Just another name for communion?

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The church I attend… the pastor says that the communion we take (Baptist) the word Eucharist is just “another word or name” for communion and it is the same thing he says.

He also said that it is just a representation and that the bread represents the body and the grape juice represents the blood.

Can some explain the differences or is he exactly correct?
 
In short, he is not correct. We (Catholics) believe that the Eucharist (or Holy Communion) is the body and blood of Jesus Christ (transubstantiation). John 6:51 - 58 "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever*.” And at the last supper, Jesus specifically stated when breaking the bread “this is my body” and when he held the wine, he said “This is my body”. Then he told us to re-enact the last supper. For us Catholics, it is clear that Jesus never said “This is symbolic or sort of like my body”. In fact in John, you can see people knew what he was saying and walked off in disgust because they could not understand and take a step of faith.

The Eucharist is sacred and not taken lightly. See 1 Cor. 11:27–28 which says “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.”

Here is a link to some more information from Catholic.com: catholic.com/tracts/who-can-receive-communion.

Hope this helps?
 
khmsct99 said:
The church I attend… the pastor says that the communion we take (Baptist) the word Eucharist is just “another word or name” for communion and it is the same thing he says.

He also said that it is just a representation and that the bread represents the body and the grape juice represents the blood.

Can some explain the differences or is he exactly correct?
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No, he’s actually not correct.
For catholics, the two species don’t just “represent” the body and blood.

We do not consider it symbolic the way that most protestant traditions do.
Rather, during the consecration of bread and wine (it must be wine) during the catholic Mass, we believe that these species actually change in substance (tho not in appearance) and become the real presence…the body and blood of Christ.

It’s something that a protestant might find strange (or even worse), but a catholic would feel that anything less is not full communion.
 
Thank you.

Also… the church I attend says that the word wine in the Bible means Grape Juice, and that it does not actually mean alcoholic wine.

I just wonder because in Genesis… doesn’t it say Noah drank wine and got drunk… I don’t think someone can get drunk off grape juice but they can on wine. So it really is wine, correct?
 
khmsct99 said:
Thank you.

Also… the church I attend says that the word wine in the Bible means Grape Juice, and that it does not actually mean alcoholic wine.

I just wonder because in Genesis… doesn’t it say Noah drank wine and got drunk… I don’t think someone can get drunk off grape juice but they can on wine. So it really is wine, correct?
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It sounds as if he is changing the meanings of words to suit his own ideas. As I understood it, wine was commonly drunk throughout biblical times. Has he studied the earliest manuscript and is he an expert linguist? If not, then I suggest that he is on very shaky ground and would be very wary about what he says.
 
Avila123 said:
It sounds as if he is changing the meanings of words to suit his own ideas. As I understood it, wine was commonly drunk throughout biblical times. Has he studied the earliest manuscript and is he an expert linguist? If not, then I suggest that he is on very shaky ground and would be very wary about what he says.
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Well, don’t be too hard on the baptist pastor. I think this is a very common view among protestants…they kinda think “what’s the big deal”?
For Catholics, it IS a big deal. (It is THE deal)
But don’t expect a non-catholic to grasp that.
 
khmsct99 said:
Thank you.

Also… the church I attend says that the word wine in the Bible means Grape Juice, and that it does not actually mean alcoholic wine.

I just wonder because in Genesis… doesn’t it say Noah drank wine and got drunk… I don’t think someone can get drunk off grape juice but they can on wine. So it really is wine, correct?
Click to expand...
Grape juice that isn’t refrigerated and isn’t pasteurized will become wine in a matter of days. The alcohol content will vary widely, but the yeast naturally on the grapes WILL ferment the sugars into alcohol within a fortnight. The less air contact, the more alcohol.

Literally all grapes not raised on anti-fungals will have yeasts.
Almost all areas of the world have natural yeasts that will ferment grape juice, as well.

Look it up.

Intentional or not, your church is telling lies to you. It may be delusion, it may be gross ignorance, or it may be wilful for some particular theological purpose, but they ARE telling you lies.
 
“Eucharist” is a Greek word meaning “to give thanks”. We use the word to mean two different things: Holy Communion, and the Mass itself. (The Mass is generally divided into two main parts: the Liturgy of the Word, where we hear the Word of God, and the Liturgy of the Eucharist, where we receive Holy Communion.)

Back in ancient times, EVERYBODY drank wine! It was usually watered down, and wine given to children was even more watered down, but everybody drank wine. It was one of the only ways to make sure that what you were drinking was safe, because there was no pasteurization and no refrigeration. I’m sure if Jesus had meant grape juice, He would have said “grape juice”.
 
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