Bread of Life

BREAD OF LIFE
this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. (john 6: 50)
The miracle of God’s physical presence to us at every Mass is the truest testament to Christ’s love for us and His desire for each of us to have a personal relationship with Him. Jesus Christ celebrated the first Mass with His disciples at the Last Supper, the night before He died. He commanded His disciples, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Luke 22:19). The celebration of the Mass then became the main form of worship in the early Church, as a reenactment of the Last Supper, as Christ had commanded. Each and every Mass since commemorates Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross through the Holy Eucharist. Because the Mass “re-presents” (makes present) the sacrifice on Calvary, Catholics all around the world join together to be made present in Christ’s timeless sacrifice for our sins. There is something fascinating about continuing to celebrate the same Mass—instituted by Christ and practiced by the early Church—with the whole community of Catholics around the world…and in heaven.

THE REAL PRESENCE

Why does the Catholic Church believe Christ is really present in the Eucharist?
The Catholic doctrine of the Real Presence is the belief that Jesus Christ is literally, not symbolically, present in the Holy Eucharist—body, blood, soul and divinity. Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist because Jesus tells us this is true in the Bible:

“I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ So Jesus said to them,

"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” - John 6:48-56
Furthermore, the early Church Fathers either imply or directly state that the bread and wine offered in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper is really the body and blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, the doctrine of the Real Presence that Catholics believe today was believed by the earliest Christians 2,000 years ago!

This miracle of God’s physical presence to us at every Mass is the truest testament to Christ’s love for us and His desire for each of us to have a personal relationship with Him.

Monday, May 3, 2010

THE HOLY EUCHARIST IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

In Matthew 26:26, He said, "Take and eat; THIS IS MY BODY."

In Matthew 26:27-28 He said, "All of you drink of this; FOR THIS IS MY BLOOD OF THE NEW COVENANT, WHICH IS BEING SHED FOR MANY UNTO THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS."

These words of Jesus Christ, faithfully recorded by St. Matthew, are the First Mention of them in Holy Scripture.
His Gospel was written for the Jews, in order to try and convince them that the long awaited Messiah had truly come, just as the Old Testament Prophets had predicted He would.
Therefore, Matthew refers to more Old Testament verses than any of the four Gospel writers, since the Jews knew Holy Scripture quite well.

This Gospel, therefore, stands alone on its own merit, as do all of the Gospels.

I challenge anyone to show me any hint of symbolism of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in this Gospel of St. Matthew.
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1 comment:

a39greenway said...

What is the Eucharist, anyway? Well, Eucharist is a Greek word that means “Thanksgiving”.

It refers to the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus truly present in Holy Communion.

What was once an ordinary piece of bread and an ordinary cup of wine, has now been changed (transubstantiated) into Jesus.

In other words, just like Jesus changed the substance of water into wine at Cana, the priest, through the power of Jesus given to him at his ordination, changes the substances of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus at the consecration.

May 3, 2010 at 11:22 PM

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