On most Sundays we just manage to get our large household to Mass only a few minutes before it starts. By the time I say a short prayer, we're standing for the opening hymn and then we're off and running.

Today we were more punctual than usual, so after some private prayer I sat back in the pew and started thinking about a variety of things, For some reason, I thought about a particular section from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that I've pondered for many years, which basically says that actions follow beliefs--or lack thereof.  And a parallel between the Eucharist and marriage on this point hit me like a ton of bricks:

(1) What we believe. As we well know, there are lies, then are damn lies, and finally there are polls. But such skepticism aside, polls for decades now have indicated that as many as 70% of Catholics in this country do not believe that Jesus Christ is truly present--body, blood, soul, and divinity--in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Now polls do vary, and of course how "Catholic" is defined can make a huge difference. Still, the number of Catholics who do not accept the Church's teaching on the Eucharist is alarming.

Similarly, the majority of Catholics do not believe in the indissolubility of marriage. As I discuss at length in the chapter entitled "The 'Real Presence' of the Marriage Bond" in Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God, what God has joined in the Sacrament of Marriage, man is powerless to divide (Matthew 19:6), despite the easy access to civil divorce. While some cases cry out for an "annulment" (when the Church finds that a true marriage didn't exist in the first place), a civil divorce standing alone scandalously purports to "end" a sacramental marriage. This enables the person to marry again without committing polygamy under the law. Many Catholics simply do not believe that a Christian marriage continues to exist despite the "legal fiction" of a divorce.  

(2) Action follows belief. With the widespread lack of faith in the Eucharist, it's no wonder that a majority of Catholics do not attend Mass every week. For many, missing Mass is not a big deal, let alone a serious sin. If we truly believed that Jesus was there, however, making our hearts burn during the readings and homily (see Luke 24:32) and then coming to us as the Bread of Life, we would show up in greater numbers and with greater devotion and reverence. And then we'd find that our faith was actually making a difference in our families, workplaces, and communities.

Similarly, since most Catholics believe that divorce is an option, is it all that surprising that about half, maybe more, of all Catholic marriages end in divorce? Now, most couples don't necessarily enter marriage consciously thinking that divorce is an option, but its availability looms large when difficulties arise. And many of us who don't divorce have still let that mindset creep in in other ways, making our marriages less than what they could be.

And note the symbolism: If the relation between husband and wife reflects the love of Christ for His Church, then a divorce-minded culture would tend to separate what God has joined, namely the Church as the Body of Christ and Christ, the Head of the Body.

(3) We can't fix the problem. But fortunately, we know the One who can. The crisis of faith that was unleashed in our culture during the second half of the 20th century is like President Obama's policies--future generations will pay for it!  But we know that God's mercy is infinitely greater than our capacity to rebel and sin.

If we're concerned about Eucharistic beliefs and Mass attendance, the best thing we can do is to live the Mass more intensely. If we're concerned about divorce and human sexuality-gone-amok, we do well to live our own Christian marriages more intensely. Sure our witness is spotty and inconsistent. So what, that just means we're human. To me, it's all about getting back up to confidently try again, trusting in Our Lord's infinite goodness and promises, not our own strength.

Christ's Eucharistic presence is real. The existence of a marriage bond, by which a Christian couple becomes one, is real. We find our true happiness by gently embracing reality, not by settling for lies or illusions.  

Then it was time for Mass to start . . .