Presence(ts)

While my title might be misleading, that is only because it is. However, as we Catholics remain in the Christmas season, I would like to write a post especially geared towards perhaps one of the most misunderstood concept of the Catholic faith:
The presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Here's a little shocker for all the die-hard Catholics out there who might be reading my blog. There's a good chance that what I'm about to say will fill you with shock and awe, and perhaps even evoke cries of heresy and blasphemy. But here it goes.

Jesus Christ is not physically present in the Eucharist.

Now, before everyone dials the Vatican City's Heresy Hotline, allow me to explain.
To say that Jesus Christ is physically present in the Eucharist is not only incorrect, but insulting. How dare we bring the Son of God down to our level anymore than He willingly descended Himself? See, the Catholic Church believes that Jesus is both God and Man (for further information, see "hypostatic union" at the Catholic Encyclopedia. Or I guess I'll just save you the time http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07610b.htm) He took on His physical nature through the Incarnation, recently celebrated among Catholics at Christmas, but this did not negate His divine nature. Christ is both human and divine. One being, two natures.
That being said, to say that Christ is physically present in the Eucharist is to deny Him His divine nature. Christ is, instead, substantially present in the Eucharist. It is His real presence, His entire being and entity, both divine and human. So, I was not speaking heresy after all; merely being theologically merciless. However, with the recent passing of the celebration of the Birth of Christ, and therefore the Incarnation of God made Man, I find this to be a very interesting and inspirational point upon which to reflect. I encourage you all to do the same. Reflect on the fact that the presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is not only His physical presence, but His divine presence. His divine and human body that has overcome the grave through His resurrection, and is now made more perfectly human. Something I came upon in my own reflection struck me as both strange and fascinating. If Christ's presence in the Eucharist is substantial, and His substance is both divine and perfectly human, more perfectly than my own, then Christ in the Eucharist is actually more present than I am. The world believes only what it sees and, consequently, only sees what it believes. Therefore, what is not visible is not real. (Which means that love is not real either...trust me. It's coming.) But how much more wonderful is my life for the gift of knowing that God, who I cannot see, is in fact more "real" than me. I, for one, am grateful for this. Can you imagine a world where I am more present than God? It would be terrible!
This Christmas season, let us thank God for His gift to us: the gift of Christ's Incarnation and Birth, and the gift of Christ's continued presence in our lives through the Eucharist.