Is the Eucharist Really Christ's Body and Blood?
(The following is
an excerpt by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan in the
May 1995 issue
of The People of God-the newspaper of the
Archdiocese of Santa Fe, N.M.)
Scripture and
Tradition
Our Catholic teaching that the Eucharist is the Body
and Blood of Jesus, not bread and wine, is clearly
taught in the Bible and throughout the 2,000-year
tradition of the Church. The teaching of
Jesus in the sixth chapter of John's
Gospel is very clear: "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. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood
has eternal life and I will raise him up on the
last day. For My flesh is true food and My blood
is true drink. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks
My blood remains in Me and I in
him."
(John 6:53-56).
John goes on to say that, even though many disciples
would not accept this teaching and went
away, Jesus did not attempt to bring them back by
saying He was only speaking symbolically.
The early Church took this teaching seriously.
In the first letter to the Corinthians, Saint
Paul says, "Therefore whoever eats the bread or
drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have
to answer for the Body
and Blood of the Lord... for anyone who eats and
drinks without discerning the body, eats
and drinks judgment on himself."
(1 Corinthians 11:27, 29)
Paul's statement makes sense only if the
bread and wine have become the real Body and
Blood of Christ.
How does this change take place? It happens during
the Eucharistic prayer of the Mass. At
that time, the bread and wine are changed into the
Body and Blood of Christ, as the Church has always
taught. Although they still look like bread and wine,
they have, by divine power, actually changed into His
Body and Blood. How can we know this? It
requires faith. It is a mystery which, like love, we
will never fully understand. The Trinity, the divinity
of Jesus, His death and Resurrection are other
mysteries which, along with the Eucharist, we will
never fully comprehend in this life.
Catholic teaching on the Eucharist gives great
inspiration and strength to believers. Jesus is really
present and, under the appearance of food, nourishes
us for our journey through life.
Our Protestant friends speak often and correctly of
the need for a personal relationship with the Lord.
What more personal relationship is there than to be
nourished by the Body and Blood of Jesus,
than receiving Him with love and devotion? And,
since the Eucharist takes place in the
context of a community meal, we are also
united with our brothers and sisters of the
faith. To make the presence of Jesus
only a "symbolic"
one is, therefore, to strip the Eucharistic
celebration of its true meaning.
This information has
been reprinted from Holy Cross' Sunday Bulletins
Holy Cross Catholic Church - Batavia, IL -- Page Last
Updated 03 Apr 2007
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