Question about the Eucharist (Lord's Supper)?

Question

The Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation holds that when you eat the wafer and swallow it, it actually turns into Jesus' LITERAL flesh. Similarly, it holds that after drinking the wine, it turns into Jesus' LITERAL blood.

First: How is this not cannibalism?

Second: If the contents of my stomach were analyzed an hour later, would we find flesh/blood or bread/wine?

Answer 1

*Is Catholic*

If you define cannibalism as the eating of human flesh, then yes you can say cannibalism, for Catholics believe that the Eucharist, which they eat (St. Paul actually uses the word gnaw/chew), is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. The whole Christ is eaten including his human flesh.

It is a hard teaching, which is why so many disciples left, but as St Peter said, Lord where would we go? You have the words of eternal life.

It is a very deep and mystical teaching that you need a lot of Jewish mysticism and Christian theology to really understand. Buy this book A Key to the Doctrine of the Eucharist: by Abbot Vonier.

Your second question. No. There is no bread /wine after the consecration. The accidents remain (but not always...sometimes the accidents change to those of flesh and blood), not the essence. The Eucharist remains until the accidents are lost.

What occurs when one eats the Eucharist is that Christ tabernacles in the individual. There are some differing schools of thought on this, so we will leave deeper questions aside. Read the above book for more.

Answer 2

You do not understand transubstantiation, but very few people really do.

During consecration, the bread and wine become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

The wine still looks, smells, and tastes like wine. The bread still looks, smells, and tastes like bread. There is no way of telling bread and wine that have been consecrated from bread and wine that has not been consecrated.

The closest analogy i can come up with is to consider a 2 by 4 piece of wood. It has certain dimensions, density, weight, and molecular structure. If you lay the board down so the ends are on two opposite banks of a stream, it is a bridge. It still has all of the physical characteristics as it did before, but now it is a bridge.

The bread and wine have all of teh same physical characteristics, but it is now the body and blood of Christ.

Answer 3

First of all it is not changed when you eat and swallow it. It is changed by the power of Jesus Christ working through the ministry of the priest during the Eucharistic Prayer. And no it is not cannibalism and no you would not find flesh/blood in your stomach content because the Eucharist is Jesus present in the form of bread and wine.

God bless,
Stanbo

Answer 4

You need to learn the words "accident" and "substance" from a theological point of view.

**

The sacrament and sacrifice of the New Law in which Christ the Lord is Himself present, offered, and received under the species of bread and wine. The name is from the account of the Last Supper. The Catholic Church teaches that

"in the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of the God-man are really, truly, substantially, and abidingly present together with His Soul and Divinity for the nourishment of souls, by reason of the Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, which takes place in the unbloody sacrifice of the New Testament, i,e., the Mass."

This Real Presence is proved from the literal interpretation of the promise of Christ to give his Body and Blood, as found in Saint John's Gospel, 6, and from the four independent accounts of the fulfilment of the promise at the Last Supper (Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; 1 Corinthians 11). From the same accounts it follows that Christ is present by Transubstantiation, namely the entire substance of bread and wine is changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, the accidents only of bread and wine remaining. With the single exception of Berengarius of Tours (1088), none denied this doctrine until the 16th century, when the reformers put forth various errors of a mere figurative or virtual presence, as also of the manner of Christ's presence. They were all condemned in the Council of Trent. The accidents of bread and wine are therefore without their proper substance, yet are real and not mere subjective impressions. The mode of Christ's presence is spirit-like, somewhat as the soul in the body. He is whole and entire in the whole Host and whole and entire in every part thereof. At one and the same time He exists in heaven and in many different places on earth. From the Real Presence it follows that He is to be adored. It is evident that the Eucharist is a sacrament, for it is a visible sign of invisible grace instituted by Christ. Its principal effect is the union of the soul with Christ by love, and spiritual nourishment by increasing sanctifying grace. It produces also a certain spiritual delight, blots out venial sin, and preserves from mortal sin by exciting to charity, and as Christ explicitly promised is the pledge of a glorious resurrection and eternal happiness.

Answer 5

I think Martin Luther was made famous for the same observation you just made. And the whole Protestant religion is founded upon this truth, protesting the doctrines of the current church. Jesus did make his staements pretty clear when he said these words; Luke 22:19 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.
Remembrance is not to feed the body but symbolic of partaking of the Bible and getting revelations from the Bible which is really what Jesus came to do and give us was his words not feeding our bellies so that the flesh maybe satisfied.
Second yes this would be cannibalism and 70 of Jesus Christ disciples left him because he said this but also note that the numbers of the place they left shows a clue to what the mark of the beast is; John 6:66
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
They left because Jesus told them that they must do this to make it to heaven; John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
So the church decided Jesus meant exactly what he said not symbolic any more, you cannot reason how this is possible. And no I think a reasonable man would say it is impossible but the church would say take it on faith

Answer 6

The basis is that in the normal action of our bodily processes, the bread and wine becomes the Real Presence in us of Christ's own individual body. Not physical ... But we live on in his Spiritual Body.

Answer 7

Spiritually discerned IGNORANT