....not that I'm one to question God. I've always believed in the Real Presence in the Eucharist. But not everyone does. Many people doubt and outright deny the Real Presence. Sadly, there are even some Catholics who doubt that God knows what He is doing when it comes to the Eucharist.
A big part of the Catholic argument for the Real Presence has always been "The Bread of Life Discourse" in the Gospel of John (Jn. 6:22-71). Here we have Jesus telling his disciples that "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day" (v. 53-54). Christ felt that what he was saying was so important that he stated it twice. He wanted his disciples to understand this. Christ is saying that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood. This is not a metaphor for the bible. The bible is not the Bread of Life, Christ is! Why would the disciples say this if Jesus were only speaking metaphorically: "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" Why did Jesus respond with this if he was speaking metaphorically: "Does this shock you?" Why would the disciples be shocked if all Christ was saying was to metaphorically "eat" His words. Did the disciples just not understand what Christ was saying? I don't think so. I think they understood all too well, and that is why "as a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former life and no longer accompanied him." I think Christ's disciples understood that we needed to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to obtain eternal life. That is why it was hard for them to accept. That is why they were shocked. That is why many of them left. But I digress....
God truly does know what He is doing! Many events in Christ's life leading up to this moment, this Bread of Life Discourse, foreshadow this event--from the multiplication of the loaves, to the wedding at Cana, to even Christ's birth. Yes, even Christ's birth. I recently read a reflection from Archbishop Timothy Dolan that helped me to understand that even Christ's birth is a foreshadowing of Christ's institution of the Eucharist.
Dolan points out that Jesus was born in a stable and placed in a manger. And what is a manger? A manger is a feeding trough. The Son of Man, at birth, was placed in a food container. The Bread of Life was placed on a dish. God has a perfect plan for our salvation. Everything that has, is, and will occur in the world is a part of that plan. The Eucharist is a part of His plan. God truly does know what He is doing! I just pray that I can trust and believe.