Eucharistic Idolatry Accusation

[ESMDHokie77]

So… in explaining to someone that Catholics believe in the Real Presence… And also bringing up Eucharistic Adoration… I got accused of idolatry… even though Jesus is God and that’s Who we’re worshipping…

 

[105lynne]

I’ve wondered about that as well. Sometimes I try to anticipate questions like those so I’ll have a quick answer. If someone doesn’t believe in transubstantiation, then it’s difficult to make them understand. I’ll be curious to read answers from others who know more about this than I.

 

[EricFilmer]

So… in explaining to someone that Catholics believe in the Real Presence… And also bringing up Eucharistic Adoration… I got accused of idolatry… even though Jesus is God and that’s Who we’re worshipping…

It may help to ask them to consider the situation from our perspective…

1) Catholics believe that John 6 is a teaching on the Eucharist. Moreover, we interpret John 6 literally, as well as the words of consecration from the other gospels (“This is my Body…This is my Blood”). Although many Protestants interpret such Scripture as being symbolic, they cannot objectively say that their interpretation has to be correct and the Catholic interpretation has to be false. (And if someone does, ask him to show you his papal miter and croiser seeing as he is acting as if he has elected himself pope while busily throwing out “infallible” interpretations of Scripture).

2) If Catholics believe that the Eucharist is literally the Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity of Christ, then obviously we are obliged to act in accordance with that belief. Therefore…

***** If we adore Christ, and Catholics believe that the Eucharist is Christ, then Catholics ought to adore the Eucharist.

***** If “every knee shall bow” before Christ (Philippians 2:10), and Catholics believe that the Eucharist is Christ, then Catholics ought to kneel before the Eucharist.

***** If “every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11) , and Catholics believe that the Eucharist is Christ, then Catholics should confess that the Eucharist “is Lord.”

In light of this, it would be strange for Catholics to believe that the Eucharist is Christ and then put the Eucharist in a refrigerator next to the potato salad and ketchup as opposed to the reverence of a tabernacle. Likewise it would be strange if we didn’t have Eucharistic Adoration.

3) Idolatry is an act of the will. Therefore, in order to commit idolatry, a person has to have the intention of worshiping something or someone that is not a person of the Holy Trinity. Now let me play “devil’s advocate” for a moment. In light of what I said, even if Catholics are wrong about Eucharistic theology (i.e., Jesus meant for his words to be considered symbolic), then Catholics are still not guilty of idolatry. After all, as far as we are concerned, we are worshiping Christ (and therefore there is no intention to commit idolatry).

 

[EricFilmer]

It may help to ask them to consider the situation from our perspective…

1) Catholics believe that John 6 is a teaching on the Eucharist. Moreover, we interpret John 6 literally, as well as the words of consecration from the other gospels (“This is my Body…This is my Blood”). Although many Protestants interpret such Scripture as being symbolic, they cannot objectively say that their interpretation has to be correct and the Catholic interpretation has to be false. (And if someone does, ask him to show you his papal miter and croiser seeing as he is acting as if he has elected himself pope while busily throwing out “infallible” interpretations of Scripture).

2) If Catholics believe that the Eucharist is literally the Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity of Christ, then obviously we are obliged to act in accordance with that belief. Therefore…

***** If we adore Christ, and Catholics believe that the Eucharist is Christ, then Catholics ought to adore the Eucharist.

***** If “every knee shall bow” before Christ (Philippians 2:10), and Catholics believe that the Eucharist is Christ, then Catholics ought to kneel before the Eucharist.

***** If “every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Philippians 2:11) , and Catholics believe that the Eucharist is Christ, then Catholics should confess that the Eucharist “is Lord.”

In light of this, it would be strange for Catholics to believe that the Eucharist is Christ and then, say, put the Eucharist in a refrigerator next to the potato salad and ketchup as opposed to the reverence of a tabernacle. Likewise it would be strange if we didn’t have Eucharistic Adoration. In other words, considering what we believe about the Eucharist, exactly what do these Protestant critics honestly expect us to do?

3) Idolatry is an act of the will. Therefore, in order to commit idolatry, a person has to have the intention of worshiping something or someone that is not a person of the Holy Trinity. Now let me play “devil’s advocate” for a moment. In light of what I said, even if Catholics are wrong about Eucharistic theology (i.e., Jesus meant for his words to be considered symbolic), then Catholics are still not guilty of idolatry. After all, as far as we are concerned, we are worshiping Christ (and therefore there is no intention to commit idolatry).

 

[kepha1]

At the turn of the first century, Ignatius of Antioch, on his way to martyrdom in Rome, had to warn the Christians not to be taken in by the Gnostics–a good modern term would be “visionaries,” who denied the Real Presence. Ignatius said these people abstained from the Eucharist because they did not accept what true Christians believe, that in the Eucharist is the same Jesus Christ Who lived and died and rose from thedead for our salvation.

Under the impact of this faith, the early hermits reserved the Eucharist in their cells. From at least the
middle of the third century, it was very general for the solitaries in the East, especially in Palestine and
Egypt, to preserve the consecrated elements in the caves or hermitages where they lived.

The immediate purpose of this reservation was to enable the hermits to give themselves Holy Communion. But these hermits were too conscious of what the Real Presence was not to treat it with great reverence andnot to think of it as serving a sacred purpose by just being nearby.

Not only did they have the Sacrament with them in their cells, but they carried it on their persons when theymoved from one place to another. This practice was sanctioned by the custom of the fermentum, that certainly goes back to as early as 120 A.D. The rite of *fermentum *was a particle of the Eucharistic bread(sometimes dipped in the chalice) transported from the bishop of one diocese to the bishop of another diocese. The latter would then consume the species at his next solemn Mass as a token of unity between the churches. It was called a *fermentum *not necessarily because leavened bread was used but because the Eucharist symbolized the leaven of unity which permeates and transforms Christians, so that they becomeone with Christ.

Already in the second century, popes sent the Eucharist to other bishops as a pledge of unity of faith; and, on occasion, bishops would do the same for their priests.
The History of Eucharistic Adoration
Development of Doctrine in the Catholic Church by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J.
http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/manual/section1/sec1_12a.pdf

I hope this helps.

 

[ESMDHokie77]

If someone doesn’t believe in transubstantiation, then it’s difficult to make them understand.

That is essentially what it came down to. They kept understanding what I was saying, but it proved impossible, at the time, to remove their point of view from the subject and they kept seeing it as using graven imagery and an idol.

My conversation last night was held without me or the other guy bringing up Sacred Scripture or Sacred Tradition, (I would’ve been the only one to bring up S. Tradition… the other guy is a protestant). At the time I didn’t want to get into it deeply, and tried to keep the discussion light and “matter-of-factly”. Discretion was what I deemed appropriate given my desire to continue an amiable relationship with the guy I was talking to.

Thanks for the posts, lynne, Eric, and kepha. I like the Philippians 2 quote and the .pdf on Adoration!

Peace,
Phil