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*
Reasons for the institution of the Holy Eucharist by Christ:
"[Jesus Christ instituted the Blessed Eucharist to] be the
perpetual Sacrifice of the New Law, and the spiritual nourishment
of our soul." (Catechism of St. John Neumann)
"Jesus
Christ instituted the Most Holy Eucharist for three principal
reasons: (1) To be the Sacrifice of the New Law; (2) To be the
food of our souls; (3) To be a perpetual memorial of His passion
and death and a precious pledge both of His love for us and of
eternal life." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist - 1) To unite us to
Himself and to nourish our soul with His Body and Blood, 2) To
increase sanctifying grace and all virtues in our soul, 3) To
lessen our evil inclinations, 4) To be a pledge of everlasting
life, 5) To fit our bodies for a glorious resurrection, and 6) To
continue the sacrifice of the Cross in His Church."
(Baltimore Catechism)
* The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is
offered to God for four ends: "The Sacrifice of the Mass
is offered to God for four ends: (1) To honor Him properly, and
hence it is called Latreutical; (2) To thank Him for His favors,
and hence it is called Eucharistical; (3) To appease Him, make Him
due satisfaction for our sins, and to help the souls in Purgatory,
and hence it is called Propitiatory; (4) To obtain all the graces
necessary for us, and hence it is called Impetratory."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
Note: These ends are commonly summed up as
"adoration, thanksgiving, reparation, and petition."
* The fruits of the Mass
apply to those who are present at the Mass (referred to as those
who "assist at the Mass"), to the priest, to those whom the Mass
is offered for (living or dead), and for the entire Church:
"The entire Church shares in the fruits of the Mass, but
more particularly: (1) The priest and those who assist at Mass,
the latter being united with the priest; (2) Those for whom the
Mass is applied, both living and dead." (Catechism of St.
Pius X)
"The
fruits of the Mass are distributed thus: The first benefit is
bestowed on the priest who says the Mass; the second on the person
for whom the Mass is said, or for the intention for which it is
said; the third on those who are present at the Mass, and
particularly on those who serve it, and the fourth on all the
faithful who are in communion with the Church." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"As Christ's Passion benefits all, for the forgiveness of
sin and the attaining of grace and glory, whereas it produces no
effect except in those who are united with Christ's Passion
through faith and charity, so likewise this sacrifice, which is
the memorial of our Lord's Passion, has no effect except in those
who are united with this sacrament through faith and charity.
Hence Augustine says to Renatus (De Anima et ejus origine i): 'Who
may offer Christ's body except for them who are Christ's members?'
Hence in the Canon of the Mass no prayer is made for them who are
outside the pale of the Church. But it benefits them who are
members, more or less, according to the measure of their
devotion." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
* The
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass benefits both the living and the dead
(those in purgatory):
"[S]uch
is the efficacy of this Sacrifice that its benefits extend not
only to the celebrant and communicant, but to all the faithful,
whether living with us on earth, or already numbered with those
who are dead in the Lord, but whose sins have not yet been fully
expiated. For, according to the most authentic Apostolic
tradition, it is not less available when offered for them, than
when offered for the sins of the living, their punishments,
satisfactions, calamities and difficulties of every sort."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"My
children, you remember the story I have told you already of that
holy priest who was praying for his friend; God had, it appears,
made known to him that he was in Purgatory; it came into his mind
that he could do nothing better than to offer the holy Sacrifice
of the Mass for his soul. When he came to the moment of
Consecration, he took the Host in his hands and said, 'O Holy
and Eternal Father, let us make an exchange. Thou hast the soul of
my friend who is in Purgatory, and I have the Body of Thy Son, Who
is in my hands; well, do Thou deliver my friend, and I offer Thee
Thy Son, with all the merits of His Death and Passion.' In
fact, at the moment of the elevation, he saw the soul of his
friend rising to Heaven, all radiant with glory. Well, my
children, when we want to obtain anything from the good God, let
us do the same; after Holy Communion, let us offer Him His
well-beloved Son, with all the merits of His death and His
Passion. He will not be able to refuse us anything."
(Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
"...for the
[living and the] dead are helped by the masses offered by the
living" (St. Ephraem the Syrian, Doctor of the Church)
*
The faithful can give an offering to apply the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
to the living or the dead or for a special intention:
"Can. 809 It is basic that Mass can be applied for the
living and for the dead undergoing expiation by fire in purgatory,
with due regard for the prescription of Canon 2262, § 2,
n.2" (1917 Code of Canon Law)
"Can. 946 The Christian faithful who give an offering to
apply the Mass for their intention contribute to the good of the
Church and by that offering share its concern to support its
ministers and works." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"Mass may be offered for any end or intention that tends
to the honor and glory of God, to the good of the Church or the
welfare of man; but never for any object that is bad in itself, or
in its aims; neither can it be offered publicly for persons who
are not members of the true Church." (Baltimore Catechism)
"It is not simony, or the buying of a sacred thing, to
offer the priest money for saying Mass for our intention, because
the priest does not take the money for the Mass itself, but for
the purpose of supplying the things necessary for Mass and for his
own support." (Baltimore Catechism)
Note
that it
is a traditional practice to request 30 consecutive daily masses for a deceased
person upon their death. These masses may be referred to as the
"30 Masses of St. Gregory", Gregorian Masses, or a "Trental".
These masses are offered
to assist a particular soul, with
the hope of obtaining its release from Purgatory. [For
more information regarding Purgatory, try
here (Purgatory Release Project)]. It is also a
traditional practice to have a Mass said on the anniversary of a
loved one's death.
* In addition to Mass offerings, one may attend
Mass and spiritually offer up that Mass for God's glory and for
one's own intentions. Remember that there is nothing more
precious than can be offered to God than His own Son.
* It has been asserted that one Mass offered for
a person who is living is more profitable than many Masses said
for the person after their death.
* While
the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass may be offered in honor of the Saints, it is not offered to them:
"The Holy Mass is offered to God alone." (Catechism
of St. Pius X)
"Mass
celebrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints is always
a sacrifice offered to God alone; it is said to be celebrated in
honor of the Blessed Virgin and the Saints to thank God for the
gifts He has given them, and through their intercession to obtain
from Him more abundantly the graces of which we have need."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Nor did (the Council
of Trent) omit carefully to explain that to God alone is offered
this Sacrifice [of the Mass]. For although the Church sometimes
offers Masses in honor and in memory of the Saints, yet she
teaches that the Sacrifice [of the Mass] is offered, not to them,
but to God alone, who has crowned the Saints with immortal glory.
Hence the priest never says: I offer Sacrifice to thee Peter, or
to thee Paul; but, while he offers [the Eucharistic] Sacrifice to
God alone, he renders Him thanks for the signal victory won by the
blessed martyrs, and thus implores their patronage, that they,
whose memory we celebrate on earth, may vouchsafe to intercede for
us in heaven." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
During the Mass, the priest acts 'In Persona Christi' (in
the person of Christ)
"It
is not man who makes what is put before him the Body and Blood of
Christ, but Christ Himself who was crucified for us. The priest
standing there in the place of Christ says these words, but their
power and grace are from God. This is my Body, he says, and these
words transform what lies before him." (St. John Chrysostom,
Doctor of the Church, c. 4th century A.D.)
"Oh,
how great is a priest! if he understood himself he would die... God obeys him; he speaks two words, and Our Lord comes down from
Heaven at his voice, and shuts Himself up in a little Host... If we had
faith, we should see God hidden in the priest like a light behind
a glass, like wine mingled with water." (Catechism of the
Cure of Ars)
Note:
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here for more information on priests & the priesthood
* A wicked priest - providing he has
the proper matter, form and intention - may still validly
consecrate:
"What, however, has been already said
of the other Sacraments, holds good also with regard to the
Sacrament of the Eucharist; namely, that a Sacrament is validly
administered even by the wicked, provided all the essentials have
been duly observed. For we are to believe that all these depend
not on the merit of the minister, but are operated by the virtue
and power of Christ our Lord." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"And
in the Sacrifice we believe that a good priest does nothing more
than this and a bad priest does nothing less; because it is not by
the merit of the one consecrating that the Sacrifice is
accomplished, but by the word of the Creator and by the power of
the Holy Spirit." (Profession of Faith Prescribed for
Durandus of Osca and Followers)
"Augustine
(Paschasius) says (De Corpore et Sanguine Domini xii): 'Within the
Catholic Church, in the mystery of the Lord's body and blood,
nothing greater is done by a good priest, nothing less by an evil
priest, because it is not by the merits of the consecrator that
the sacrament is accomplished, but by the Creator's word, and by
the power of the Holy Spirit'... the priest consecrates this
sacrament not by his own power, but as the minister of Christ, in
Whose person he consecrates this sacrament. But from the fact of
being wicked he does not cease to be Christ's minister; because
our Lord has good and wicked ministers or servants. Hence (Matthew
24:45) our Lord says: 'Who, thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise
servant?' and afterwards He adds: 'But if that evil servant shall
say in his heart...'. And the Apostle (1 Corinthians 4:1) says:
'Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ'; and
afterwards he adds: 'I am not conscious to myself of anything; yet
am I not hereby justified.' He was therefore certain that he was
Christ's minister; yet he was not certain that he was a just man.
Consequently, a man can be Christ's minister even though he be not
one of the just. And this belongs to Christ's excellence, Whom, as
the true God, things both good and evil serve, since they are
ordained by His providence for His glory. Hence it is evident that
priests, even though they be not godly, but sinners, can
consecrate the Eucharist." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the
Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
* Only validly ordained priests have the power
to consecrate the bread and wine.
"Can. 802 Only priests have the power of offering the
sacrifice of the Mass." (1917 Code of Canon Law)
"Christ gave His priests the power to change bread and
wine into His Body and Blood when He said to the Apostles, 'Do this for a commemoration of Me'." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"Anyone
who believes and contends that he can perform the Sacrifice of the
Eucharist without having first been ordained by a bishop...is a
heretic." (Pope Innocent III)
"This change of bread and wine into the body and blood of
Christ continues to be made in the Church by Jesus Christ through
the ministry of His priests." (Baltimore Catechism)
"The words
'do this in commemoration of me'
mean: Do what I, Christ, am doing at My last supper, namely,
changing the substance of bread and wine into the substance of My
body and blood; and do it in remembrance of Me." (Baltimore
Catechism)
Q. "To whom did Jesus Christ give the power to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as He offered it?"
A. "To the apostles and to their lawful successors, the Catholic bishops and priests."
(Catechism of St. John Neumann)
"The
priests exercises this power of changing bread and wine into the
Body and Blood of Christ through the words of consecration in the
Mass, which are the words of Christ: 'This is My Body; This
is My Blood.'" (Baltimore Catechism)
"There is one holy universal Church of the faithful
outside which absolutely no one is saved, in which Jesus Christ
Himself is both Priest and Victim, Whose Body and Blood are truly
contained in the sacrament of the altar under the appearances of
bread and wine, the bread and the wine being by divine power
transubstantiated into His body and blood, so that for the
perfecting of the mystery of unity we may receive of Him what He
took from us. And no one may consecrate this sacrament except a
priest who has been duly ordained according to the keys of the
Church, which Jesus Christ Himself granted to the apostles and
their successors." (Fourth Lateran Council)
"You must all follow the bishop as Jesus Christ follows
the Father, and the presbytery as you would the Apostles.
Reverence the deacons as you would the command of God. Let no one
do anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let that
be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop,
or by one whom he appoints. Wherever the bishop appears, let the
people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the
Catholic Church. Nor is it permitted without the bishop either to
baptize or to celebrate the agape; but whatever he approve, this
too is pleasing to God, so that whatever is done will be secure
and valid." (St. Ignatius of Antioch, c. 110 A.D.)
*
It is sinful for heretical / schismatic / excommunicated / etc.
priests to consecrate the Holy Eucharist and it is sinful for
others to participate in their sin.
"As was said above, heretical,
schismatical,
excommunicate, or even sinful priests, although they have the
power to consecrate the Eucharist, yet they do not make a proper
use of it; on the contrary, they sin by using it. But whoever
communicates with another who is in sin, becomes a sharer in his
sin. Hence we read in John's Second Canonical Epistle (2 John 1:1)
that 'He that saith unto him, God speed you, communicateth with
his wicked works.' Consequently, it is not lawful to receive
Communion from them, or to assist at their mass. Still there is a
difference among the above, because heretics, schismatics, and
excommunicates, have been forbidden, by the Church's sentence, to
perform the Eucharistic rite. And therefore whoever hears their
mass or receives the sacraments from them, commits sin. But not
all who are sinners are debarred by the Church's sentence from
using this power: and so, although suspended by the Divine
sentence, yet they are not suspended in regard to others by any
ecclesiastical sentence: consequently, until the Church's sentence
is pronounced, it is lawful to receive Communion at their hands,
and to hear their mass. Hence on 1 Corinthians 5:11, 'with such a
one not so much as to eat,' Augustine's gloss runs thus: 'In
saying this he was unwilling for a man to be judged by his fellow
man on arbitrary suspicion, or even by usurped extraordinary
judgment, but rather by God's law, according to the Church's
ordering, whether he confess of his own accord, or whether he be
accused and convicted.'... By refusing to hear the masses of such
priests, or to receive Communion from them, we are not shunning
God's sacraments; on the contrary, by so doing we are giving them
honor (hence a host consecrated by such priests is to be adored,
and if it be reserved, it can be consumed by a lawful priest): but
what we shun is the sin of the unworthy ministers... those who
receive or minister unworthily, are deprived of the fruit... And
therefore, those who belong to the unity of the Faith are not to
receive the sacrament from their dispensing." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"Augustine says (Contra epistolarum Parmeniani ii): 'Just
as Baptism remains in them,' i.e. in heretics, schismatics, and
those who are excommunicate, 'so do their orders remain intact.'
Now, by the power of his ordination, a priest can consecrate the
Eucharist. Therefore, it seems that heretics, schismatics, and
those who are excommunicate, can consecrate the Eucharist, since
their orders remain entire... Some have contended that heretics,
schismatics, and the excommunicate, who are outside the pale of
the Church, cannot perform this sacrament. But herein they are
deceived, because, as Augustine says (Contra epistolarum
Parmeniani ii), 'it is one thing to lack something utterly, and
another to have it improperly'; and in like fashion, 'it is one
thing not to bestow, and quite another to bestow, but not
rightly.' Accordingly, such as, being within the Church, received
the power of consecrating the Eucharist through being ordained to
the priesthood, have such power rightly indeed; but they use it
improperly if afterwards they be separated from the Church by
heresy, schism, or excommunication. But such as are ordained while
separated from the Church, have neither the power rightly, nor do
they use it rightly. But that in both cases they have the power,
is clear from what Augustine says (Contra epistolarum Parmeniani
ii), that when they return to the unity of the Church, they are
not re-ordained, but are received in their orders. And since the
consecration of the Eucharist is an act which follows the power of
order, such persons as are separated from the Church by heresy,
schism, or excommunication, can indeed consecrate the Eucharist,
which on being consecrated by them contains Christ's true body and
blood; but they act wrongly, and sin by doing so; and in
consequence they do not receive the fruit of the sacrifice, which
is a spiritual sacrifice...if a priest severed from the unity of
the Church celebrates mass, not having lost the power of order, he
consecrates Christ's true body and blood; but because he is
severed from the unity of the Church, his prayers have no
efficacy." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
*
Lay persons do not have the power of Holy Orders and are not to
perform actions proper to priests.
"Can. 907 In the celebration of the Eucharist, deacons and
lay persons are not permitted to say the prayers, especially the
eucharistic prayer, nor to perform the actions which are proper to
the celebrating priest." (1983 Code of Canon Law)
"The
fact, however, that the faithful participate in the Eucharistic
Sacrifice does not mean that they also are endowed with priestly
power. It is very necessary that you make this quite clear to your
flocks. For there are today, Venerable Brethren, those who,
approximating to errors long since condemned teach that in the New
Testament by the word 'priesthood' is meant only that [common]
priesthood which applies to all who have been baptized; and hold
that the command by which Christ gave power to His apostles at the
Last Supper to do what He Himself had done, applies directly to
the entire Christian [that is, Catholic] Church, and that thence,
and thence only, arises the hierarchical priesthood. Hence they
assert that the people are possessed of a true priestly power,
while the priest only acts in virtue of an office committed to him
by the community. Wherefore, they look on the Eucharistic
Sacrifice as a 'concelebration,' in the literal meaning of that
term, and consider it more fitting that priests should
'concelebrate' with the people present than that they should offer
the [Eucharistic] Sacrifice privately when the people are absent.
It is superfluous to explain how captious errors of this sort
completely contradict the truths which we have just stated above,
when treating of the place of the priest in the Mystical Body of
Jesus Christ. But we deem it necessary to recall that the priest
acts for the people only because he represents Jesus Christ, who
is Head of all His members and offers Himself in their stead.
Hence, he goes to the altar as the minister of Christ, inferior to
Christ but superior to the people. The people, on the other hand,
since they in no sense represent the divine Redeemer and are not
mediator between themselves and God, can in no way possess the
sacerdotal power... The unbloody immolation at the words of
consecration, when Christ is made present upon the altar in the
state of a victim, is performed by the priest and by him alone, as
the representative of Christ and not as the representative of the
faithful." (Pope Pius XII, "Mediator Dei", 1947
A.D.)
*
Altar boys are to be male.
Canon
44: "That women are not to come near the altar."
(Council of Laodicea, 4th century A.D.)
"Women
are not, however, permitted to act as altar servers." (Inaestimabile
Donum, Approved and Confirmed by His Holiness Pope John Paul II)
[Note: Once again, calculated
disobedience to the pope has resulted in the eventual, reluctant toleration
of "female altar boys". Since this practice
was always rejected by the Church and was only permitted as a
result of disobedience, faithful & obedient Catholics continue
to reject this practice which is so harmful to vocations and
promotes a feminist agenda.]
"[T]o select carefully good and upright young boys from
all classes of citizens who will come generously and spontaneously
to serve at the altar with careful zeal and exactness. Parents of
higher social standing and culture should greatly esteem this
office for their [sons]. If these youths, under the watchful
guidance of the priests, are properly trained and encouraged to
fulfill the task committed to them punctually, reverently and
constantly, then from their number will readily come fresh
candidates for the priesthood." (Pope Pius XII,
"Mediator Dei", 1947 A.D.)
Also
See...
Proper
Role & Behavior of Women (Priests & Vocations Reflections)
Top
Reasons Why Women Can't Be Priests
*
In the Catholic Church alone can be found the lawful exercise of
priestly orders and the licit celebration of the Holy Sacrifice of
the Mass. Only in the Catholic Church is the Real Presence of Christ
in the Holy Eucharist licitly found.
So-called 'Christian Churches' that don't preserve valid Holy
Orders which can be traced back directly to the Apostles (e.g.
Protestants, including Anglicans) cannot produce the Real Presence
of Christ in the Eucharist (even illicitly) since they have no
power of orders.
*
For a valid Sacrament to occur, all required elements are
necessary (proper matter and form & validly ordained priest with
the proper intention). Note that the words of Consecration
must be pronounced by the priest - with the proper intention - for
the validity of the Sacrament.
"There is no Sacrament [of the
Mass] if any of these is missing: the proper matter, the form,
including the intention, and the priestly ordination of the
celebrant. If these things are present, the Sacrament is valid, no
matter what else is lacking." (De Defectibus)
"Defects on the part of the form
may arise if anything is missing from the complete wording
required for the act of consecrating....the words of the
Consecration...are the form of this Sacrament... If the priest were
to shorten or change the form of the consecration of the Body and
the Blood, so that in the change of wording the words did not mean
the same thing, he would not be achieving a valid Sacrament. If,
on the other hand, he were to add or take away anything which did
not change the meaning, the Sacrament would be valid, but he would
be committing a grave sin." (De Defectibus)
* Traditionally, there are three chief parts of
the Mass: The Offertory, the Consecration, and Communion.
"[The chief parts of the
Mass are:] The Offertory
("The priest offers to God the bread and wine that are
afterwards consecrated."), the consecration ("By the
words of consecration the priest changes the bread and wine into
the true Body and into the true Blood of Jesus Christ"), and the
Communion ("The priest consumes the Body and Blood of Jesus
Christ and gives Holy Communion to {the faithful, if applicable}")." (Catechism of St. John Neumann)
"The chief parts of the [Traditional] Mass are: (1) The
Offertory, at which the priest offers to God the bread and wine to
be changed at the Consecration; (2) The Consecration, at which the
substance of the bread and wine are changed into the substance of
Christ's body and blood; (3) The Communion, at which the priest
receives into his own body the Holy Eucharist under the appearance
of both bread and wine." (Baltimore Catechism)
* Traditionally, the Consecration is contained
in the Canon of the Mass just before the elevation of the Host and
Chalice.
"The part of the Mass in which the words of Consecration
are found is called the Canon. This is the most solemn part of the
Mass, and [traditionally] is rarely and but slightly changed in
any Mass." (Baltimore Catechism)
"The Consecration in the Mass takes place immediately
before the elevation of the Host and Chalice, which are raised
above the head of the priest that the people may adore Our Lord
who has just come to the altar at the words of Consecration"
(Baltimore Catechism)
*
During Mass, at the
consecration, the bread and wine are entirely changed into the
Body and Blood of Christ. The change is so complete that none
of the substance of bread and wine remains, leaving only the
appearance of bread and wine [that is, the 'accidents' - e.g. the
appearance, smell, "the figure, the color, the taste, and whatever
appears to the senses" (Baltimore Catechism)]. This miraculous
change is called 'transubstantiation'. Although the
transubstantiation is not perceptible to the eyes, it can be - and
must be - perceptible "with the eyes of faith".
"The
Church calls the miraculous change [of bread and of wine into the
Body and Blood of Jesus Christ] which is daily wrought upon our
altars transubstantiation." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"The bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of
Christ at the consecration in the Mass." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"This change of the bread and wine into the body and blood
of our Lord is called Transubstantiation." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who is Almighty God, gave
this great power to the words of consecration." (Catechism of
St. Pius X) [Note: To have this power, the words must be
uttered by a validly ordained priest with the proper intention and
matter.]
"The host before consecration is bread...After consecration the host is the true Body of our Lord
Jesus Christ under the species of bread" (Catechism of St.
Pius X)
"In the chalice before consecration there is wine with a
few drops of water...After consecration there is in the chalice the true Blood
of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the species of wine."
(Catechism of St. Pius X)
"[H]owever
repugnant it may appear to the senses,...none of the substance of
the elements remains in the Sacrament." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"The change of the bread into the Body and of the wine
into the Blood of Jesus Christ is made in the very moment in which
the priest pronounces the words of consecration during holy
Mass." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"This change is effected by a power which is infinite, to
which it belongs to operate in an instant." (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian in the
history of the Church")
"[A]fter the consecration nothing remains under the
sacramental species except the body and the blood of Christ... the
substance of the bread or wine remains until the last instant of
the consecration; but in the last instant of the consecration
there is already present there the substance of the body or blood
of Christ" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"After
the Consecration, the good God is there as He is in Heaven. If man
well understood this mystery, he would die of love. God spares us
because of our weakness." (Catechism of the Cure of Ars)
"The Eucharist is a sacrament in which, by the marvelous
conversion of the whole substance of bread into the Body of Jesus
Christ, and that of wine into His precious Blood, is contained
truly, really, and substantially, the Body, the Blood, the Soul
and Divinity of the same Lord Jesus Christ, under the appearance
of bread and wine as our spiritual food." (Catechism of St.
Pius X)
"The consecration is the renewal, by means of the priest,
of the miracle wrought by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper, of
changing bread and wine into His adorable Body and Blood by
saying: 'This is My Body: This is My Blood.'" (Catechism of
St. Pius X)
"After the substance of the bread and wine had been
changed into the substance of the body and blood of our Lord there
[remains] only the appearances of bread and wine." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"There is no deception in this sacrament; for the
accidents which are discerned by the senses are truly present. But
the intellect, whose proper object is substance as is said in De
Anima iii, is preserved by faith from deception...faith is not
contrary to the senses, but concerns things to which sense does
not reach." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"We
know that it is possible to change one substance into another,
because (1) God changed water into blood during the plagues of
Egypt; (2) Christ changed water into wine at the marriage of Cana;
(3) Our own food is daily changed into the substance of our flesh
and blood; and what God does gradually, He can also do instantly
by an act of His will." (Baltimore Catechism) [Note: "These changes are not exactly
the same as the changes that take place in the Holy Eucharist, for
in these changes the appearance also is changed, but in the Holy
Eucharist only the substance is changed while the appearance
remains the same."]
"The whole substance of bread is converted into the whole
substance of Christ's Body, the whole substance of wine into the
whole substance of His Blood. This is not a transmutation or
transformation; it is not catalogued under the ordinary physical
processes, but is given the special name of
transubstantiation." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Hence our predecessors in the faith,
the Fathers of the General Councils of Lateran and of Florence,
confirmed by solemn decrees the truth of this dogma [of
Transubstantiation]. In the Council of Trent it was still more
fully defined in these words: If any one shall say that in the
most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist the substance of the bread
and wine remains, together with the body and blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"It is evident to the senses that all the accidents of
bread and wine remain after consecration. Such is the reasonable
course of divine Providence, for it is abominable to eat human
flesh and drink human blood. That is why Christ's Body and Blood
are offered to us under the species of what we are accustomed to
take, namely, bread and wine." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"Just as in nature the bread by the eating and the wine
and the water by the drinking are changed into the body and blood
of the eater and drinker, and do not become a different body from
the former one, so the bread of the altar and the wine and water
are supernaturally changed by the invocation and presence of the
Holy Spirit into the Body and Blood of Christ, and are not two but
one and the same." (St. John of Damascus, Doctor of the
Church, 8th century A.D.)
"After consecration the species of the bread and of the
wine alone are left." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"The species of the bread and of the wine are the quantity
and sensible qualities of the bread and of the wine, such as the
form, the color, and the taste." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Although the figure of
the bread and wine be seen, still, after the Consecration, they
are to be believed to be nothing else than the body and blood of
Christ." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church)
"Do not, therefore, regard the Bread and the Wine as
simply that; for they are, according to the Master's declaration,
the Body and Blood of Christ. Even through the senses suggest to
you the other, let faith make you firm. Do not judge in this
matter by taste, but - be fully assured by the faith, not doubting
that the Body and Blood of Christ have been vouchsafed to thee." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church, c. 350 A.D.)
"When we say the Sacrament which contains the Body and
Blood, we mean the Sacrament which is the Body and Blood, for
after the Consecration there is no other substance present in the
Eucharist." (Baltimore Catechism)
"The species of the bread and
of the wine remain without their substance in a wonderful way by
the power of God Almighty." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"[S]ince...the
body and blood of our Lord are really and truly contained in the
Sacrament, to the entire exclusion of the substance of the bread
and wine, and since the accidents of bread and wine cannot inhere
in the body and blood of Christ, it remains that, contrary to
physical laws, they must subsist of themselves, inhering in no
subject... [T]he substance of the bread and wine ceases to
exist in the Eucharist." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"[T]he
accidents which present themselves to the eyes or other senses
exist in a wonderful and ineffable manner without a subject. All
the accidents of bread and wine we can see, but they inhere in no
substance, and exist independently of any; for the substance of
the bread and wine is so changed into the body and blood of our
Lord that they altogether cease to be the substance of bread and
wine." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"The doctrine [of Transubstantiation]
thus defined is a natural inference from the words of Scripture.
When instituting this Sacrament, our Lord Himself said: This is my
body. The word this expresses the entire substance of the thing
present; and therefore if the substance of the bread remained, our
Lord could not have truly said: This is my body. In St. John
Christ the Lord also says: The bread that I will give is my flesh,
for the life of the world. The bread which He promises to give, He
here declares to be His flesh. A little after He adds: Unless you
eat the flesh of the son of man, and drink his blood, you shall
not have life in you. And again: My flesh is [food] indeed, and my
blood is drink indeed. Since, therefore, in terms so clear and so
explicit, He calls His flesh bread and [food] indeed, and His
blood drink indeed, He gives us sufficiently to understand that
none of the substance of the bread and wine remains in the
Sacrament." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"But since Christ, our Redeemer, has said that that is
truly His own body which He offered under the species of bread
[cf. Matt. 26:26ff.; Mark 14:22ff.; Luke 22:19 ff.; 1 Cor. 11:23
ff.], it has always been a matter of conviction in the Church of
God, and now this holy Synod declares it again, that by the
consecration of the bread and wine a conversion takes place of the
whole substance of bread into the substance of the body of Christ
our Lord, and of the whole substance of the wine into the
substance of His blood. This conversion is appropriately and
properly called transubstantiation by the Catholic Church [can.
2]." (Council of Trent, 1551 A.D.)
"This
conversion, then, is so effected that the whole substance of the
bread is changed by the power of God into the whole substance of
the body of Christ, and the whole substance of the wine into the
whole substance of His blood, and this, without any change in our
Lord Himself. He is neither begotten, nor changed, not increased,
but remains entire in His substance. This sublime mystery St.
Ambrose thus declares: You see how efficacious are the words of
Christ. If the word of the Lord Jesus is so powerful as to summon
into existence that which did not exist, namely the world, how
much more powerful is His word to change into something else that
which already has existence? Many other ancient and most
authoritative Fathers have written to the same effect... This
admirable change, as the Council of Trent teaches, the Holy
Catholic Church most appropriately expresses by the word
transubstantiation. Since natural changes are rightly called
transformations, because they involve a change of form; so
likewise our predecessors in the faith wisely and appropriately
introduced the term transubstantiation, in order to signify that
in the Sacrament of the Eucharist the whole substance of one thing
passes into the whole substance of another." (Catechism of
the Council of Trent)
"Some even say that the doctrine of transubstantiation,
based on an antiquated philosophic notion of substance, should be
so modified that the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist
be reduced to a kind of symbolism, whereby the consecrated species
would be merely efficacious signs of the spiritual presence of
Christ and of His intimate union with the faithful members of His
Mystical Body... These and like errors, it is clear, have crept in
among certain of Our sons who are deceived by imprudent zeal for
souls or by false science. To them We are compelled with grief to
repeat once again truths already well known, and to point out with
solicitude clear errors and dangers of error." (Pope Pius
XII, "Humani Generis", 1950 A.D.)
"If any one saith that in the sacred and holy sacrament of
the Eucharist the substance of the bread and wine remains
conjointly with the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, and
denieth that wonderful and singular conversion of the whole
substance of the bread into the Body, and of the whole substance
of the wine into the Blood - the species only of the bread and
wine remaining - which conversion indeed the Catholic Church most
aptly calls transubstantiation; let him be anathema."
(Council of Trent)
Note:
Click
here for 'Real Presence / Transubstantiation' Reflections
*
The Holy Eucharist is not a mere type or a symbol:
"The
bread and wine are not a type of the Body and Blood of Christ -
perish the thought! - but the deified Body Itself of the Lord,
since the Lord Himself has said, 'This is My Body'. He did not say
a type of His body, but His Body; nor a type of His Blood, but His
Blood" (St. John Damascene, Doctor of the Church, c. 8th century A.D.)
"[In] the sacrament...Christ is contained verily, and not
in figure only." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church
and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"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 a sign, or in a figure, or virtue; let him be
anathema." (Council of Trent)
"Pastors
should also adduce another passage from which it can be clearly
seen that the true body and blood of our Lord are contained in the
Eucharist. The Apostle, after having recorded the consecration of
bread and wine by our Lord, and also the administration of
Communion to the Apostles, adds: But let a man prove himself, and
so eat of that bread and drink of the chalice; for he that eateth
and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself,
not discerning the body of the Lord. If, as heretics continually
repeat, the Sacrament presents nothing to our veneration but a
memorial and sign of the Passion of Christ, why was there need to
exhort the faithful, in language so energetic, to prove
themselves? By the terrible word judgment, the Apostle shows how
enormous is the guilt of those who receive unworthily and do not
distinguish from common food the body of the Lord concealed in the
Eucharist. In the same Epistle St. Paul had already developed this
doctrine more fully, when he said: The chalice of benediction
which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?
and the bread which we break, is it not the participation of the
body of the Lord ? Now these words signify the real substance of
the body and blood of Christ the Lord." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
*
The Holy Eucharist contains Christ's true Body, Blood, Soul, &
Divinity:
"The Holy Eucharist is the Sacrament which contains the
Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ under
the appearances of bread and wine." (Baltimore Catechism)
"[I]n the Eucharist there is truly the same Jesus Christ who
is in heaven, and who was born on earth of the Blessed
Virgin." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Here the pastor should explain that
in this Sacrament are contained not only the true body of Christ
and all the constituents of a true body, such as bones and sinews,
but also Christ whole and entire. He should point out that the
word Christ designates the God-man, that is to say, one Person in
whom are united the divine and human natures; that the Holy
Eucharist, therefore, contains both, and whatever is included in
the idea of both, the Divinity and humanity whole and entire,
consisting of the soul, all the parts of the body and the blood,-
all of which must be believed to be in this Sacrament. In heaven
the whole humanity is united to the Divinity in one hypostasis, or
Person; hence it would be impious, to suppose that the body of
Christ, which is contained in the Sacrament, is separated from His
Divinity." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"[S]ome
things are contained in the Sacrament because they are united to
those which are expressed in the form. For instance, the words
This is my body, which comprise the form used to consecrate the
bread, signify the body of the Lord, and hence the body itself of
Christ the Lord is contained in the Eucharist by virtue of the
Sacrament. Since, however, to Christ's body are united His blood,
His soul, and His Divinity, all of these also must be found to
coexist in the Sacrament; not, however, by virtue of the
consecration, but by virtue of the union that subsists between
them and His body. All these are said to be in the Eucharist by
virtue of concomitance. Hence it is clear that Christ, whole and
entire, is contained in the Sacrament; for when two things are
actually united, where one is, the other must also be."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
* Each element - both the consecrated bread and
the consecrated wine contains Christ whole and entire.
"Hence it also follows that Christ is
so contained, whole and entire, under either species, that, as
under the species of bread are contained not only the body, but
also the blood and Christ entire; so in like manner, under the
species of wine are truly contained not only the blood, but also
the body and Christ entire. But although these are matters on
which the faithful cannot entertain a doubt, it was nevertheless
wisely ordained that two distinct consecrations should take place.
First, because they represent in a more lively manner the Passion
of our Lord, in which His blood was separated from His body; and
hence in the form of consecration we commemorate the shedding of
His blood. Secondly, since the Sacrament is to be used by us as
the food and nourishment of our souls, it was most appropriate
that it should be instituted as food and drink, two things which
obviously constitute the complete sustenance of the (human) body."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
*
The separate consecration of the bread and wine is
representative of the Passion and death of Christ: "For
the blood, separately consecrated, serves to place before the eyes
of all, in a more forcible manner, the Passion of our Lord, His
death, and the nature of His sufferings." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
* Although Christ is in the Holy
Eucharist, He does not cease to be in heaven:
"When Jesus
Christ is in the host He does not cease to be in heaven, but is at
one and the same time in heaven and in the Blessed
Sacrament." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
* Although there are many hosts distributed
throughout the world, each is whole and entire, yet there is only
Body of Christ.
"There are not as many bodies of Christ as there are
tabernacles in the world, or as there are Masses being said at the
same time; but only one body of Christ, which is everywhere
present whole and entire in the Holy Eucharist, as God is
everywhere present, while He is but one God." (Baltimore
Catechism)
"[S]ince the Sacrifice is offered everywhere, are there,
then, a multiplicity of Christs? By no means! Christ is one
everywhere. He is complete here, complete there, one Body. And
just as he is one Body and not many though offered everywhere, so
too there is one Sacrifice." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of
the Church, c. 403
A.D.)
"The second great miracle in the Holy Eucharist is the
multiplication of the presence of Our Lord's body in so many
places at the same time, while the body itself is not multiplied -
for there is but one body of Christ." (Baltimore Catechism)
"Jesus Christ is present in all the consecrated hosts in
the world by the Omnipotence of God, to whom nothing is
impossible." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
*
Although a host may be broken, the Body of Jesus is not broken:
"When
the host is broken, the Body of Jesus Christ is not broken, but
only the species of the bread are broken." (Catechism of St.
Pius X)
* Even the tiniest particle of the Eucharist
contains Christ's Body, whole and entire.
"Yes, the same Jesus Christ is just as much in a particle
of a host as in a whole host." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"Jesus
Christ is present whole and entire in the smallest portion of the
Holy Eucharist under the form of either bread or wine; for His body
in the Eucharist is in a glorified state, and as it partakes of
the character of a spiritual substance, it requires no definite
size or shape." (Baltimore Catechism)
"Nor should it be forgotten that
Christ, whole and entire, is contained not only under either
species, but also in each particle of either species. Each, says
St. Augustine, receives Christ the Lord, and He is entire in each
portion. He is not diminished by being given to many, but gives
Himself whole and entire to each." (Catechism of the Council
of Trent)
"Christ's Flesh is food, and His Blood is drink; yet is He
whole under each Species. He is not cut by the receiver, nor
broken, nor divided: He is taken whole. He is received by one, He
is received by a thousand; the one receives as much as all; nor is
He consumed, who is received. And when the Sacrament is broken,
waver not, but remember that there is as much under each fragment
as is hidden under the whole. Of the substance there is no
division; it is but the sign that is broken; and He who is the
Signified, is not thereby diminished, either as to state or
stature." (Sequence)
"[O]ur Lord is not in the Sacrament as in a place. Place
regards things only inasmuch as they have magnitude. Now we do not
say that Christ is in the Sacrament inasmuch as He is great or
small, terms which belong to quantity, but inasmuch as He is a
substance. The substance of the bread is changed into the
substance of Christ, not into magnitude or quantity; and
substance, it will be acknowledged by all, is contained in a small
as well as in a large space. The substance of air, for instance,
and its entire nature must be present under a small as well as a
large quantity, and likewise the entire nature of water must be
present no less in a glass than in a river. Since, then, the body
of our Lord succeeds to the substance of the bread, we must
confess it to be in the Sacrament after the same manner as the
substance of the bread was before consecration; whether the
substance of the bread was present in greater or less quantity is
a matter of entire indifference." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"If any one denieth that in the venerable sacrament of the
Eucharist the whole Christ is contained under each species, and
under every part of each species, when separated; let him be
anathema." (Council of Trent)
*
The
Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist rests on Christ's
own words and cannot be doubted.
"Jesus said to them,
'Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live
forever.'" (Jn. 6:53-58) [Note: As Scripture makes clear,
reception of the Holy Eucharist is one essential condition for
salvation. To be saved, one must also live according to God's
laws.]
"While they were eating,
[Jesus] took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said,
'Take it; this is my body.'" (Mk. 14:22)
"I believe that in the Eucharist Jesus Christ is truly
present, because He Himself has said it, and holy Church teaches
it." (Catechism of St. Pius X)
"The bread and the wine are not merely figures of the Body
and Blood of Christ (God forbid!) but the deified Body of the Lord
itself, for the Lord has said: This is My body, not, this is a
figure of my body; and My blood, not, a figure of my blood."
(St. John of Damascus, Doctor of the Church, 8th century A.D.)
"When
our Lord says: This is my body, this is my blood, no person of
sound mind can mistake His meaning, particularly since there is
reference to Christ's human nature, the reality of which the
Catholic faith permits no one to doubt. The admirable words of St.
Hilary, a man not less eminent for piety than learning, are apt
here: When our Lord himself declares, as our faith teaches us,
that His flesh is food indeed, what room can remain for doubt
concerning the real presence of His body and blood?"
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
Q.
"How do we show that Christ did change bread and wine into the
substance of His body and blood?" A. "We show that Christ did
change bread and wine into the substance of His body and blood:
(1) From the words by which He promised the Holy Eucharist; (2)
From the words by which He instituted the Holy Eucharist; (3) From
the constant use of the Holy Eucharist in the Church since the
time of the Apostles; (4) From the impossibility of denying the
Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist, without likewise denying all
that Christ has taught and done; for we have stronger proofs for
the Holy Eucharist than for any other Christian truth."
(Baltimore Catechism)
*
Those who don't accept the Holy Eucharist were the first ones
to stop following Jesus, as it says in Scripture, in St. John 6:66:
"As a result of this [Christ's Eucharistic teaching], many
(of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no
longer accompanied him." Not only did Christ let them go, but
he asked his disciples if they would also leave him: "Jesus then said to the Twelve,
'Do you also want to leave?'" (Jn. 6:67)
*
The Bible also tells us
that those who don't distinguish the Body and Blood are guilty of
the Body and blood of the Lord.
"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the
Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup.
For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment
on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying."
(St. Paul, 1 Cor. 11:27-30)
As
the saints explain, those who don't believe are condemned.
"Let no one be deceived: even the heavenly beings and the
angels in their glory, and rulers visible and invisible, - even
for these there will be judgment, if they do not believe in the
Blood of Christ." (St. Ignatius of Antioch, c. 110 A.D.)
"Therefore all those who saw the Lord Jesus according to
[His] humanity and did not see and believe according to the Spirit
and the Godhead that He is the true Son of God were condemned. And
now in the same way, all those who see the sacrament [of the Holy
Eucharist], which is sanctified by the words of the Lord upon the
altar at the hands of the priest in the form of bread and wine,
and who do not see and believe according to the Spirit and the
Godhead that is truly the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ, are condemned. [Such] is attested by the Most High
Himself Who says: 'This is my Body and the Blood of my new
testament...' and 'He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has
eternal life' (cf. Jn. 6:55). Therefore it is the Spirit of the
Lord, Who lives in His faithful, Who receives the most holy Body
and Blood of the Lord. All others who do not share in this same
Spirit and who presume to receive Him eat and drink judgment to
themselves (Cf. 1 Cor. 11:29). Therefore, O sons of men, how long
will you be hard of heart? Why do you not recognize the truth and
believe in the Son of God? See, daily He humbles Himself as when
He came from the royal throne into the womb of the Virgin; daily
He comes to us in a humble form; daily He comes down from the
bosom of the Father upon the altar in the hands of the priest. And
as He appeared to the holy apostles in true flesh, so now He
reveals Himself to us in the sacred bread. As they saw only his
flesh by means of their bodily slight, yet believed Him to be God
as they contemplated Him with the eyes of faith, so, as we see
bread and wine with [our] bodily eyes, we too are to see and firmly
believe them to be His most holy Body and Blood living and true.
And in this way the Lord is always with His faithful, as He
Himself says: Behold I am with you even to the end of the world
(cf. Mt. 28:30)." (St. Francis of Assisi)
*
Faithful to Christ, the truth of the Real Presence has always
been believed by the Church.
"It is manifest that belief in the
Real Presence of the body of Christ in the holy Sacrament of the
Eucharist was so spread and taught throughout the universal Church
and unanimously professed by all the faithful" (Catechism of
the Council of Trent)
"[T]he
Fathers who flourished in the early ages of the Church and in each
succeeding century, who are the most unexceptionable witnesses of
her doctrine. All of these teach in the clearest terms and with
the most entire unanimity the truth of this dogma [of the Real
Presence]. To adduce the individual testimony of each Father would
prove an endless task." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"Whoever
turns over the pages of the holy Fathers will easily perceive that
on this doctrine (of transubstantiation) they have been at all
times unanimous. St. Ambrose says: You say, perhaps, 'this
bread is no other than what is used for common food.' True,
before consecration it is bread; but no sooner are the words of
consecration pronounced than from bread it becomes the flesh of
Christ. To prove this position more clearly, he elucidates it by a
variety of comparisons and examples. In another place, when
explaining these words of the Psalmist, Whatsoever the Lord
pleased he hath done in heaven and on earth, St. Ambrose says:
Although the species of bread and wine are visible, yet we must
believe that after consecration, the body and blood of Christ are
alone there. Explaining the same doctrine almost in the same
words, St. Hilary says that although externally it appear bread
and wine, yet in reality it is the body and blood of the
Lord." (Catechism of the Council of Trent)
In addition to the evangelists (the Gospel
writers), numerous other early Catholic writers have indicated the
truth of the Real Presence. The following is a small sampling of
such passages:
"Take care, then to use one Eucharist, so that whatever
you do, you do according to God: for there is one Flesh of our
Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup in the union of His Blood; one
altar, as there is one bishop with the presbytery and my fellow
servants, the deacons." (St. Ignatius of Antioch, c. 110
A.D.)
"We call this food Eucharist; and no one else is permitted to
partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true
and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission
of sins and for regeneration, and is thereby living as Christ has
enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive
these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the
word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so
too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the
Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the
change of which our blood and flesh is nourished, is both the
flesh and blood of that incarnated Jesus." (St. Justin the
Martyr, c. 148-161 A.D.)
"Before it be consecrated it is bread; but where the words
of Christ come in, it is the Body of Christ. Finally, hear Him
saying: 'All of you take and eat of this; for this is My Body.'
And before the words of Christ the chalice is full of wine and
water; but where the words of Christ have been operative it is
made the Blood of Christ, which redeems the people." (St.
Ambrose of Milan, Doctor of the Church, c. 390 A.D.)
"The bread and wine of the Eucharist before the invocation
of the holy and adorable Trinity were simple bread and wine, while
after the invocation the bread becomes the Body of Christ, and the
wine the Blood of Christ." (St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Doctor of
the Church, 4th
century)
"That Bread which you see on the altar, having been
sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. That
chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been
sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ." (St.
Augustine, Doctor of the Church, c. 5th century A.D.)
* With
regard to the change of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood
of Christ, the faithful are admonished to have faith rather than
question, keeping in mind that some mysteries surpass our understanding
and that nothing is impossible with God.
"According
to the admonition so frequently repeated by the holy Fathers, the
faithful are to be admonished against curious searching into the
manner in which this change is effected. It defies the powers of
conception; nor can we find any example of it in natural
transmutations, or even in the very work of creation. That such a
change takes place must be recognized by faith; how it takes place
we must not curiously inquire. No less of caution should be
observed by pastors in explaining the mysterious manner in which
the body of our Lord is contained whole and entire under the least
particle of the bread. Indeed, discussions of this kind should
scarcely ever be entered upon. Should Christian charity, however,
require a departure from this rule, the pastor should remember
first of all to prepare and fortify his hearers by reminding them
that no word shall be impossible with God." (Catechism of the
Council of Trent)
"Nothing
more becomes the piety of the faithful than, omitting all curious
questionings, to revere and adore the majesty of this august
Sacrament, and to recognize the wisdom of God in commanding that
these holy mysteries should be administered under the species of
bread and wine. For since it is most revolting to human nature to
eat human flesh or drink human blood, therefore God in His
infinite wisdom has established the administration of the body and
blood of Christ under the forms of bread and wine, which are the
ordinary and agreeable food of man. There are two further
advantages: first, it prevents the calumnious reproaches of the
unbeliever, from which the eating of our Lord under His visible
form could not easily be defended; secondly, the receiving Him
under a form in which He is impervious to the senses avails much
for increasing our faith. For faith, as the well known saying of
St. Gregory declares, has no merit in those things which fall
under the proof of reason." (Catechism of the Council of
Trent)
"Truly the Eucharist is a mysterium
fidei, a mystery which
surpasses our understanding and can only be received in faith, as
is often brought out in the catechesis of the Church Fathers
regarding this divine sacrament: 'Do not see' - Saint Cyril of
Jerusalem exhorts - 'in the bread and wine merely natural elements,
because the Lord has expressly said that they are his body and his
blood: faith assures you of this, though your senses suggest
otherwise'." (Pope John Paul II)
"Does any unbeliever profess that
the changing of bread and
wine into the Body and Blood of the Lord is impossible? Then let
him consider God's omnipotence. Admit that nature can transform
one thing into another, then with greater reason should you admit
that God's almighty power, which brings into existence the whole
substance of things, can work, not as nature does, by changing
forms in the same matter, but by changing one whole thing into
another whole thing." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"If, in the presence of this mystery, reason experiences
its limits, the heart, enlightened by the grace of the Holy
Spirit, clearly sees the response that is demanded, and bows low
in adoration and unbounded love." (Pope John Paul II, 2003
A.D.)
"Every theological explanation which seeks some
understanding of this mystery, in order to be in accord with
Catholic faith, must firmly maintain that in objective reality,
independently of our mind, the bread and wine have ceased to exist
after the consecration, so that the adorable body and blood of the
Lord Jesus from that moment on are really before us under the
sacramental species of bread and wine." (Pope Paul VI)
Ironically,
this element of the Christian religion - which truly calls for
faith - is one of the major points of disbelief for those in
sects who fancy themselves 'saved by faith alone' and push for a
'personal relationship with Jesus'. Is it not fitting
that those who deny the only true Church of Christ and claim that
they are saved by "faith alone" are the ones who have
no faith in the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist
and forgo the most personal relationship with Jesus that
is possible? As indicated above, we see in the Gospel that Jesus
Himself let those leave him who could not accept His doctrine
concerning the Holy Eucharist.
"He is hidden from our eyes under the humility of his
Sacrament, to try our faith" (St. John Vianney)
"It is difficult, impossible to
imagine, I grant; - but how is it difficult to believe?" (Cardinal
Newman)
"Let faith supply what the senses cannot give." (Hymn of
the Blessed Sacrament)
"That Christ's true Body and Blood are present in this
Sacrament can be perceived neither by sense nor by reason, but by
faith alone, which rests on God's authority." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
* We should not doubt the truth of the Real
Presence since the Lord our God has told us of it and nothing is
impossible to God.
"The word of Christ could make out of nothing that which
was not; can it then not change the things which are into that
which they were not? For to give new natures to things is quite as
wonderful as to change their natures." (St. Ambrose, Doctor
of the Church, 4th
century A.D.)
"Believing and confessing, as they
do, that the power of God is supreme over all things, they must
also believe that His omnipotence can accomplish the great work
which we admire and adore in the Sacrament of the Eucharist."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"He Himself, therefore, having declared and said of the
Bread, 'This is My Body,' who will dare any longer to doubt? And
when He Himself has affirmed and said, 'This is My Blood,' who can
ever hesitate and say it is not His Blood?" (St. Cyril of
Jerusalem, Doctor of the Church, c. 350 A.D.)
"As to the truth of the Flesh and Blood there is no room
left for doubt. For both from the declaration of the Lord Himself
and from our own faith, it is truly Flesh and truly Blood."
(St. Hilary of Poitiers, Doctor of the Church, 4th century A.D.)
"St. Chrysostom, another witness of
equal authority and gravity, professes and proclaims this
mysterious truth in many passages, but particularly in his
sixtieth homily, On Those Who Receive The Sacred Mysteries
Unworthily; and also in his forty-fourth and forty-fifth homilies
on St. John. Let us, he says, obey, not contradict God, although
what He says may seem contrary to our reason and our sight. His
words cannot deceive, our senses are easily deceived."
(Catechism of the Council of Trent)
"It is clear, therefore, that the Virgin gave birth
contrary to the order of nature. And this Body which we consecrate
is from the Virgin; why do you seek the natural order here in the
case of the Body of Christ, when the Lord Jesus Himself was born
of the Virgin contrary to nature? It was certainly the true flesh
of Christ which was crucified, which was buried; truly, therefore,
the Sacrament is a sacrament of that flesh." (St. Ambrose,
Doctor of the Church, 4th century A.D.)
"Let us therefore in all respects put our faith in God and
contradict Him in nothing, even if what is said seems to be
contrary to our reasonings and to what we see. Let His word be of
superior authority to reason and sight. This too be our practice
in respect to the Sacrament, not looking only upon what is laid
out before us, but by taking heed also of His words. For His word
cannot deceive; but our senses are easily cheated. His word has
never failed; our senses err most of the time. When the word says,
'This is my body', be convinced of it and believe it, and look at
it with the eyes of the mind. For Christ did not give us something
tangible, but even in His tangible things all is intellectual.
So too with Baptism: the gifts is bestowed through what is a
tangible thing, water; but what is accomplished is intellectually
perceived: the rebirth and the renewal. If you were incorporeal He
would have given you these incorporeal gifts naked; but since the
soul is intertwined with the body, He hands over to you in
tangible things that which is perceived intellectually. How many
now say, 'I wish I could see His shape, His appearance, His
garments, His sandals.' Only look! You see Him! You touch Him! You
eat Him!" (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, c. 370 A.D.)
* Although the power and glory of God are veiled
in the Holy Eucharist, we may still attempt to 'prove' the Real
Presence by various means:
"We prove the Real Presence - that is, that Our Lord is
really and truly present in the Holy Eucharist - (1) By showing
that it is possible to change one substance into another; (2) By
showing that Christ did change the substance of bread and wine
into the substance of His body and blood; (3) By showing that He
gave this power also to His Apostles and to the priests of His
Church." (Baltimore Catechism)
God
has also provided proof of the Real Presence in the form of
various Eucharistic miracles - e.g. healings, bleeding Eucharists,
saints living on the Holy Eucharist alone for years, scientific
evidence, etc. Even animals have recognized the Real Presence!
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