“If it’s just a symbol, to hell with it.”

Flannery O’Connor’s bold words challenge us to wrestle with what we really believe about the Eucharist. Is it just a reminder—or is it the real presence of Christ?

In this week’s blog, I reflect on my journey from viewing communion as a symbol to encountering Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. If you’ve ever wondered why the Eucharist matters so much to Catholics, this one’s for you.

England didn’t become Protestant because of a theological conviction—it became Protestant because a king wanted a different wife. And when he didn’t get his way, he declared himself the head of the Church of England. Every citizen was required to break with the Catholic Church and pledge allegiance to this new national church—with the monarch, not the pope, as its head.

The reality is that most of the colonists who came to America were fleeing Protestant England, not Catholic Europe. Their oppressor wasn’t the Pope but the Church of England, the officially established Protestant church that demanded religious conformity and punished dissenters.

We live in a world that moves too fast, that values productivity over people, and that often refuses to slow down long enough to see the suffering of others. But I believe one of the greatest things we can offer someone in crisis is the simple gift of recognition—to look them in the eyes and acknowledge their humanity.

The idea of an ongoing conversion is not a denial of God’s grace—it is an embrace of it.

If we desire to practice the kind of religion that is “pure and undefiled” before God, we must be willing to move beyond comfortable service within the church and step into the real, messy, and beautiful work of walking with the broken.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 5:3)