Who Gets the Real Presence, and Who Says?

As someone who now attends a Catholic Church and chooses to abide by the rules and perimeters established by the Church for the good of the flock, I continue to hear many people share that the reason they ascribe to Catholicism is because of the Eucharist. They claim that the Eucharist is the Real Presence, the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus. Further, they claim that the Catholic Church is the only church that can enact transubstantiation because of their direct line of Apostolic succession. Apparently, people--many people--convert to Catholicism to partake of this Holy meal.

This is interesting to me, having been part of the Catholic Church all my life, as well as the Evangelical Free Church, Non-denominational Bible Churches, and the Anglican Church. I celebrated communion and remembered the Last Supper through the body and blood, bread and wine, frequently, in all of these churches. Never did I believe that the bread and wine was not the Real Presence of Christ. While I didn't think too much about it at the time, my default thought was that the elements were the true body and blood of Christ. I assume that many of the other members of those churches didn't consider what they were consuming merely symbolic, either. For the vast majority of Jesus-seekers, regardless of denomination or church affiliation, they view participating in Communion as in fact consuming the body and blood of Jesus, just as He stated emphatically at the Last Supper. To be clear--I have never been a member of a reformed or Baptist church, so I can't speak for their doctrine on Communion-- but in the churches I have experienced, I never considered Communion as a symbol but as the reality of the Eucharist.

This leaves the big question: is "thinking" one way enough? Is it the Real Presence because I think it is, or because the Church says it is, or because the right Priest of the right denomination makes the correct gestures and says the right words over the elements? I don't think so: it is the Real Presence because God makes it so...it is his spiritual law, and he can create and enact the great mystery at his will. Did I consume the Real Presence at my Anglican, Evangelical Free, and Non-denominational churches? I think so. But only God knows.