JUST ONE MINUTE
In his book Eucharist (paid link), Bishop Robert Barron recounts this encounter of the young Flannery O’Connor: “In 1850 Flannery O'Connor was brought by friends to dinner with prominent author Mary McCarthy and her husband. At the time O'Connor, who would eventually blossom into one of the greatest Catholic authors of the 20th century, was just commencing her career, and there was no question that she was a junior member of this elite circle of conversation. As the evening drew on, the talk turned to the Eucharist, and McCarthy, who had been raised Catholic but had fallen away from the Church, remarked she thought of the Eucharist as a symbol and implied it was a pretty good one. She undoubtedly intended this condescending observation as a friendly overture to the Catholic O'Connor. But O'Connor responded in a shaky voice, ‘Well, if it's just a symbol to hell with it.’ In its bluntness, clarity and directness, O'Connor’s remark is one of the best statements of the Catholic difference in regard to the Eucharist. For Catholics, the Eucharist is the body and blood of Jesus.”
Reflection: Spend some time today in conversation with Jesus about your belief in the Eucharist. Explore with him how you came to believe.
— Deacon Danny Hartnedy
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