Is the Eucharist a mark of the true Church?

Question

I do not deny that Protestants have some truth. Certainly Christ is present in protestant worship in a Spiritual sense but He taught that we are to receive Him in His corporeal sense as well. He went further to teach us that it is necessary for us to participate in the Mass and actually receive His Body and Blood to have eternal life. Think about the teaching of St. Paul where he said that we must discern the Body of our Lord before receiving His body and Blood. If it is not real, how can we discern something that only is symbolic or a representation of His Body? If it is not real, does not the penalty of death or of sickness become severe and senseless? It is my opinion, based on Scripture alone, that recognizing the real corporeal presence of Christ in the Eucharist is the mark of the true Church and that it is His Body and Blood that bestows upon us the grace to endure to final salvation to eternal life.

Makemeaspark,

You are certainly entitled to your opinion but you are sadly misinformed. The truth is important as the tens of thousands of exponientially increasing schisms in the Church attests. If Christ prayed that we all be one Church should we not support His prayer with our actions to encourage others to do His will by pointing them to the true Church established by Christ instead of men. I think we should, in fact, I can do no other.

Answer 1

Lots of good answers here - not much I can add new at this point. Liked the observation about Protestants who insist that the Bible be interpreted literally, but ignore John 6 where Christ clearly says that you must eat His body and drink His blood. I've always thought that was sort of odd myself. Their selective interpretations I mean. The original Greek verb used for "eat" meant to chew, gnaw, bite off, etc. Nothing really "symbolic" or "figurative" about that. Many of Christ's disciples left Him on account of this, because it was too hard for them to accept. Apparently it still scandalizes many today.

Christ almost always explained His words further to His disciples if there was some misunderstanding or lack of understanding. In this case, He did not say later "No, I was only speaking in a spiritual sense".

Answer 2

Yes!!

Jesus said we had to "eat his body and drink his blood" in order to be saved. Not a symbolic feast but an actual one. As St. Paul said "if you eat and drink unworthily you call judgment down on yourself." Why would he say this if it is only a sign, a memorial? He said it because Catholics are actually receiving Christ body, blood, soul and divinity, in the Eucharist. This should not and cannot be taken lightly. Therefore, non-Catholics cannot receive for their own spiritual protection and Catholics need to receive the sacrament of confession regularly to make sure they are properly prepared to receive Christ in the Eucharist.

It makes perfect sense on so many levels. We know from early writings that the Christians were investigated for charges of cannibalism around 150AD. Why? Because they were already "eating the flesh and drinking the blood" of Christ. The celebration of the Eucharist was already the main and crucial part of the mass.

Answer 3

as a corollary, only a Catholic Priest, (i.e., a baptised Christian male who has validly received the Catholic Sacrament of Holy Orders), can consecrate the bread and wine into the two respective Species of the body and blood of our Lord. Thus, the valid Eucharist can only be found in the Catholic Church. Yes, other denominations (Baptist, Lutherans, Episcopal, et al) have "eucharist" but it is not a valid Sacrament.

The Eastern Orthodox churches, who have remained in communion with the Bishop of Rome, also have a valid Eucharist.

Answer 4

Dear Blond'

A Monstrance or Ostensarium


The valid and authentic teaching on the Real Presence is a characteristic of the One Holy Catholic Church and is a cornerstone of the true teaching and practice of the true Church as is adoration of Jesus truly present in the Eucharist.

Answer 5

Communion is received in faith upon what the Lord Jesus has done for us on Calvary's Cross. Yet the sign of the true Church is having the Holy Spirit dwelling inside the believer. For Paul stated that whoever didn't have the Spirit of God, didn't belong to Jesus...So a person can take communion everyday of the week and still split hell wide open.. But the Holy Spirit dwelling in the believer shall never see spiritual death....

Answer 6

I think that is why is it such a mystery, for who can wrap their mind around that one? When Christ said it, He lost many followers. The same is true today, but that does not mean that gifts are not freely given. If we had to understand His message, then the mentally challenged cannot enter into heaven. It is up to the "warriors" to protect the tribe, even if the tribe does not understand that it need protection. In this way, we are raised to a noble and thankless position.

http://olrl.org/pray/pieta/gracewm.shtml

I find it strange that RC rite hardly uses His Precious Blood anymore, and that since beginning that practice, the state of the world has gone down hill.

Answer 7

Exactly!
And what about what Jesus said in John 6:54 "... Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. "
So we need His body... or we die. Doesn't sound like He was speaking metaphorically to me!
My Dad quoted John 6 to a Jehovah's Witness once and the guy actually ran off our porch. Do they just skip over that part of the bible?

Answer 8

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." - John 6:53-59

Answer 9

interior the Latin ceremony of the Catholic Church married adult adult males won't be able to grow to be clergymen. In thye eastern ceremony of the Catholic Church they are in a position to. that's no longer a doictrinal subject. that's basically a rule the Church has made for the earnings of its priesthood, following the biblical advice of Paul, who strongly rercommended that those getting into finished time ministry proceed to be single as he himself did, lest they be torn between the household projects of marriage and kinfolk, vs. the household projects of ministry. The biblical proscription against forbidding to marry refers to a common ban on marriage for each man or woman. It has no longer something to do with the marital status of clergymen, which they openly decide for whilst they settle directly to grow to be clergymen. The Bible does not say that's idolatry to venerate photos or human beings. You apparewntly do no longer understand the super distinction between veneration, meaning honor and understand, vs. WORSHIP, which belongs to God on my own. The Catholic Church definitely condemns idolatry of all types, as "incompatible with Christian existence", which you have stumbled on for your self as a results of using looking interior the catechism of the Catholic Church, under "idolatry". The Bible additionally does not forbid making photos. the two verses you quoted are component to a single fact. we are to no longer make AND WORSHIP photos. in my view i do no longer understand anybody idiotic adequate to WORSHIP an inanimate merchandise. Do you?

Answer 10

a catholic church will warn you not to partake of the eucharist unless your catholic, do you wonder why?they welcome you to come to services and you can join a catholic church, but it is best to confess first and get absolved than you can recieve the eucharist, every year around easter they have a BEAUTIFUL GOLD CROSS and they put the bread in the middle of the cross incased in glass, help me out here catholics, i forget what they call this, i bought one and donated it to a catholic church in memory of my 5 year old son jeramiah. have you ever thought about being catholic?