Excellent summary!
As further proof of the alchemy, at a certain point in the elevation of the eucharist the bread and wine morphs into Jesus Christ's body and blood. Below that specific point, grocery store. Above that specific point, divinity.
All during His ministry, Christ spoke against this type of mysticism. Instead, He preached simple faith in Him as our sin-bearer, the propitiation of our sins.
"Be not afraid; only believe." -- Mark 5:36
I found this terrific review of a booklet written by Calvin I hadn't heard of before --
Though written so many hundreds of years ago, this small work by the powerful Geneva Reformer contains much of value for us. Calvin wrote it to persuade a friend to leave the Roman Catholic fold. His friend had written to him and asked whether it was possible to remain a member of the false church while inwardly being of Reformed convictions. At that time, there was a large group of people in Reformation Europe, referred to as Nicodemites (after the Pharisee Nicodemus of John 3), who were in prestigious positions, and for whom conversion to the Reformed faith would mean disaster in terms of social consequences. Such people could lose their family, their incomes, and even possibly their lives. It was one of these Nicodemites who had written to Calvin wondering what he should do. The question is phrased this way in the Translator's Introduction: "Is it lawful for a person who has renounced Popery in his heart to conform outwardly to its rites, for the purpose of avoiding persecution, or for any other imaginable cause?" In the 64 pages of this minute tome, Calvin gives his reasons why his correspondent should remove himself immediately from fellowship with the Roman Church. Calvin's arguments are completely founded on Scriptural grounds, as we would expect. He outlines why the Roman Catholic Church is a false church and why true Christians can have nothing to do with the blasphemies and idolatries found within. Even being in the presence of the mass can give the appearance to others of conformity to sin against the second commandment. Calvin describes Roman Catholic worship and the Mass and argues "that those only preserve the holy religion of God who profane it by no defilements of unhallowed superstitions, and that those violate, pollute, and lacerate it, who mix it up with impure and impious rites" (pp.17-18)..."...I dare say that we have been gravely deceived if we think that the Roman Catholic Church as an institution has changed substantially since the 16th century. Recently I had the opportunity to observe a Roman Catholic mass on television and what I saw taking place there was the very same accursed idolatry spoken of in our Heidelberg Catechism. Moreover, as I read John Calvin's little booklet, it was as if I was reading a commentary and description of what I had observed. The false Roman Church of Calvin's day is the false Roman Church of our day.
ANSWER: The Lord's Supper declares to us that our sins have been completely forgiven through the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ which he himself finished on the cross once for all.^1 It also declares to us that the Holy Spirit grafts us into Christ,^2 who with his very body is now in heaven at the right hand of the Father^3 where he wants us to worship him.^4 But the Mass teaches that the living and the dead do not have their sins forgiven through the suffering of Christ unless Christ is still offered for them daily by the priests. It also teaches that Christ is bodily present in the form of bread and wine where Christ is therefore to be worshiped. Thus the Mass is basically nothing but a denial of the one sacrifice and suffering of Jesus Christ and a condemnable idolatry. -- (^1 John 19:30; Heb. 7:27; 9:12, 25-26; 10:10-18 ^2 1 Cor. 6:17; 10:16-17 ^3 Acts 7:55-56; Heb. 1:3; 8:1 ^4 Matt. 6:20-21; John 4:21-24; Phil. 3:20; Col. 3:1-3) QUESTION 95: What is idolatry? ANSWER: Idolatry is having or inventing something in which one trusts in place of or alongside of the only true God, who has revealed himself in his Word.^1 -- (^1 1 Chron. 16:26; Gal. 4:8-9; Eph. 5:5; Phil. 3:19) QUESTION 80: What difference is there between the Lord's supper and the popish mass?
The “Quiddush” said on the eve of Sabbath and of the Passover, runs:
The blessing of the wine: “Praise to Thee, Eternal, our God, King of the world, who hast created the fruit of the vine.”
The blessing of the bread: “Praise to Thee, Eternal, our God, King of the world, who bringest forth the bread out of the earth.”
The concluding doxology: “Praise to Thee. Eternal, our God, King of the world, who hast sanctified us through Thy commandments, who hast been well pleased with us and hast granted us this holy Sabbath in thy gracious love, to be an everlasting possession and a Memorial of thy work of creation. For it is the first of all holy festivals, a Memorial of the exodus from Egypt. Yea, thou hast chosen us and sanctified us from all peoples, and hast given us Thy holy Sabbath in love and grace. Praise to Thee, Eternal who dost sanctify the Sabbath.”
It’s a Memorial, nothing more and nothing less!
That’s gonna leave a mark.
The priest has the power in his magic finger, to draw God down from heaven, whenever the priest chooses. Jesus is then at his beck and call—Oh the power of it! The priest can crucify Him over and over. Makes you wonder what is really going on
-A8
The Romanists worship, as Knox stated, a 'wafer god'.