By Ryan Dilag, Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) Student, Creighton University
“He was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” (New American Bible Revised Edition [NABRE], 2011, Lk 24:35)
Encountering the Living Christ
One afternoon, I asked a group of students a simple question:
“If Jesus were standing in front of us right now, what would you do?”
Hands shot into the air and the room came alive. Some students said they would ask Jesus questions. Other students said that they would thank Him. A few others admitted that they would likely cry. And one student quietly said, “I wouldn’t want Him to ever leave.”
Then I asked a second question.
“What if I told you that He never leaves?”
A silence fell over the room—not a silence of confusion, but a silence of realization.
For many young people, this is the disconnect. They know about Jesus. They admire Him. They sometimes pray to Him. But they’ve never truly understood the Church’s teaching on the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. As a result, going to Mass can seem like an empty ritual, irrelevant, or just another adult-imposed obligation.
After fifteen years serving in Catholic education and campus ministry, I’ve become convinced that one of the greatest challenges facing the Church is that many young people have never truly encountered Jesus. Thus, the question before the Church is not simply how we communicate the Gospel, but how we help people encounter the Person at the heart of the Gospel.
The Eucharist: Source of Joy and Christian Life
In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis (2013) writes that “the joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus” (para. 1). The heart of this joy isn’t merely an emotional experience, nor is it simply a distant memory of something Jesus once accomplished. Catholics believe that this joy flows from an ongoing encounter with the living Christ, who remains present among His people through the Eucharist. This is why the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997) refers to the Eucharist as “the source and summit of the Christian life” (para. 1324). As Pope John Paul II (2003) wrote in Ecclesia de Eucharistia, “the Church draws her life from the Eucharist” (para. 1). And from this profound mystery flows the Church’s mission of bringing Christ’s presence to the world.
Far from being a relic of Church doctrine, the Church’s teaching on the Eucharist provides an answer to one of the deepest longings of youth today—the desire to belong, to be known, and to live out a life grounded in something much greater than themselves.
The Church teaches that during the celebration of the Mass, bread and wine become the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. This teaching finds its roots in Christ’s own words spoken at the Last Supper: “This is my body….this is my blood” (NABRE, 2011, Mt 26:26-28). Reinforced in John’s Gospel, Jesus declares, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (NABRE, 2011, Jn 6:54).
While this teaching can be challenging for young people, it was also challenging for many of Jesus’ own disciples. After hearing Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse, many disciples walked away because His teaching was too difficult to understand. However, Jesus didn’t soften His message. Instead, He invited His followers to trust Him.
The Church continues to proclaim this same truth because it believes that the Eucharist is not merely a symbol of Christ’s love; rather, it is Christ Himself, truly present among His people. If that is true—and Catholics profess that it is—then every Mass becomes an opportunity to encounter the living God. Worship then ceases to be about fulfilling an obligation and becomes about responding to an invitation.
Encounter Changes Lives
I’ve witnessed this transformation occur numerous times.
As a campus minister who has served in several parishes and schools, I’ve accompanied students during retreats, liturgies, service projects, sacramental preparation, and everyday interactions in hallways and classrooms. Many arrive with burdens that are invisible to everyone else. Some deal with anxiety. Others question whether God really cares about them. Some come from families dealing with divorce or financial struggles. And others simply don’t know where they fit in a world that constantly communicates that their value will depend on their achievements, appearance, or social status.
During those moments, theological arguments alone are often insufficient.
What they need is an encounter.
One student comes immediately to mind. During his 9th grade year, he was completely disconnected from worship at school. Attendance at school Masses was mandatory, but he essentially showed up without any enthusiasm whatsoever. He described viewing the Eucharist as nothing more than bread distributed during a religious service. Faith occupied a very small place in his overall life, while academics, sports, and social pressure filled nearly every other part of his life.
However, during his 11th grade retreat, something shifted.
Throughout the retreat, students listened to testimonies, participated in moments of silence, prayed together, and openly shared about their lives and their relationship with God. For perhaps the first time, this student permitted himself to be still and remain open to the Holy Spirit, especially during the retreat Mass.
Months later, he reflected back on the retreat and told me that he could not fully explain what happened, but he knew one thing: Jesus had met him there. For the first time, he began to recognize that Mass was not simply something he attended, but an encounter with the living Christ who desired a relationship with him.
Following that moment, I witnessed his life gradually transform. He started coming to Mass intentionally, not reluctantly. He increased his prayer life. He became more involved in campus ministry. Teachers observed that he was treating fellow classmates with much more patience and compassion. Though his trials did not cease, he knew he was not walking alone.
That experience reminded me of a valuable lesson I continue learning in ministry:
Transformation happens by helping someone encounter a Person, not by convincing someone to follow rules.
Remaining with Christ in Ministry
This lesson has also transformed my own faith.
Early in my ministry vocation, I often thought my effectiveness as a leader, educator, and minister depended primarily on planning, strong organization, and successful programs. While these gifts remain important, years of accompanying students have shown me that authentic ministry flows first from communion with Christ.
There have been seasons when the demands of ministry left me exhausted. After retreats, difficult conversations with students, and moments when I questioned whether anything I was doing was making a difference, I found myself returning to the chapel. Sitting before the Blessed Sacrament, I was reminded that my identity is not rooted in successful programs or measurable outcomes, but in Christ Himself.
Before He asks me to serve, He simply asks me to remain with Him.
There, I’ve brought before Him the names of students grieving the loss of a loved one. There, I’ve prayed for families struggling through difficult seasons. There, I’ve entrusted colleagues, school communities, and difficult decisions to the Lord. Again and again, the Eucharist has reminded me that ministry is not about what I can accomplish for God, but about allowing God to continue His work through me.
Evangelization in the Digital Age
This same conviction has shaped my ministry beyond the walls of my school.
Through digital evangelization, including creating Catholic content that has reached over a million people around the world, I have witnessed both the power and limitations of technology as a tool for evangelization. Yet even in the digital space, the deepest questions remain profoundly human. Beneath countless comments and messages lies the same deeper question: “Where can I find hope?”
After we published a video reflecting on Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, one former student reached out to tell me that it reminded her why she had fallen in love with the faith in high school. She later shared that she had begun attending Mass regularly in college and became involved in her university campus ministry. Moments like these remind me that while algorithms can deliver content, only Christ can transform hearts.
Technology can spread the Good News, but technology cannot replace encounter. Ultimately, every video, reflection, and conversation is directed toward only one destination—Jesus Christ present within His Church and especially in the Eucharist.
The Eucharist and Human Flourishing
This is why the Church teaches what she has always taught.
In today’s society, young people are constantly encouraged to establish their identity based on external standards—academic achievement, athletic success, career goals, social media influence, or personal accomplishments. These pursuits are not inherently wrong, but they are incapable of establishing long-lasting identity.
The Eucharist offers something altogether unique.
Regardless of whether you’re a student, teacher, professional, spouse, or leader, you are a beloved child of God. Each time you approach the altar to receive Communion, you are reminded that your inherent dignity has never rested upon your accomplishments or popularity. It rests entirely in God’s love for you.
This vision also resonates with contemporary research on human flourishing, which emphasizes belonging, purpose, gratitude, resilience, and meaningful relationships (Seligman, 2011). From a Catholic perspective, however, these are not merely psychological needs to be fulfilled; they are reflections of humanity’s deepest desire for communion with God and one another. Long before these concepts became subjects of academic study, the Church fostered them through her sacramental life. Through the Eucharist, communities are formed by forgiveness rather than resentment, generosity rather than selfishness, and hope rather than despair.
I’ve witnessed these virtues surface in students who previously struggled to find direction and meaning. They begin committing to service voluntarily without looking for recognition. They reconcile broken friendships. They find confidence, not because life gets simpler, but because they understand they aren’t walking alone.
This is genuine human flourishing.
Reclaiming the Joy of the Gospel
Too often, when presenting the Church’s teachings, youth hear about what they cannot do before they hear about who they are called to become.
The Gospel offers something far more beautiful.
The Church teaches about the Eucharist because God desires intimacy with His people. God does not stand distant. He draws near. Every Mass proclaims the astounding truth that the Creator of the universe continues to nourish His people with His own divine life.
When young people grasp this reality, they no longer ask, “Why do I have to go to Mass?”
Instead, they start wondering: “Why would I ever want to miss it?”
Reclaiming the joy of the Gospel is not accomplished with better marketing or more compelling arguments, even as important as both may be. As Pope Francis (2013) reminds the Church, reclaiming the joy of the Gospel begins by helping individuals encounter Jesus Christ.
As I reflect on my role as a Catholic educator and campus minister, I continue to remain hopeful. I’ve witnessed students who once doubted become prayer leaders. I’ve watched students who initially hesitated entering into a three-day retreat eventually become enthusiastic witnesses of Christ. I’ve rejoiced with alumni who continue pursuing the Lord long after graduating from our school. Their stories remind me that the Gospel remains as powerful today as it was two thousand years ago.
Young people are not searching merely for information. They are searching for meaning and belonging. Ultimately, they are searching for Christ, even when they do not know His name yet.
The Church’s teaching on the Eucharist provides an answer to that search with extraordinary clarity:
The One they seek is already waiting for them.
This is the joy of the Gospel.
He remains with His people—
waiting at every altar,
feeding every hungry heart,
inviting every generation to discover that the greatest joy of the Gospel is not simply that Jesus once walked among us,
but that He remains here.
References
Catechism of the Catholic Church. (2nd ed.). (1997). Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Francis. (2013). Evangelii gaudium: Apostolic exhortation on the proclamation of the Gospel in today’s world. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
John Paul II. (2003). Ecclesia de Eucharistia. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
New American Bible Revised Edition. (2011). Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2011). Flourish: A visionary new understanding of happiness and well-being. Free Press.