There are several kinds of presence of Christ: He is
present where two or three are gathered in His name. He is
present in the Sacraments, in that He brings about the effects
of them. He is present in the word of Scripture.
But His presence in the Holy Eucharist is in a class by
itself: It is the physical presence of His body, blood, soul
and divinity, as means of the transmission of grace. The
other presences are not nearly so great as this. He remains
present as long as the appearances of bread and wine last. So
after receiving Holy Communion, He will be present within the
person as long as the appearances last. The amountof time can
vary, but something like 15 minutes from the time of receiving
would be a reasonable estimate. Therefore people should stay a
bit after Mass for thanksgiving. To run out at once is to lack
respect. Even if He is still presenting the ways indicated
above, they are not in the same class as His physical presence
in the Eucharist.
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