Holy Eucharist
The Lord wants us all to know and understand His truth, so we can embrace it wholeheartedly and live by it. Christ reminds us, “The truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
At St. Joseph's, the daily lives of the faithful are enlivened by Christ's Presence at Mass, where His people "are invited and encouraged to offer themselves, their labors and all created things, together with Him" (Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5).
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1362 The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the making present and the sacramental offering of his unique sacrifice, in the liturgy of the Church which is his Body.
1365 Because it is the memorial of Christ's Passover, the Eucharist is also a sacrifice. The sacrificial character of the Eucharist is mainifested in the very words of institution: "This is my body which is given for you" and "This cup which is poured out for you is the New Covenant in my blood" (Lk 22:19-20).
1366 The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit:
[Christ], our Lord and God, was once and for all to offer himself to God the Father by his death on the altar of the cross, to accomplish there an everlasting redemption. But because his priesthood was not to end with his death, at the Last Supper "on the night when he was betrayed," [he wanted] to leave to his beloved spouse the Church a visible sacrifice (as the nature of man demands) by which the bloody sacrifice which he was to accomplish once for all on the cross would be re-presented, its memory perpetuated until the end of the world, and its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of the sins we daily commit. (Council of Trent: DS 1740)
For full Catechism section on the Eucharist click here.
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a3.htm
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a3.htm
How can the Eucharist be more than what we observe with our senses?
Steven D. Greydanus
Full QuestionTransubstantiation assumes that a thing is distinct from its attributes; that there is an unseen "substance" underlying the attributes. But why should we believe this? Why shouldn't things be simply what they look and feel and taste and smell like?AnswerEveryone recognizes that there is more to what a thing is than its physical attributes. Otherwise a thing’s attributes would not be related to one another, and we could not distinguish particular things at all; the world would be a chaos of various attributes.
Suppose outside your window there is a tree with a blue jay in it. Your senses perceive a variety of physical attributes: brownness, greenness, and blueness, rough texture and soft appearance, chirping and rustling. All of these sensible perceptions reach your brain simultaneously, but you do not perceive it all as a jumble, nor do you group it all together and think of it as a single continuous entity "bird-on-a-tree." You understand that some of these properties (blueness, softness, chirping) are united to one another and constitute one entity, while the others (roughness, brownness, greenness, rustling) constitute another entity. Above and beyond the sensible attributes you perceive, you recognize something more: distinct entities uniting in themselves these attributes and not those.
Scriptural accounts tell us about unions of attributes which seem to be entirely miraculous—for example, angels appearing as human beings, sometimes so much so that they are taken for men. There would be nothing obviously miraculous about any specific attribute of such a vision. The hair, skin, teeth, eyes, fingers, and toes would all look and feel perfectly normal. But there is no human nature underlying the effect. When the miracle ceases, the man appears to vanish before our eyes. There is a union of attributes, but an entirely miraculous one, with no natural principle of unity—no substance—holding it together, as in the case of a real man.
Catholics believe the same is true of the Eucharistic elements after the consecration. The physical attributes of bread and wine remain, but in a manner similar to the physical attributes of human flesh in an angelic appearance. These appearances are held together not by a natural principle of unity, as in the case of ordinary bread or a real human being, but by a divine miracle. Were the miracle to cease, the appearances of bread and wine would (Catholic teaching holds) vanish before our eyes.
Steven D. Greydanus
Full QuestionTransubstantiation assumes that a thing is distinct from its attributes; that there is an unseen "substance" underlying the attributes. But why should we believe this? Why shouldn't things be simply what they look and feel and taste and smell like?AnswerEveryone recognizes that there is more to what a thing is than its physical attributes. Otherwise a thing’s attributes would not be related to one another, and we could not distinguish particular things at all; the world would be a chaos of various attributes.
Suppose outside your window there is a tree with a blue jay in it. Your senses perceive a variety of physical attributes: brownness, greenness, and blueness, rough texture and soft appearance, chirping and rustling. All of these sensible perceptions reach your brain simultaneously, but you do not perceive it all as a jumble, nor do you group it all together and think of it as a single continuous entity "bird-on-a-tree." You understand that some of these properties (blueness, softness, chirping) are united to one another and constitute one entity, while the others (roughness, brownness, greenness, rustling) constitute another entity. Above and beyond the sensible attributes you perceive, you recognize something more: distinct entities uniting in themselves these attributes and not those.
Scriptural accounts tell us about unions of attributes which seem to be entirely miraculous—for example, angels appearing as human beings, sometimes so much so that they are taken for men. There would be nothing obviously miraculous about any specific attribute of such a vision. The hair, skin, teeth, eyes, fingers, and toes would all look and feel perfectly normal. But there is no human nature underlying the effect. When the miracle ceases, the man appears to vanish before our eyes. There is a union of attributes, but an entirely miraculous one, with no natural principle of unity—no substance—holding it together, as in the case of a real man.
Catholics believe the same is true of the Eucharistic elements after the consecration. The physical attributes of bread and wine remain, but in a manner similar to the physical attributes of human flesh in an angelic appearance. These appearances are held together not by a natural principle of unity, as in the case of ordinary bread or a real human being, but by a divine miracle. Were the miracle to cease, the appearances of bread and wine would (Catholic teaching holds) vanish before our eyes.
IN BRIEF
1406 Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).
1407 The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church.
1408 The Eucharistic celebration always includes: the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship.
1409 The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action.
1410 It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.
1411 Only validly ordained priests can preside at the Eucharist and consecrate the bread and the wine so that they become the Body and Blood of the Lord.
1412 The essential signs of the Eucharistic sacrament are wheat bread and grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked and the priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper: "This is my body which will be given up for you. . . . This is the cup of my blood. . . ."
1413 By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651).
1414 As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.
1415 Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.
1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.
1417 The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion when they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year.
1418 Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is . . . a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord" (Paul VI, MF 66).
1419 Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.
1406 Jesus said: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; . . . he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and . . . abides in me, and I in him" (Jn 6:51, 54, 56).
1407 The Eucharist is the heart and the summit of the Church's life, for in it Christ associates his Church and all her members with his sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving offered once for all on the cross to his Father; by this sacrifice he pours out the graces of salvation on his Body which is the Church.
1408 The Eucharistic celebration always includes: the proclamation of the Word of God; thanksgiving to God the Father for all his benefits, above all the gift of his Son; the consecration of bread and wine; and participation in the liturgical banquet by receiving the Lord's body and blood. These elements constitute one single act of worship.
1409 The Eucharist is the memorial of Christ's Passover, that is, of the work of salvation accomplished by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, a work made present by the liturgical action.
1410 It is Christ himself, the eternal high priest of the New Covenant who, acting through the ministry of the priests, offers the Eucharistic sacrifice. And it is the same Christ, really present under the species of bread and wine, who is the offering of the Eucharistic sacrifice.
1411 Only validly ordained priests can preside at the Eucharist and consecrate the bread and the wine so that they become the Body and Blood of the Lord.
1412 The essential signs of the Eucharistic sacrament are wheat bread and grape wine, on which the blessing of the Holy Spirit is invoked and the priest pronounces the words of consecration spoken by Jesus during the Last Supper: "This is my body which will be given up for you. . . . This is the cup of my blood. . . ."
1413 By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1640; 1651).
1414 As sacrifice, the Eucharist is also offered in reparation for the sins of the living and the dead and to obtain spiritual or temporal benefits from God.
1415 Anyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penance.
1416 Communion with the Body and Blood of Christ increases the communicant's union with the Lord, forgives his venial sins, and preserves him from grave sins. Since receiving this sacrament strengthens the bonds of charity between the communicant and Christ, it also reinforces the unity of the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ.
1417 The Church warmly recommends that the faithful receive Holy Communion when they participate in the celebration of the Eucharist; she obliges them to do so at least once a year.
1418 Because Christ himself is present in the sacrament of the altar, he is to be honored with the worship of adoration. "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is . . . a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward Christ our Lord" (Paul VI, MF 66).
1419 Having passed from this world to the Father, Christ gives us in the Eucharist the pledge of glory with him. Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his Heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the Church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints.
