Replies

Do Catholics believe the New Testament?

Catholics live the New Testament.

John
Chapter 6

53: Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
54: Whoever eats ¹⁹ my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
55: For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.
56: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.
57: Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.
58: This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

Hope this is symbolic "eating of the flesh". That is what communion is to me. I am a realist and have problem sometime with symbolic rituals and statements in religions.

Otherwise, this appears to be "cannabalistic" with some connection to the belief of human sacrifice practiced in pagan religiions. Jesus of course, the last human sacrifice to end all human sacrifices. Jesus was sacrificed for our sins so that we no longer have to give "live" sacrifices. (could this be the similar to ritual that Islamists are practicing today with the suicide bombers they refer to as "martyrs")

Most of us have difficulty thinking about actually eating or drinking "real" blood and flesh, but it did exist but not with Chrisitians, just symbolic. Jesus death is the way we were able to do away with live sacrifices when we committd sins. Never really understood how this decision was accepted other than he was God and he could make such a decision. So, I accept this communion, but symbolic only. I guess since God can do all things, he can make the symbols the real "blood" and "flesh" if he wishes and it is your belief that God does that with each communion, and of course the food is assimilated into our bodies for energy, etc.

Thanks for your guidance.

53 Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.

54 Whoever eats 19 my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.

56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.

57 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.

58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

And here's one you forgot...

Joh 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Catholics don't get hungry or thirsty??? No more eating and drinking??? Why don't Catholics take that one literally as well??? It's in the same context...