Great article from Busted Halo...

When I came into the Catholic Church ten years ago, there were a number of things I was a bit unclear about, including: the Pope, the Council of Trent, when exactly to kneel with everyone else so that I did not stick out like a foolish person with no wit, and — Eucharistic Adoration. Not only did I not know what it was, I could barely say it.

I remember seeing our priest carrying the monstrance (another baffling thing I could barely say - it's the special vessel used to carry the Blessed Sacrament) down the aisle, with the end of his sleeve wrapped around its handle like a good housewife holding a hot handle with an oven mitt. What's with the cloth covering and all?

"Holy," a friend whispered to me in church, "it's a sign of how holy the monstrance is because it's carrying the Blessed Sacrament."

OK, I thought. I knew about the "real presence," and, unlike many Catholics today, I actually do believe in it, though to say I understand it would be woefully wrong.

You can read the rest here...