The Church has taught us from the very beginning that Christ becomes really present in the Eucharist.
Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, through the conversion of the entire substance of bread into his Body and through the entire substance of wine into his Blood.
This leaves unchanged only those properties and accidents of bread and wine, namely their colour, taste, shape, quantity, which are open to the senses. So the appearances of bread remain and the appearances of wine remain, but they are no longer bread and wine but the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.
The substance of bread and wine have changed from what they were before in themselves during the Eucharist Prayer at Mass when the Priest invokes and calls down Holy Spirit to effect through his power this transformation or transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus.
When we read Chapter 6 of St John’s Gospel we see through St John’s use of the Greek word sarx, when describing eating his flesh, rather than soma, which would be indicative of a more figurative understanding of eating his flesh, that Jesus is not speaking figuratively or symbolically or using metaphors. He is speaking literally.
Furthermore if Jesus had simply been speaking symbolically why were the Jews so offended and why did many of his disciples leave him at this point as St John very clearly indicates in this account. They were scandalised at such a teaching and found this intolerable. Why? Because in the Book of Leviticus it reads: “If any man of the house of Israel or of the strangers that sojourn among them eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement by reason of the life.”
So the Jews were forbidden to eat blood. When they complain, Jesus doesn’t change the teaching or tell them they have misunderstood him. Jesus is anticipating what he will do on the cross, that his sacrifice, his blood will replace the blood of the animal’s sacrifice to make atonement for our sins.
Holy Mass is a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, it perpetuates for all peoples and times the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is not a re-crucifixion and the suffering of Christ taking place again. Christ makes present to us at every Mass the saving effects of his sacrifice and suffering, so when we receive the Eucharist (Holy Communion) we do eat Jesus’ flesh and we do drink his blood, we have the very life of him within us and not in some symbolic way but truly and substantially.
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