Dear Angie,

An idol isn't REAL. The Blessed Sacrament IS. That's the crux of the difference. It may look like idol worship to someone without faith, but only people of faith would adore the Blessed Sacrament. If you adored a golden calf (as Moses's people did in the Bible) you would be worshipping an idol, because the calf isn't real. In faith, we believe that Jesus is present in the Blessed Sacrament. That's why we can worship before the Eucharist.