How to explain transubstantiation w/teens

[mwright1978]

any tips on explaining this miracle to teens. Most of them believe it is just a symbol. ANy clever and witty analogies?? I once heard something comparing the presence to a $quarter$, the perception is that the piece is solid but in reality w/ physics it is not. more space than solid with the molecules. Perception of our senses. Can’t really remember. ANyways, Any help would be great…

 

[rcn]

It can’t be explained adequately to adults, never mind teens. It is a mystery, something which we must believe on faith. I wish I had more of the philosophical (?) education that would allow me to read more about it, but I’m not sure if it would help or just confuse even more.

I think the point to be made with the teens, is that the belief in transsubstantiation IS what it means to be Catholic. Pure and simple.

 

[JimG]

First, remind them that if they think it is just a symbol, then they are not really Catholic.

This was first explained to me in 2nd Grade, as a change in substance, while the appearances remain the same. I don’t recall having too much of a problem with it.

Everyone knows what appearances are. It is what appears to your senses. After the consecration, the appearances remain–the appearance of bread and wine. The substance–which is NOT directly perceptible to the senses–is now Jesus Christ whole and entire.

 

[CatholicNerd]

I heard a lecture on Ancient Faith Radio the other night that was delivered by Bishop Kallistos Ware. In it, he mentioned that most protestants reject the notion that Christ is the Eucharist. He then made a comment about how our belief in the indwelling of the Trinity at baptism should be the hardest thing to believe, but that most Christians believe it to be true. If God can truly come to dwell within us who, as my girlfriend pointed out tonight when we talked about this, can resist that indwelling of the Trinity, surely He can not only dwell WITHIN bread and wine (which can not resist the Divine comand uttered by Christ through the priest), but he can TOTALLY overtake them and allow only the appearances to remain. Goodness, how can anyone doubt that Christ IS the Eucharist after hearing that?!

 

[jpjd]

A visiting priest described a good analogy:

He said he had been on a tour of a nuclear reactor plant. They showed him an ordinary dime and put it under the radiation detector. The dime had no radiation.

Then they caused the dime to have radiation. They put it under the radiation detector and the detector was clicking away.

It struck this priest that it was the same dime in appearance, but something inside it had changed. Just like in the Eucharist when the bread becomes the Body.

This story was extremely helpful to me in understanding transubstantiation (and I’m an adult!), I hope it is helpful to your teens as well.

 

[baltobetsy]

jpjd:

A visiting priest described a good analogy:

He said he had been on a tour of a nuclear reactor plant. They showed him an ordinary dime and put it under the radiation detector. The dime had no radiation.

Then they caused the dime to have radiation. They put it under the radiation detector and the detector was clicking away.

It struck this priest that it was the same dime in appearance, but something inside it had changed. Just like in the Eucharist when the bread becomes the Body.

This story seems a little dangerous to me, in that the dime itself remained, with radiation added to it. The Eucharist is not bread and wine with the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus added - it is the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus under the appearances of bread and wine. The bread and wine cease to exist after the consecration. The radioactive dime better explains the teaching of “consubstantiation,” which is Jesus and the elements existing together in the same space, which is what the Lutherans believe. It is in no way a Catholic truth.

Betsy