There is more to being Christian than just what is in the Bible. One needs ONLY to look at early Church history to read about the thousands of men and women who DIED for their faith in Jesus Christ over all those years. They are our models on how to live (and die) as well....MUCH more than the slim volume of the New Testament.
Those early Christian martyrs gave TESTIMONY to Jesus' life. Jesus didn't write His words to us. He gave them to His Apostles to spread as the Good News.
The Mass is a HOLY MEAL. It's the Last Supper celebrated every day for Catholics.
John 6:53
52 At this, the Jews began to argue among themselves, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.…
John 6:26-27
Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
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There are our "instructions" about Holy Communion, His divine meal. We can only get that at holy Mass. When I did a lot of traveling over this planet, it was always the same in EVERY Catholic Church on the planet.
We traveled in Eastern Europe and I went to Mass in Belgrade. I couldn't understand ONE word in Serbian, but I KNEW what was going on and was able to receive Holy Communion, the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus there.
I went to midnight Mass at St. Joseph's in Cairo one Christmas. I went with my mother and my husband, non-Catholic, stayed at the hotel and watched "Miracle on 42nd Street"!!
That midnight Mass was celebrated in Arabic, French, Italian, German and, thanks be, the "Pater Noster," the "Our Father," the Lord's prayer, was in ENGLISH. I said it loud and clear because it was so nice to say something I KNEW.
I don't know about YOU but I sure need the gift of Jesus' Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity...every chance I can get. I go to Mass Sundays through Fridays.
John 6:35 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
35 And Jesus said to them: I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger: and he that believeth in me shall never thirst.
Was Jesus wheat or barley since you take it so literal?
John 6:26-27
Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
But yet you think you can eat salvation through Communion and yet the Scripture you give as proof clearly says it’t not the literal bread and wine, but the spiritual sacrifice... WOW.
Food that perishes means you wheat or barley wafer that you do labor for because you think it saves.
John 6:64 Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
64 It is the spirit that quickeneth: the flesh profiteth nothing. The words that I have spoken to you, are spirit and life.
**54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.…**
Those are Jesus Christ’s words (yes, John wrote them down for all to read).
If you take them literally, then once is enough.
I take them spiritually:
John 4:10 The Lord offers living water.
John 4:32 The Lord says he has meat that his disciples knew not of (they knew after being filled with the Holy Ghost).
John 5:26 The Son has life in himself,....given to him by the Father.
John 6:63 After the confusion exhibited by those that heard the Lord speak of eating his flesh and blood, He tells them “it is the spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.
Every atom of the flesh and flood of Christ has the Spirit in it, hence the transfiguration before Peter and John. When one is filled with the Spirit, one has the same Spirit that was in Christ.
The conversion of many, as pointed out in Acts, shows many instances of people believing and being baptized. There was a couple of instances of ‘breaking bread’, but even the Lord broke bread after his resurrection in a simple matter of eating with his disciples.
Paul wrote epistles to the:
Romans
Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Philippians
Colossians
Thessalonians
Hebrews (many believe that it is from Paul)
And to:
Timothy
Titus
Yet he only reminded the Corinthians on the proper use of the Lord’s supper.
I think that those that believe that the Lord’s supper is transformed into literal flesh and blood, have crossed over into idolatry.
After all, as he handed the wine (that he referred to as his blood) to his disciples, he said he would no more drink of the fruit of the vine until he would drink it anew with them in heaven.
So Rome ADDED to the rituals that were good enough for the Jews.
OK then.