THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST

 

Well folks, this is the last of the seven Catholic sacraments, and today we’re talking about what Catholics call the sacrament of “Holy Communion,” or the “Holy Eucharist.” 

This is the solemn ceremony where the Catholic priest blesses the bread and wine and it supposedly becomes the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ.  The priest then offers it to the members of the congregation for their spiritual nourishment.

I have addressed my objections to this topic before in great detail elsewhere on this blog.  See these links for detailed discussions and the ramifications involved:

https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2009/10/eucharist-part-1.html

https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2009/11/eucharist-part-2.html

https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2016/01/access-denied.html

https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2021/02/eucharistic-wonders-miracles-or.html

https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2018/04/the-catholic-time-machine.html

Source and Summit

How important is the Eucharist to Catholics?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

“The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’  The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it. For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch." (CCC #1324 – Emphasis added)

Notice that all the other sacraments and “all ecclesiastical ministries and works” within the Catholic Church tie in with, and point to, the Eucharist.

As we can see, the Catholic Eucharist is extremely important in the Church.  In fact, it is EVERYTHING to them because it is the ultimate Catholic sacrament.  This is because:

“The mode of Christ's presence under the Eucharistic species is unique. It raises the Eucharist above all the sacraments as ‘the perfection of the spiritual life and the end to which all the sacraments tend.’  In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained’”…  (CCC #1374 – Emphasis in original).

Did you get that?  The wafer that the Catholic priest consecrates and gives to the members of the Church to eat is considered the actual BODY, BLOOD, SOUL and DIVINITY of Jesus Christ!  Yep, you’re eating His body and you’re eating His soul!  Literally!  Not sure how that works, but if you don’t believe that, this is what happens:

“If any one denieth, that, in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist, are contained truly, really, and substantially, the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and consequently the whole Christ; but saith that He is only therein as in a sign, or in figure, or virtue; let him be anathema.” (Council of Trent, Session XIII, Canon I)

That’s right.  If you don’t believe their teaching on the Eucharist, you are under the Catholic Church’s anathema.  Anathema means that you will experience the severest and gravest form of excommunication, where you are eternally condemned to Hell, unless and until you do the required penance, to the Catholic Church’s satisfaction.  You can find this definition in the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia, under “Anathema.”

This is one reason why, in my first article on the Eucharist years ago on this blog, I said that this sacrament is either a very good thing, or a very bad thing.  If it is what the Church says it is, then it is the most wonderful sacrament of all and we (Protestants included) should all line up to enthusiastically “receive Jesus” by eating Him in the form of the Eucharist.  But if it is not what they say it is, if what they’re eating is not actually Jesus, and what they are worshipping is a mere piece of bread, they are guilty of outright idolatry, a severe sin throughout the Old and New Testament (e.g., 1 Kings 21:25-26; Jeremiah 7:16-19; 1 Corinthians 6:9; 10:14).

So, if you believe this bread and wine is the ACTUAL, LITERAL, PHYSICAL Jesus, you’d better be absolutely sure that it is what they claim it is, and not just take someone’s word for it.  You’d better be certain as to whether it is a biblical concept or not!

Absent Does Not Mean Present

Again, the claim is that the bread and wine are literally Jesus.  It says that His physical presence is with us today.  In fact, they call it the “Real Presence” of Christ in the Eucharist (CCC # 1378).  But note that the Bible is clear that Jesus’ physical presence here on earth is no longer the case:

Jesus therefore said, “Let her alone, in order that she may keep it for the day of My burial.  For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have Me.” (John 12:7-8 – Emphasis added)

So tell me, what did Jesus mean when He said this?  In what sense do we NOT have Jesus today?  Does this passage mean that He is not here spiritually?  No, I think everyone would agree that we always have Him in a spiritual sense, right?  For example:

 

… and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20).

 

So, John 12:7-8 above is not talking about His presence in a spiritual sense.  So, again, if it is not in the spiritual sense, then in what way is He NOT present with us?

 

Now, Catholics will claim that He is present in a “sacramental” sense, but there is absolutely nothing in Scripture to suggest this concept.  The word “sacramental” (as an adjective) seems to be a conveniently flexible term in Catholicism, in fact, too flexible to have any real meaning.  The truth is, the whole idea of sacraments and “sacramental presence” is foreign to Scripture.  See here:

 https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2011/01/sacraments-gods-grace-for-sale.html

 

So that leaves a physical vacancy.  Jesus is no longer here physically.  And if that’s true, the Catholic Church is wrong about the “Real Presence.”

 

Again, in John 16:10, Jesus says:

And concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me.

How do we “no longer behold Jesus”?  Physically, of course.  He ascends to the Father and we don’t see Him anymore (at least, not until He returns).  It’s very simple.  Although Catholics will say that we see Jesus in the Eucharist, the Bible says that we don’t see Him in the Eucharist, i.e., we no longer behold Him.

Furthermore, in John 17:11, Jesus, when praying to the Father and about to leave, says:

And I am no more in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to Thee…

If He is no longer in the world (after His ascension), then, by definition, He is not physically here, so He can’t physically be in the Eucharist.

You Can’t Handle His Presence!

Ok, another point I want to make is that the Catholic Church makes extreme claims, and then later has to backtrack or play word games when called out on it.

One very unsustainable claim they make is that according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained” in the Eucharist.  And furthermore, “because it is presence in the fullest sense: that is to say, it is a substantial presence by which Christ, God and man, makes himself wholly and entirely present.” (CCC #1374) 

By the way, it seems that some Catholics are hesitant to claim that Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist.  But terms like “the whole Christ,” “entirely present” and the “fullest sense” would appear to indicate otherwise.

But think about this.  What would happen to us if we were truly exposed to “the whole Christ” in all His glory?  The truth is, if we were ushered into His presence in the “fullest sense,” we would not be able to endure it, UNLESS we were in our heavenly bodies. 

Again, that level of exposure to Jesus Christ could only safely happen when we are in our glorified bodies.  Only then could we be able to endure His absolute fullness and glory.  Some saw Jesus in His new body right after His resurrection, but that was not the same thing.            

Why do I say this?  In the book of Revelation, the apostle John said:

And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me…

And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead… (Revelation 1:12, 17)

Folks, THIS is what happens when a mere human sees “the whole Christ” in the “fullest sense.”  Even John, probably the closest friend of Jesus on earth, fell as a dead man in His “fullest” presence.  John was utterly stunned and unable to even look at Jesus.  He was overwhelmed, virtually paralyzed, by the majesty of the Son of God.  If the Eucharist was all that Catholics say it is, no man would be able to stand before it.  Therefore, they are promoting a false teaching.

So What is the Purpose of Communion?

Catholics will always point to John chapter 6 when discussing the Eucharist.  They’ll say that when Jesus said to “eat My flesh” and “drink My blood” (John 6:50-58), He was talking about the Communion service (Eucharist).  But when Jesus said this, He was simply speaking of “coming to Him” and “believing in Him,” as is plain in a previous verse in the same chapter (John 6:35).  This is obviously symbolic language and it was setting the stage for the rest of the passage.

The truth is, Communion is simply a holy memorial:

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. (Luke 22:19 – Emphasis added)

The Catholic Church does rightly believe that there is a “memorial” aspect in celebrating Communion, but they also falsely believe that the priest’s consecrating of the bread and wine “actualizes” the event of Calvary (CCC #1104). 

 

The word “actualize” means “to make actual” or “to make something a reality.”  They also claim that the Eucharistic ritual “re-presents” (makes present) the event of Calvary.  That’s why they claim that the victim of the Mass (Jesus) and the victim of Calvary (2000 years ago) is “one and the same” (CCC #1367; Council of Trent, Session 22, Chapter 2).  The Eucharistic sacrifice (supposedly) brings the event of Calvary to the here and now.  The Catholic Church reads way too much into the biblical text, instead of letting it speak for itself.  But of course, this is all a “paschal mystery,” something that we non-Catholics just can’t seem to grasp.  Very often, when it comes to things that Catholics can’t verify biblically, it appears that another “mystery” is born in Catholic theology.  Convenient, huh?

 

But getting the benefits of Calvary is not “eating and drinking Jesus’ body and blood.”  Nor do these benefits include time-travel, where God makes the events of Calvary present (CCC # 1104, 1362, 1364, 1366), as though a past event is literally transferred into the present.

 

No, the benefits of Calvary are eternal salvation and a sanctified life, and these are simply received by faith, not by a ritual done by a priest of any kind.

 

One Sacrifice Offered, One Time, By One Person

 

Here’s another instance where the Catholic Church plays word games.  Catholics are sometimes accused of sacrificing Jesus over and over when the Eucharist is celebrated.  Of course, they deny this and claim that they are instead re-presenting that same one-time, once-for-all sacrifice at Calvary. 

 

Even though that may sound good, it cannot be the case.  If the Catholic priest is indeed offering a sacrifice (as they claim), it is not a legitimate one.  Why?  Because only Jesus Christ, Himself, was able to make this one-time offering/sacrifice of Calvary, and He will never, ever, do it again, much less offer it daily (Hebrews 10:11-12 – See CCC #1389).  That, by definition, is what a one-time offering means.  It was offered once and it was only offered BY JESUS.  No man can rightly claim that he is offering, re-offering or re-presenting the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  It cannot and will not be done.  This Catholic “Eucharistic sacrifice” is not Jesus.  It is a REPLACEMENT of Him, a false offering (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12; 10:2, 10).

 

Using fancy verbs like “re-presenting” doesn’t help the Catholic case.  Actually, the verbs “sacrifice,” “offer,” and “present” are all synonyms in the Bible in the context of sacrifices.  They all mean basically the same thing and they are used interchangeably.  So you can’t say, “I’m not sacrificing Him again in the Eucharistic ritual, I’m only ‘re-presenting’ Him.”  But that ends up being the same thing.  Again, the words are interchangeable.  To “re-present” is to “re-offer” is to “re-sacrifice.”  There is no difference.

 

If a person successfully offered payment for an item, there would be no other offer.  The payment has been given and the debt is already paid for.  The transaction is completed.

 

Likewise, the event of Calvary is a successful payment/offering by Jesus to pay for the sin-debt of mankind.  Why would there ever be another offering of the same thing, since it is a completed transaction?   If something is paid for, there is no need for anyone else to present, RE-present or RE-offer that same payment. 

 

Stop and think, though: If the priest’s RE-offering or RE-presenting of payment is actually valid, that would mean that the original payment was illegitimate!  Would the Catholic Church ever admit that Jesus’ payment at the cross was invalid or illegitimate?  Because if the Eucharistic sacrifice is valid, then Jesus’ payment is indeed null and void.  The implications of this are blasphemous and totally unacceptable!

 

Conclusion

 

The purpose of the true biblical Communion service is not to point to the elements of the bread and wine.  That would be missing the whole point. It is not to physically “eat Jesus.”  The purpose of Communion is to use these signs/elements to remember the event of Calvary with heart-felt thankfulness to God for what Jesus did.  It is to point to the One who gave Himself willingly on the cross, who lovingly paid the penalty for mankind’s sins.  And that sacrifice is finished! (John 19:30)  The whole Communion service is about God’s offering to us, not about the church’s offering to God.

 

Well, folks, that’s the end of this brief address of this series on the seven Catholic sacraments.  Much more could be said and I know that many Catholics will disagree with me on at least some of my thoughts.  But I have endeavored to keep things biblically and logically sound, and I hope that this has been food for thought.