"I suppose I just don't understand the "level" of literalness that Catholics believe, since no credible person argues that the disciples actually ate of His flesh and drank of His blood."
300,000,000 Orthodox Christians believe exactly that, as did all Christians until the Reformation.
Lots of writings from as early as approximately 110 by early christians that tell us that's exactly what they believed, right, Kolokotronis?
Actually, it appears that the Protestants continued to teach this even after the Reformation. They didn't start teaching this new "symbolic" concept until it came into being some centuries afterwards.