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I explained it to him, but thought I would give Catholics a shot at it, to be fair. He's 11 btw, but reads at a high level so don't pull any punches.

Thanks!

2007-06-16 15:08:47 · 14 answers · asked by Laptop Jesus 3.9 7 in Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality

Edit - When I explained it to him, Jack was a little incredulous. So I thought perhaps you'd word it differently.

2007-06-16 15:12:57 · update #1

14 answers

Ok, I am an ex catholic, but when I was one I was a good one and I got a pretty good education, so here goes.

The church believes that during the mass when the priest recites the prayers of consecration the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ, still keeping the appearance of bread and wine. When Christ said at the last supper "This is my body, this is my blood" they believe he really meant it. When people take communion they really believe they are consuming Christ.

Catholics reverence the host as the body of Christ. Some consecrated bread is kept in the tabernacle of churches, always with a candle lit, to signify that Christ is actually present. This is why people genuflect when they enter a church.

Now, this was one of the things that made me realize I did not really believe, but I still respect catholics.

2007-06-16 15:20:17 · answer #1 · answered by in a handbasket 6 · 2 1

Would help if you posted his questions, but here are some principles.

Before Vatican II (late 60's) the teaching was that during the eucharist ceremony the bread/wafer and the wine actually turned into the physical body and blood of Christ, even if it did not look or taste like it ('transubstantiation").

That was based on a very literal interpretation of the Last Supper and Jesus' words at the time" This is my Body" and "This is my blood"; Jesus did not say "This represents my blood." But this mystery was difficult to comprehend and in Vatican II the Church said that Catholics did not have to believe physical transubstatiation but should at least believe that there is spiritual transubstantiation that takes place in the eucharist.

If you can't accept this, one should not take the elements during Mass. (If you are not Catholic, you also should take the elements - even if you believe this.)

Protestants believe a variety of things about the eucharist, ranging from the spiritual transubstantiation (Lutherans, for example) to seeing the elements as mere 'symbols' to remind us.

Hope this gets him started on this study - it's very rewarding to search this one out.

2007-06-16 22:25:57 · answer #2 · answered by Richard of Fort Bend 5 · 1 1

It's basically like the Last Supper a lot of Protestants do once or twice a year, except Catholics (I used to be one, sort of, so I'm not pulling this out of nowhere) believe that the bread and wine is literally the body and blood of Christ through some spiritual Godly stuff, instead of metaphorically. A real Catholic will probably explain it better though.

2007-06-16 22:13:50 · answer #3 · answered by The Doctor 3 · 1 0

At the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Take this bread. It is my body.” Then he said, “Take this and drink. This is my blood. Do this in memory of me.”

Catholics believe this was the First Eucharist, that through a miracle the bread and wine actually became the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

Catholics reenact the Last Supper during every Mass, where God, acting through the priest, changes the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

This is a great sacrament of thanksgiving and unity of Catholics.

By the way, Lutherans and many Anglicans also believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.

With love in Christ.

2007-06-17 00:17:40 · answer #4 · answered by imacatholic2 7 · 4 1

It represents ritualized human sacrifice and cannibalism.

http://samvak.tripod.com/cannibalism.html

The major monotheistic religions are curiously mute when it comes to cannibalism. Human sacrifice is denounced numerous times in the Old Testament - but man-eating goes virtually unmentioned. The Eucharist in Christianity - when the believers consume the actual body and blood of Jesus - is an act of undisguised cannibalism:

"That the consequence of Transubstantiation, as a conversion of the total substance, is the transition of the entire substance of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, is the express doctrine of the Church ...."

(Catholic Encyclopedia)

"CANON lI.-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.

CANON VIII.-lf any one saith, that Christ, given in the Eucharist, is eaten spiritually only, and not also sacramentally and really; let him be anathema."

(The Council of Trent, The Thirteenth Session - The canons and decrees of the sacred and oecumenical Council of Trent, Ed. and trans. J. Waterworth (London: Dolman, 1848), 75-91.)

2007-06-16 22:37:58 · answer #5 · answered by YY4Me 7 · 0 3

Jack--study and know then make a decision.

transubstantiation--the waffer and wine--literally--become the body and blood of christ.
When the priest approaches with the wafer he says corpus christi (latin for body of Christ). the celebrant says AMEN to signify agreement

consubstantiation--the wine and the waffer are representative of the body and blood of Jesus Christ. "This do as oft as you do in remembrence of me"

those are the two views Catholic & Protestant

2007-06-16 22:18:12 · answer #6 · answered by j.wisdom 6 · 1 0

think of it as that you do to the least
you do to him
if the wafer and wine are respected and honoured as if they were christ thats fine [that honours the christ spirit]

if you abuse the sacrement [you abuse the christ]
if you see just booze and a biscutt , you are seeing a man [not the christ spirit he represents ]
good luck [the fruit never falls far from the tree]
a good child indicates a good father
may christ bless you both

2007-06-17 08:45:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0 0

Hey howd that interview go yesterday?

2007-06-16 22:15:15 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

I was born and raised Catholic and do not know anyone who thinks it is anything but symbolic.

2007-06-16 22:23:57 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1 2

Good for you. No sarcasm intended.

2007-06-16 22:13:08 · answer #10 · answered by Daniel P 3 · 2 0

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