In his homily, our pastor noted that only about 30% of Catholics polled in the U.S. believe that the Eucharist is actually the body and blood of Jesus. I can understand the hesitancy to believe something that seems so outrageous. However, I believe that it fits the prophecies and events laid out in scripture.
I also believe that it makes logical sense. Jesus is Lord of Heaven and Earth, and we are all His inheritors. Despite what the Da Vinci Code might say, Jesus had no children--at least not in a traditional way. He calls all of us His children, and He does this because through the Eucharist we share His body and blood. This is a physical reaction within us to complement the mental and spiritual bonds that He builds within us. We truly are the children of God, His inheritors, worthy of transcending the mortal cycles of life and death. Only through Him do we attain this.
So we are clear, the priest at mass does not make this possible. There's no magical incantation that brings Christ into the bread and wine offered. No, all these things are done through God's will. The priest is there to point out what God has done and to treat the Body and Blood of Christ with the reverence which it is due.
Our God resides within us--not just metaphorically and not just spiritually. Instead He physically becomes a part of us and our lives. As that is the case, this is where the phrase "my body is a temple" originates.