Posted on 05/26/2008 4:50:16 AM PDT by NYer
The Catholic Church teaches that in the Eucharist, the wafer and the wine really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Have you ever met anyone who finds this a bit hard to take?
If so, you shouldn’t be surprised. When Jesus spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood in John 6, the response was less than enthusiastic. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (v. 52). “This is a hard saying who can listen to it?” (v.60). In fact so many of His disciples abandoned Him that Jesus asked the twelve if they also planned to quit. Note that Jesus did not run after the deserters saying, “Come back! I was just speaking metaphorically!”
It’s intriguing that one charge the pagan Romans lodged against Christians was that of cannibalism. Why? They heard that this sect met weekly to eat flesh and drink human blood. Did the early Christians say: “Wait a minute, it’s only a symbol!”? Not at all. When explaining the Eucharist to the Emperor around 155 AD, St. Justin did not mince his words: “For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Sav-ior being incarnate by God’s word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the word of prayer which comes from him . . . is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.”
Not till the Middle Ages did theologians really try to explain how Christ’s body and blood became present in the Eucharist. After a few theologians got it wrong, St. Thomas Aquinas came along and offered an explanation that became classic. In all change that we normally observe, he teaches, appearances change, but deep down, the essence of a thing stays the same. Example: If, in a fit of mid-life crisis, I traded my mini-van for a Ferrari, abandoned my wife and kids to be a tanned beach bum, bleached and spiked my hair, buffed up at the gym, and made a trip to the plastic surgeon, I’d look a lot different. But for all my trouble, deep down I’d still substantially be the same confused, middle-aged dude as when I started.
St. Thomas said the Eucharist is the one change we encounter that is exactly the opposite. The appearances of bread and wine stay the same, but the very essence of these realities, which can’t be viewed by a microscope, is totally transformed. What starts as bread and wine becomes Christ’s body and blood. A handy word was coined to describe this unique change. Transformation of the “sub-stance”, what “stands-under” the surface, came to be called “transubstantiation.”
What makes this happen? The Spirit and the Word. After praying for the Holy Spirit to come (epiklesis), the priest, who stands in the place of Christ, repeats the words of the God-man: “This is my Body, This is my Blood.” Sounds like Genesis 1 to me: the mighty wind (read “Spirit”) whips over the surface of the water and God’s Word resounds. “Let there be light” and there was light. It is no harder to believe in the Eucharist than to believe in Creation.
But why did Jesus arrange for this transformation of bread and wine? Because He intended another kind of transformation. The bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ which are, in turn, meant to transform us. Ever hear the phrase: “you are what you eat?” The Lord desires us to be transformed from a motley crew of imperfect individuals into the Body of Christ, come to full stature.
Our evangelical brethren speak often of an intimate, personal relationship with Jesus. But I ask you, how much more personal and intimate than the Eucharist can you get? We receive the Lord’s body into our physical body that we may become Him whom we receive!
Such an awesome gift deserves its own feast. And that’s why, back in the days of Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis of Assisi, the Pope decided to institute the Feast of Corpus Christi.
Did Jesus just give the appearance of things when the substance was something else??? When did He ever do that???
The Last Supper.
I don't buy that "miracle" for an instant.
Ouch!
What, did you start reading in the middle of the thread???
It is not being sold.
But that was a burning bush, wasn't it, not a burning bush under the appearance of a budding azalea???
Yes, and it is sufficient without all the Catholic mutations and additions of the teachings.
:-)
Sola scriptura is non-scriptural error. Sola fide is so non-Biblical that Luther tried to add the word "sola" to Romans 3:28.
Why not give God a chance to answer your prayers directly? He's a nice guy and much easier to approach than you might think.
Perhaps the 19th century was the first time the snakes told their handlers of it.
156 posted on May 26, 2008 9:58:50 AM MDT by Petronski
Or do you need professional help?Was that insult directed at all who believe in the rapture ?
Isn't that a prayer to Mary? Or is that something different?
It sure is.
Funny... I pray that Christ will intercede for me since he said,
“no one comes to the Father but by me.”
Odd — nothing in there about Mary. The “Saints” — the rosary.
Hoss
Just like the Bible...I prefer the correctly translated text versus modified to match one’s exegesis, even if it correctly translated by non-Catholics such as:
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.v.vii.viii.html
It was a non-burning bush under the appearance of a burning bush.
“Do you guys pray to Mary?”
I hereby move that this question be deemed the Religion thread version of “Whoever brings up Hitler first loses the argument.” Anyone want to second my motion?
Really? At what price? Where is it being sold? How is it shipped? Is it taxable? Can it be shipped overnight?
You wrote:
“Why not give God a chance to answer your prayers directly?”
I do, and He does. You asked about prayers to Mary. I answered your question. I, in no way, said I didn’t pray to God.
“He’s a nice guy and much easier to approach than you might think.”
I know. I wish I saw evidence from you that you knew Him. With you baiting, however, that seems unlikely.
You are the one who just said all Catholic Teachings are in the Bible.
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