For more than 44 years I have been attending Mass and receiving the Body and Blood of Christ every dare with rare exceptions. For more than 25 years, as a priest I stand in awe each day, reciting the prayers which through the power of the Holy Spirit will turn ordinary bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Through a daily ritual, I pray that it never becomes rote and I never lose any of the awe in this holy mystery.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, we have this bread, this wine to offer. Although I usually pray these words inaudibly; they are certainly familiar as the words that begin every Liturgy of the Eucharist. They are words which echo the ancient prayer of Melchezidech a mysterious figure who appears in the time of Abraham. Given authority as priest, he presides over a liturgy, offering a sacrifice involving bread and wine, food and drink made from the fruits of the harvest.

If I asked you to describe your mind's picture of bread and wine there would probably be as many variations as people present. Sweet bread, garlic bread, cranberry bread, pita bread -- different shapes, textures, colors depending on the grains from which it was made. Likewise wine has different bouquets, tastes, and colors depending on the age, climate and other variables.

And so is God's Church, the people of God, variable in age size color, cultural heritage, yet we form one Body, the Body of Him whom we eat and drink.

For Melchisedech, the bread and wine offered was simply that. It was not Eucharist; nor was the bread offered by Jesus on the hillside in today's gospel, though we find similarities.

Jesus takes the bread, raises his eyes to heaven in prayer pronounces a blessing; and as he breaks and distributes all receive. Similar words and gestures will be used at the Lord's supper--at the first Eucharist; but there is a difference between the blessed bread that Jesus distributed on the hillside and the bread of life that we eat at every Eucharist.

What is different is the essential difference – Consecration. Today many Catholics and the clergy find themselves confused and perplexed by polls saying that many no longer believe in this essential element of our faith. Even if it is only a handful this confusion is worrisome. For if Jesus is not present in the consecrated elements or as we call it -- the Blessed Sacrament; then what is in the bread box?

Jesus did not link the Eucharist to the multiplication and distribution of bread on the hillside where all was joyful yet quickly forgotten but to His bloodshed and death on the hill of his sacrificial self-offering.

When we eat this bread it is not merely physical hunger and fellowship that the Lord seeks to satisfy. When we drink this cup it is not just the wine of earthly joy that we share. It is the broken body, the sacrificial blood that was given so that we might share eternal life.

When Jesus said: Do this in memory of Me, he held up a piece of bread which became compassion and healing. When he said: This is my Blood, he held a cup which became forgiveness and mercy. Elements of the earth were miraculously transformed into Divine holiness. That is consecration. Without consecration; without transformation -- there is no holiness.

Unlike Lutherans who believe that the transformation of Bread and wine in the Liturgy is only temporary and leftovers revert back to earthly elements at the conclusion of the service; as Catholics we believe that the consecration is an irreversible call to live the holiness of the gospels.

For centuries the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament has had an awesome and reverential draw no matter where the celebration is held: gymnasium, Cathedral, outdoor Liturgy celebrated for thousands. This week the Bishops of the US will gather in Washington to form a catechetical document to articulate in contemporary language and culture, the mystery of the Eucharist; bearing in mind that mystery by its very nature can never be fully articulated or understood.

The celebration of Eucharist is the mystery and the marvel that the Church as the Body of Christ becomes what it eats. In this blessed sacrament we human beings come into contact with the living God through communion with Him and with each other.

A Catholic who is intensely concerned that the consecrated host not be left alone in the tabernacle unattended must also be concerned about the homeless people left alone on the streets as Jesus was with those on the hillside.

Those who ignore the presence in the tabernacle run the risk of in turn ignoring the needy and becoming passive individualists concerned only with their private relationship with God.

Those who ignore the needy among their fellow human beings, will not find much comfort in the presence of the Lord who said: Whatever you did or failed to do for the least of your brothers; that you did or failed to do for me.