Question: "What is the
Catholic sacrament of Holy Eucharist?"
Answer: For
Catholics, the Holy Eucharist / Catholic Mass is
considered the most important and highest form of
prayer. In fact, attending Mass is an obligation,
under penalty of mortal sin, each Sunday and on
certain other Holy Days of Obligation. The Mass is
divided into two sections, the Liturgy of the Word
and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. The Liturgy of the
Word consists of two readings (one from the Old
Testament and one from the New Testament), the
Responsorial Psalm, the Gospel reading, the homily
(or sermon), and general intercessions (also called
petitions).
The center of the Mass is its second part, the
Liturgy of the Holy Eucharist. During this time,
Catholics share in the body and blood of Jesus in
the form of the bread and wine passed out to the
congregation. According to the Bible, this is done
in remembrance of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:23-25,
cf. Luke 22:18-20 and Matthew 26:26-28). However,
according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church,
paragraph 1366, "The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice
because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice
of the cross, because it is its memorial and because
it applies its fruit." The Catechism continues in
paragraph 1367:
The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the
Holy Eucharist are one single sacrifice: "The victim
is one and the same: the same now offers through the
ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the
cross; only the manner of offering is different."
"And since in this divine sacrifice which is
celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered
himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the
cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody
manner. . . this sacrifice is truly propitiatory."
In the book of Malachi, the prophet predicts
elimination of the old sacrificial system and the
institution of a new sacrifice: "I have no pleasure
in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not
accept an offering from your hand. For from the
rising of the sun to its setting my name will be
great among the nations, and in every place incense
will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For
my name will be great among the nations, says the
Lord of hosts" (Malachi 1:10-11). This means that
God will one day be glorified among the Gentiles,
who will make pure offerings to Him in all places.
The Catholics see this as the Eucharist. However,
the apostle Paul seems to have a different slant on
it: "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1). The Eucharist can
only be offered in select places: Churches
consecrated and blessed according to Catholic Canon
Law. The idea of offering our bodies as living
sacrifices fits better with the language of the
prediction, which says that the sacrifices will be
offered "in every place."
The Roman Catholic Church believes that the bread
and wine of the Holy Eucharist become the actual
body and blood of Jesus. They attempt to support
their system of thought with passages such as John
6:32-58; Matthew 26:26; Luke 22:17-23; and 1
Corinthians 11:24-25. In 1551 A.D., the Counsel of
Trent officially stated: "by the consecration of the
bread and wine there takes place a change of the
whole substance of the 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 change the holy Catholic Church has
fittingly and properly called transubstantiation"
(Session XIII, chapter IV; cf. canon II). By sharing
in the Eucharistic meal, the Church teaches that
Catholics are fulfilling John 6:53: "Truly, truly, I
say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of
Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."
What does that really mean? Jesus goes on to say
that "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is
of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are
spirit and life" (John 6:63-64). So, if "the flesh
is of no avail," why would we have to eat Jesus'
flesh in order to have eternal life? It does not
make sense, until Jesus tells us that the words He
speaks are "spirit." Jesus is saying that this is
not a literal teaching, but a spiritual one. The
language ties in perfectly with the aforementioned
statement of the apostle Paul: "present your bodies
as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12:1).
In Jewish thought, bread was equated with the Torah,
and "eating of it" was reading and understanding the
covenant of God (cf. Deuteronomy 8:3). For example,
the apocryphal book of Sirach states "'He who eats
of me will hunger still, he who drinks of me will
thirst for more; he who obeys me will not be put to
shame, he who serves me will never fail.' All this
is true of the book of Most High's covenant, the law
which Moses commanded us as an inheritance for the
community of Jacob" (Sirach 24:20-22). Quoting from
Sirach here is not endorsing it as Scripture; it
only serves to illustrate how the Jewish people
thought of Mosaic Law. It is important to understand
the equating of bread with the Torah to appreciate
Jesus' real point.
In John 6, Jesus is actually telling the crowd that
He is superior to the Torah (cf. John 6:49-51), and
the entire Mosaic system of Law. In the passage from
Sirach, it states that those who eat of the Law will
"hunger still" and "thirst for more," the language
of which is mirrored by Jesus when He says "He who
comes to Me will never be hungry, he who believes in
Me will never be thirsty" (John 6:35). Jesus is not
commanding people to literally eat His flesh and
drink His blood, He is telling them the core of all
Christian doctrine: belief in Jesus Himself ("The
work of God is this: to believe in the One He has
sent," John 6:29, emphasis added). Therefore, the
Catholic interpretation of John 6 is unbiblical.
Secondly, there is a very clear analogy in John 6 to
the days of Moses and the eating of manna. In the
days of Moses, manna was God’s provision for food
for the Israelites as they wandered in the
wilderness. In John 6, however, Jesus claimed to be
the true manna, the bread of heaven. With this
statement Jesus claimed to be God’s full provision
for salvation. Manna was God’s provision of
deliverance from starvation. Jesus is God’s
provision of deliverance from damnation. Just as the
manna had to be consumed to preserve the lives of
the Israelites, so Jesus has to be consumed (fully
received by faith) for salvation to be received.
It is very clear that Jesus referred to Himself as
the Bread of Life and encouraged his followers to
eat of His flesh in John 6. But we do not need to
conclude that Jesus was teaching what the Catholics
have referred to as transubstantiation. The Lord’s
Supper / Christian communion / Holy Eucharist had
not been instituted yet. Jesus did not institute the
Holy Eucharist / Mass / Lord's Supper until John
chapter 13. Therefore, to read the Lord’s Supper
into John 6 is unwarranted. As suggested above, it
is best to understand this passage in light of
coming to Jesus, in faith, for salvation. When we
receive Him as Savior, placing our full trust in
Him, we are “consuming His flesh” and “drinking His
blood.” His body was broken (at His death) and His
blood was shed to provide for our salvation. 1
Corinthians 11:26, “For whenever you eat this bread
and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death
until He comes.”
Whether the Catholic definition of Holy Eucharist is
a "re-sacrifice" of Christ, or a "re-offering" of
Christ's sacrifice - both concepts are unbiblical.
Christ does not need to be re-sacrificed. Christ's
sacrifice does not need to be re-offered. Hebrews
7:27 declares, "Unlike the other high priests, He
(Jesus) does not need to offer sacrifices day after
day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins
of the people. He sacrificed for their sins ONCE for
all when He offered Himself." Similarly, 1 Peter
3:18 exclaims, "For Christ died for sins ONCE for
all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you
to God..." Christ's once for all death on the cross
was sufficient to atone for all of our sins (1 John
2:2). Therefore, Christ's sacrifice does not need to
be re-offered. Instead, Christ's sacrifice is to be
received by faith (John 1:12; 3:16). Eating Christ's
flesh and drinking His blood are symbols of fully
receiving His sacrifice on our behalf, by grace
through faith.