The Eucharist has the physical appearance of bread and wine, although in substance it is not.
1375 It is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament. The Church Fathers strongly affirmed the faith of the Church in the efficacy of the Word of Christ and of the action of the Holy Spirit to bring about this conversion. Thus St. John Chrysostom declares:
It is not man that causes the things offered to become the Body and Blood of Christ, but he who was crucified for us, Christ himself. The priest, in the role of Christ, pronounces these words, but their power and grace are God's. This is my body, he says. This word transforms the things offered.204Be convinced that this is not what nature has formed, but what the blessing has consecrated. The power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed. . . . Could not Christ's word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.205“physical”: of or pertaining to that which is material; noting or pertaining to the properties of matter.
Lets look at your candidates:
Hmm. Well, even limiting ourselves to the definition of “physical” you describe above (material, sensible, perceptible) this phrase seems a little cumbersome. It looks as if you are predicating the physical properties of bread and wine upon Jesus. But Christ doesn’t have those physical properties.
That sounds good (and in traditional language to boot!). (Note: this is based upon the definition of physical that you established. . .this sentence only works if you limit the word “physical” to the meaning “sense perceptible.”)
No. Again, this has the problem of option #1 above. Christ does not have bread and wine as part of Him. Nor are the accidents of bread and wine inhering in His substance. They inhere in no substance whatsoever (since the substance of bread and wine have been transubstantiated). Furthermore, this option inadvertently leaves the impression that Christ is not present with skin and bones. But He does have His skin and bones! He is present BODY, blood, soul and Divinity!
Yeah, that sounds pretty good. I guess it’s also like the word substance. Normally we equivocate substance with “material”, but when speaking of the Eucharist substance has it’s original meaning which is that which stands beneath the material.
“physical”: of or pertaining to that which is material; noting or pertaining to the properties of matter."
The Lord is not present in bread, or as bread after the consecration, because after the consecration there is no bread. Instead, the body has the appearance of bread.
Right on! :clapping:sacramentally…
Technically, it’s “Substantially” present.
Thanks for the explanations Gottle of Geer, that is helpful. I am getting a general consensus that the answer to whether Christ is physically present is both yes and no depending on how the term “physical” is used. His presence is clearly more than just spiritual (which isn’t what I meant by sacramental), because we can see and taste and consume him – bread and wine no longer exist except for their accidents. In fact, if Christ’s presence in the Eucharist were only spiritual (as some non-Catholic Christians believe), then really what’s the point, and why not just be united to Jesus only spiritually through prayer (as other non-Catholic Christians have done by doing away with the Eucharist)?He is present sacramentally.
“Physically” is ambiguous:
- The physis of a thing, is its nature - which may be the nature of something purely spiritual, or of something material, or created, or Uncreated: four possibilities which may or may not imply one another.
- “Physical” tends to mean:
Unfortunately, words like nature & substance & **physical **have different meanings in everyday speech from those they have in theology & Scholastic metaphysics; so there is a lot of opportunity for confusion. As indeed there was in Greek & Latin discussions of the Blessed Trinity - persona had unfortunate associations, because a persona was an actor’s mask; not very helpful, if one is trying to talk about the Incarnation.
- “material”
- “in a manner perceptible to the senses”; “palpable”;
- “in the manner of a body”
A table is a “physical” object in this sense, and angels are, in this sense, not “physical”: because tables and angels have different physeis, different natures. “Physical” ought to mean “natural”, but doesn’t; because etymology is not alone in determining how people use language
The physis (in sense 1) of the Eucharist Gifts, changes at the Consecration; but there is no change in the physical (in sense 2) reality of the Consecrated Gifts: what is perceived by the senses, has all the chemical properties of the sort of bread & wine used for the Eucharist - the weight, measurements, chemical properties, size, taste, don’t change.
That of which they were the properties at the beginning of the celebration - the bread & wine - has changed; it no longer exists, for its substance been converted into the substance of the Body & Blood of the Eucharistic Christ, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Christ does not come down from Heaven at the Consecration; any more than he ceases to be in Heaven by abiding with His Church in His members (= us) - He is made Present as that which is on the altar, by the Holy Spirit, through the ministry of the human priest; who is himself united with the whole People of God; he does not replace them, but acts on their behalf. The Presence of Christ as the Gift offered to the Father, is as real as His presence in Christians: the unique thing about His Eucharistic Presence is, that He is Present in the manner of a substance. So His Presence is Sacramental, and substantial - not just real and true; though it is both of those too.
It goes without saying that nothing in the Church’s teaching implies or presupposes or requires that He is resacrificed - that is wholly impossible, as the NT makes abundantly clear; in fact, it would completely undermine what the Church teaches.
Hope that helps ##