Cardinal Justin Rigali said recently during his homily for the 49th International Eucharistic Congress that less than 50% of North American Catholics attend Sunday Mass. On a positive note, however, Eucharistic adoration is on the rise. The fascination of the Eucharist for believers and non-believers alike still holds its powerful sway.

For those members of the Church who are in special situations and cannot receive Communion, Eucharistic adoration is a source of great consolation and peace as they prepare themselves to receive Christ again. Likewise there are many who are in the process of conversion who are able to adore Christ as they pursue full communion with the Church.

Christ is there waiting for all who are willing to approach him, whatever their faith or particular situation. But people are still indifferent about receiving him in the Host, or perhaps afraid. It is obvious that God is present there, body and blood, in all his human and divine splendor. Receiving him is a tremendous responsibility; to receive Christ is to accept becoming another Christ, entering into the mystery of Calvary and the resurrection with him.

Christ did not institute the Eucharist to be adored from a distance, but to be welcomed into our hearts.

If the celebration of the Eucharist is 'boring' for some, that is not Christ's fault but our fault. Jesus still sacrifices himself there in the most revolutionary act of love conceivable. Someone has described the person of Christ as being like a black hole, someone so attractive and arresting that it is impossible to resist him. The force of gravity is just too strong. So the more people adore Christ in the Eucharist, the more they will feel themselves attracted by a magnetic force to receive him.

Catholics need to realize the explosive power of the Eucharist which they have in their grasp, and to realize that receiving Christ as he truly is means embarking on an incredible adventure. It is the furthest thing from 'boring' that one can get, and the most satisfying as well.