastoral problems. The Institute connects the Catholic intellectual tradition to the pastoral life of the Church in forming faithful Catholic leaders for service to the Church and the world. The McGrath Institute strives to be the preeminent source of creative Catholic content and programming for the new evangelization in the United States.

John C. Cavadini is the McGrath-Cavadini Director of the Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame. A member of Notre Dame's department of theology, Cavadini served as chair of the department from 1997 to 2010, during which he led the department to a top-ten ranking in the National Research Council rankings of doctoral programs. He is an expert in patristic and early medieval theology, with a special focus on the theology of St. Augustine. In November 2009 he was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to a five-year term on the International Theological Commission.