The 40 Questions Most Frequently Asked
About The Catholic Church
By Non-Catholics
24. Real Body -- Real Blood?
Do Catholics really believe they are receiving the Body and Blood of Christ in Communion?
Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist on the night before He died, i.e., on the first Holy Thursday,
when He changed bread and wine into His Body and Blood; and then commanded His Apostles to do
what He had done in commemoration of Him.
- "And while they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed and broke, and gave it to His
disciples, and said, 'Take and eat; this is my body.' . . . And taking a cup, He gave thanks and gave it
to them, saying, 'All of you drink of this; for this is my blood of the new covenant'." St. Matt. 26:26,
28
Our Lord meant literally to change the bread and wine into His body and blood instead of leaving us
a mere symbol or memorial of His passion.
We know this from the words of His promise to do this in St. John's gospel, Chapter 6. The
important words of this chapter are:
| (a) |
John 6:52, "The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." |
| (b) |
John 6:54, ". . . unless you eat of the flesh of the Son of man, ye shall not have life in you." |
| (c) |
John 6:56, "For my flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed." |
These and other texts must be taken literally because the entire context demands it; and because any
other interpretation would involve us in absurd consequences. The words' "Eat my flesh and drink
my blood" in a figurative interpretation would mean to "persecute or hate bitterly." In this sense, it
would mean that our Lord would promise those who hate Him, eternal life and glorious resurrection.
The grammatical construction of the phrases, "This is My Body," and "This is My Blood," does not
admit of a figurative or symbolic meaning. When the verb "to be" is used, the antecedent must
always be identical with the consequent, i.e., "This" must be identical with "My Body." Therefore,
there must have been a change of substance.
The Apostles understood Christ to speak literally.
- "The cup of benediction which we bless, is it not the sharing of the blood of Christ, And the bread
that we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord?" 1 Cor. 10:16
- "Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks the cup of blessing which we bless, unworthily, will be
guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord." I Cor. 10:27
This has been the continuous belief of Christianity until the time of the Reformation.
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