Jesus remains with us.
All the formularies of the Creed or symbols of faith confess that Jesus Christ our Lord was born of the Virgin Mary in a specific historical time. After his resurrection, he went to heaven, but he remains in the Church in a mysterious, hidden manner that is visible only with the eyes of faith.
As Pope Paul VI points out in his encyclical Mysterium Fidei, Christ is present in the Church in several ways:
• Christ is present in his Church when she prays, since he is the one who “prays for us and prays in us and to whom we pray: He prays for us as our priest, he prays in us as our head, he is prayed to by us as our God;” and he is the one who has promised, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20).
• He is present in the Church as she performs her works of mercy, not just because whatever good we do to one of his least brethren we do to Christ himself, but also because Christ is the one who performs these works through the Church and who continually helps men with his divine love.
• He is present in the Church as she moves along on her pilgrimage with a longing to reach the portals of eternal life, for he is the one who dwells in our hearts through faith, and who instills charity in them through the Holy Spirit whom he gives to us.
• In still another genuine way, he is present in the Church as she preaches, since the Gospel which she proclaims is the word of God, and it is only in the name of Christ, the Incarnate Word of God, and by his authority and with his help that it is preached.
• He is present in the Church as she rules and governs the people of God, since her sacred power comes from Christ and since Christ, the “Shepherd of Shepherds,” is present in the bishops who exercise that power, in keeping with the promise he made to the apostles.
• He is present in the Church as she administers the sacraments.
• Moreover, Christ is present in his Church in a still more sublime manner as she offers the sacrifice of the Mass in his name.
The divine Founder of the Church is present in the Mass both in the person of his minister and above all under the Eucharistic species.
“With Christ in our soul, we end the Holy Mass. The blessing of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit accompanies us all day long, as we go about our simple, normal task of making holy all honest human activity.
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