All due respect, I truly don’t understand the big “difference” between trans and consubstantiation. The insistence that it matters leads me to conclude that I have misunderstood Catholic doctrine. There is something wholly carnal in all this discussion.
Better put by St. Clement of Rome, “Ye are contentious brethren and full of zeal about a great many things not pertaining to salvation.” I believe wholeheartedly that is the problem we face today in Christendom as a whole. We divide over such small points and profess to the world the love of Christ. There is a woeful hypocrisy in doing so. It is the curse of Corinth I suppose that because we are so blessed with affluence and religious freedom in the western world, we create conflict where none need exist.
My central point is that Protestants are just as wrong for condemning Catholic doctrine as Catholics are for condemning Protestant doctrine. Sure everyone makes the case that their “interpretation” is the correct one and everyone cites St. Augustine as backing them up in their assessment. But in the end, is this what the Great Infinite, the Absolute Truth, the Author of the Universe cares most about, our imperfect understanding of often esoteric Scripture? If, as most will cede, the Eucharist is itself a mysterious conveyance of grace, how can you conclusively define the mystery? (That is not an argumentative or rhetorical question. I really would like an answer to it, from St. Augustine perhaps?)
Regards,
Erika
The Church has always taken Jesus at his literal word when it comes to the Holy Eucharist. The Eucharist is more than a mysterious conveyance of grace. It is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ. It is His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. While the forms may have the appearance of bread and wine, they are no longer bread and wine but have become the very real Body and Blood of Jesus.
One reason why the Romans were quite appalled at the early Church was because they mistakenly thought that the Christians practiced cannibalism. Eating somone’s Flesh and Blood was something repulsive to the Romans. They were reviled that the Church was doing that, but, they did not fully understand what was happening. Although the earliest explanation of the Real Presence comes from Jesus, Himself, in the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel, the Church, from the get-go, fully understood that as a result of the Consecration, the bread and wine was no longer bread and wine, but the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, His Real Presence. Recall that Jesus said that he would be with us always, until the end of time. The Blessed Sacrament fulfills his promise.
The rituals and norms are extremely important, Erika. If you recall, God spent several chapters in Deuteronomy and Leviticus spelling out in exacting detail how Israel is supposed to worship Him. Whenever ancient Israel deviated from the practice, things went horribly wrong. They were invaded, taken into captivity and their Temple was destroyed.
The fact that rituals and norms were very important in the early Church is evidenced in the very strong rebuke that St. Paul levied against the Corinthians in his first letter to them.
Therefore, for the Church, the Mass is her most sacred Treasure, as it is the divine covenant by which her Spouse redeemed mankind. That is why the Church safeguards the rubrics and norms of the ritual.
I was merely pointing out that ultimately whether the girlfriend converts or not is up to God, not the OP, who can do nothing to aid her conversion except what is seems that he’s already been doing. Your sarcasm is not appreciated in the slightest.
Surry
