Many people today, especially young people, say that they do in fact believe in God. They are on a spiritual quest, yes, but they do not need an organized religion to help them.

Sunday’s Mass will make the question especially poignant. To put it in the worst light, why would you Catholics go each week to be given a flat wafer called a “host,” and perhaps a small sip of wine? It seems like a lot of trouble, and would appear to have very little to do with the spiritual quest.

As Catholics we answer that the host is no longer “bread” but has undergone a “transubstantiation.” In simple words, even though it has the appearance of a flat piece of bread, its substance has been transformed from that of bread to that of Christ’s body. The same goes for the wine and his blood.

The non-church folks might reply, “aren’t God and spirituality something interior, something private? If the point is that we should help each other, why can’t we do it without all the paraphernalia, without all this ‘body and blood’ business?”

Let us attempt an answer. Skip this, if you are bored with it.

(1)  Jesus is the speaking-out of God’s love. He and the Father are one. The        scriptures attest to this.

(2)  Jesus died on the cross in a showdown between goodness and the forces        of selfishness and greed.

(3)  Evil won. But at his depths, Christ was deeper than evil. He was made of        something stronger than either life or death. This something endured in        him, even though he was dead and buried. What was it? God’s love. Love        founded the life of Jesus. He was the direct expression of God-love. Jesus        emerged from the tomb because he was rooted in love.

(4)  He ascended into heaven, apparently leaving us behind without him. But        he sent the Holy Spirit into the hearts of those who believe, so that he        would still be present to us. Pentecost had been the full expression of this        fact.

(5)  Fine so far: our churchless brothers and sisters would agree. The Holy        Spirit of God dwells deep in the wordless depths of a person. You have        proved our point. We do not need ceremonies and ritual.

(6)  Oh oh. Maybe they are right!

(7)  Not quite.

Think of it this way. When you are hungry and you want, say, a hamburger, does thinking about a burger do the job? Or picturing it in your mind? Since your hunger is internal, should it just stay there, with no answer in the material world?

We human beings do have an insides and it is very important, but we have an outside too. We are not built to just stay there within ourselves but also to let our spirits walk, play, and suffer in the material world. The Holy Spirit’s presence at the depths of our being makes us desire to find Jesus with our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, hands, and purgations.

So, that is why we go to Church. We want to find a reply to our spiritual quest, now in a fleshly presence—of Christ. At Mass, which is a ritual, we find that presence given to our senses in Communion, and it fulfills our Spiritual and physical yearning.

So, that is the answer. Are you hungry for Christ? Come and eat. You are what you eat, you know.