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.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

IN DEFENSE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

"Put on the armor of GOD, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the Principalities and the Powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness on high. Therefore take up the armor of GOD, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and stand in all things perfect. Stand, therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of justice, and having your feet shod with the readiness of the Gospel of Peace, in all things taking up the shield of faith, with which you may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the most wicked one. And take unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, that is, the Word of GOD." (Ephesians 6:11-17)

We Catholics are under a continuous bombardment of negativism from many sources. How many times have you heard from the pulpit a Catholic priest deliberately attacking a non-Catholic Church? I do not recall one single case in which this has happened.

Yet others take great pleasure in attacking our Catholic Church, and they will do it from the pulpit. It amazes me how some non-Catholic sects seem to spend a significant percentage of their time in attacking our Church, instead of preaching to their own followers, of "love thy neighbor" as taught by the Word of GOD in Holy Scripture.

It is the duty of every Catholic to learn the faith and to defend it. Do not be afraid to speak out when your Church is being attacked by anyone.  When you defend the Church, you are defending its founder, Jesus Christ.

He will remember that when you meet Him face to face someday. He will also remember those who attacked His Church which is His body, with He Himself being the Head and Savior of it (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23, Colossians 1:18).

For those who defend Our Blessed Mother, Catholics, and the Catholic Church, from the non-stop barrage of slings and arrows, Holy Scripture has promised that you will certainly receive your reward:
" My brethren, if any of you err from the truth and one convert him: He must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way shall save his soul from death and shall cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20).

Updated by Bob Stanley, March 10, 2007

7 comments:

daveg4g said...

GOSPEL:

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.

And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table.

Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.

The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.


And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.'

Abraham replied,
'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.

Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.'


He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'


But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'

He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'


Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'" (Luke 16:19-31)

a39greenway said...

The Church is the Foundation of Truth

The church is the pillar and foundation of the truth, not the Bible. What can be more clear?

I should note that it is common for Protestants who are critical of Catholicism to misrepresent the Catholic view regarding the Bible.

The Catholic Church teaches that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God.

The dificulty arises in interpreting it truthfully.

Scooter said...

"The difficulty arises in interpreting it truthfully"
39greenway is quite correct in this statement. But I'm stunned at how there's a failure to see that writers like Bob Stanley continue to make this error. For example he begins by quoting Ephesians 6:11-17 which is a powerful teaching on how believers in Christ are to arm themselves to do battle against Satan. And then he proceeds to complain about negativity against Catholics and how ill-treated they are supposing that this Ephesians passage was the sole property of Catholics? Mr. Stanley doesn't understand as many Catholics that the church is believers of all stripes and does not necessarily or primarily refer to Catholicism.

Anonymous said...

The Greek word "catholic" comes from the word for "wholeness" or "fullness."

The "catholic" church is not just a regional sect for an exclusive little group.

Rather it must include the whole family of God over the whole world, welcoming all, from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (Rev 7:9).

In addition, the "catholic" church cannot pick and choose which doctrines are trendy and convenient, but must be faithful to the whole truth.

Paul points out that the essence of his apostolic call was to be a "catholic" teacher: "I became a minister of this church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness . . . we admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ" (Col 1:25, 28, NAB).

Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.

Born Again said...

http://noutax.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-post.html

Unknown said...

Dear Noutax,
The Catholic Church Stands Alone!

a39greenway said...

Scooter said...
Mr. Stanley doesn't understand as many Catholics that the church is believers of all stripes and does not necessarily or primarily refer to Catholicism.

Scooter,
Jesus Christ Founded the Catholic Church on AD 33 Matthew 16:18: And I say also unto thee, That thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

(Matthew 28-19) Jesus states - Go ye therefore, and TEACH all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

(Mark 16-15) Jesus states - And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and PREACH the gospel to every creature.

(Mark 16-20) -And they went forth, and PREACHED everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

The church is "the light of the world." He then noted that "a city set on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matthew 5:14). This means his Church is a visible organization.

It must have characteristics that clearly identify it and that distinguish it from other churches. Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

This means that his Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until his return.

Church is a "city set on a mountain that cannot be hidden" ( Matthew 5:14) Church is not spiritual or invisible. Church in Greek is Ekklesia mentioned in the bible more than hundred times.

Protestants thinks that the church is spiritual and invisible composed of some sort of amorphous collection of true believers form every denomination is completely unbiblical.

Jesus established only one church, NOT for a group of squabbling rival denominations.