Last supper

[Woolybabe]

I know there is a similar thread to this, but as I think this is a slightly different question I thought I had better start a new one. I am looking into the Catholic faith, but having been to different protestant churches a lot some of the Catholic beliefs are difficult to understand so I hope my question doesn’t offend anyone

At the last supper Jesus said “This is my body, broken for you…This is my blood shed for you.”. My question is I had always thought that he was telling us to use it as a physical reminder, but Catholics see it as the literal body/blood. The last supper was before He died, so how could it be His body literally?

 

[1ke]

The last supper was before He died, so how could it be His body literally?

That is the nature of miracles. They are miraculous.

 

[EasterJoy]

I already cited this in another thread, but I can’t resist repeating myself, so as to point people to the Holy Father for his eloquent explanations of this Sacred Mystery. I would really encourage anyone who wants a scholarly explanation of the Eucharist to read Benedict XVI’s writings and homilies:

I remember a homily by our Holy Father from Holy Thursday 2009 that I thought treated this subject very beautifully and quite directly. Here is an excerpt that shows how it touches on the OPs question, but I’d encourage the OP to read the whole thing: vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20090409_coena-domini_en.html

“Now, however, a further question arises. In the Upper Room, Christ gives his Body and Blood to the disciples, that is, he gives himself in the totality of his person. But can he do so? He is still physically present in their midst, he is standing in front of them! The answer is: at that hour, Jesus fulfils what he had previously proclaimed in the Good Shepherd discourse: “No one takes my life from me: I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again …” (Jn 10:18). No one can take his life from him: he lays it down by his own free decision. At that hour, he anticipates the crucifixion and resurrection. What is later to be fulfilled, as it were, physically in him, he already accomplishes in anticipation, in the freedom of his love. He gives his life and he takes it again in the resurrection, so as to be able to share it for ever.”

Another homily (catholicnewsagency.com/document.php?n=68) he also said:
*In the Corpus Domini procession, we walk with the Risen One on his journey to meet the entire world, as we said. By doing precisely this, we too answer his mandate: “Take, eat… Drink of it, all of you” (Mt 26: 26ff.).

It is not possible to “eat” the Risen One, present under the sign of bread, as if it were a simple piece of bread. To eat this Bread is to communicate, to enter into communion with the person of the living Lord. This communion, this act of “eating”, is truly an encounter between two persons, it is allowing our lives to be penetrated by the life of the One who is the Lord, of the One who is my Creator and Redeemer.

The purpose of this communion, of this partaking, is the assimilation of my life with his, my transformation and conformation into he who is living Love. Therefore, this communion implies adoration, it implies the will to follow Christ, to follow the One who goes ahead of us. Adoration and procession thereby make up a single gesture of communion; they answer his mandate: “Take and eat”. *

In other words, in sharing in the breaking of the bread with us, the Lord wasn’t “eating himself”; rather, he was assimilating his life and ours. It was an act of becoming truly one in life. When we adore the Eucharist, we aren’t adoring the Lord as divine food, like ambrosia from Olympus or something, but as our God, our all, our life.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

The last supper was before He died, so how could it be His body literally?

Hi woolybabe,

Welcome to the forums!

I think the best way to explore your question is to dig a little deeper to find out what you are asking about precisely. What is it about the Christ being alive that you feel might cause a difficulty in regard to Him giving His body in the Eucharist?

Thanks,
VC

 

[TimothyH]

The early Christians very quickly came to an understanding that it was Christ’s literal body and blood, and this was because of their Old Testament roots in the Exodus, the Passover, and Jewish liturgical worship.

A most excellent book on the subject is “Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist” by Dr. Brant Pitre. In it he answers this exact question; how is it that the first Christians came to understand the Eucharist so quickly?

-Tim-

 

[IrishRush]

“Now, however, a further question arises. In the Upper Room, Christ gives his Body and Blood to the disciples, that is, he gives himself in the totality of his person. But can he do so? He is still physically present in their midst, he is standing in front of them! The answer is: at that hour, Jesus fulfils what he had previously proclaimed in the Good Shepherd discourse: “No one takes my life from me: I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down and I have power to take it again …” (Jn 10:18). No one can take his life from him: he lays it down by his own free decision. At that hour, he anticipates the crucifixion and resurrection. What is later to be fulfilled, as it were, physically in him, he already accomplishes in anticipation, in the freedom of his love. He gives his life and he takes it again in the resurrection, so as to be able to share it for ever.”

I love this! Thanks for re-posting, I am relatively new to the forums myself so I hadn’t seen this before. I think I may borrow this for my CCD class. We’re covering the Eucharist in 2 weeks. This would be an excellent way to really tie all of what we’ve learned so far together.

 

[japhy]

If you look at Jesus’ words at the Last Supper, the evangelists put the present tense on His lips: “This is my body which is given for you” (not “will be given”), and “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (not “will be poured out”).

Jesus was anticipating (or pre-presenting) sacramentally the sacrifice He would offer bodily the next day, just as He re-presents sacramentally that same sacrifice every day in our churches.

 

[puppypatrol]

I know there is a similar thread to this, but as I think this is a slightly different question I thought I had better start a new one. I am looking into the Catholic faith, but having been to different protestant churches a lot some of the Catholic beliefs are difficult to understand so I hope my question doesn’t offend anyone

At the last supper Jesus said “This is my body, broken for you…This is my blood shed for you.”. My question is I had always thought that he was telling us to use it as a physical reminder, but Catholics see it as the literal body/blood. The last supper was before He died, so how could it be His body literally?

To deny it is to, in essence, call Jesus a liar and to put limitations on what God/Jesus can do. For me, I don’t want to put limitations on God and believe it is done as Jesus said. What would be worse, to believe and then find out they were wrongand that you had “everlasting life” anyway or to not believe and to find out they were right and not have the “everlasting life” you could have had.

 

[Woolybabe]

Thanks to the people who have posted an answer to my question. I found them all very helpful. As I said in my previous post I am studying the Catholic faith. It started as a way of looking at my faith from a different perspective, but the more I find out about it the more it makes a lot of sense. I have been to several different protestant churches and have never seemed to feel that I fitted in. I have always chosen the church I go to for ease of getting there, as well as what the preach. That is the only reason that I have not been to a Catholic church, as I have never been in a position that I can get to one easily. I live in a village and neither my husband or I drive and we know of nobody else in the village who goes to Catholic Church, so I am doing this reasearch on my own and therefore I find your replies very helpful. Thanks again

 

[EasterJoy]

Thanks to the people who have posted an answer to my question. I found them all very helpful. As I said in my previous post I am studying the Catholic faith. It started as a way of looking at my faith from a different perspective, but the more I find out about it the more it makes a lot of sense. I have been to several different protestant churches and have never seemed to feel that I fitted in. I have always chosen the church I go to for ease of getting there, as well as what the preach. That is the only reason that I have not been to a Catholic church, as I have never been in a position that I can get to one easily. I live in a village and neither my husband or I drive and we know of nobody else in the village who goes to Catholic Church, so I am doing this reasearch on my own and therefore I find your replies very helpful. Thanks again

By all means, get all of the homilies and writings of our Holy Father Benedict XVI you can. He is a great teacher and has seen fit to touch on so many of these basic questions. His thinking is wonderful, even if reading it is sometimes like drinking out of a fire hose! Much of it is available at the Vatican’s web site. I’d start with the homilies, as they were composed to be delivered in oral form and to be edifying at that single sitting. Still profound, but often more crystallized and in more accessible language.

Also, be aware that the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium to the Catechism of the Catholic Church are also available online for you to read for free. These also touch basic questions very directly and succinctly.

 

[MaryandJoseph]

Woolybabe, If I may add from my own experience.

Pray and pray some more that the Holy Spirit lead you always to an Authentic Catholic site. There are many sites on the web that will claim to be “Catholic” but upon further reading, are actually trying to PULL you away from the faith.

Catholic Answers and EWTN are two fantastic sites:thumbsup:

May God bless you on your spiritual journey.

 

[Woolybabe]

Again thanks. Does anybody have website addresses that I can read as I can’t hear. I have read several books including “If Protestantism is true” which I found very helpful and made a lot of sense. Thank you for your help and please pray that I get closer to God and that I find a way to get to the church God wants me to go to as I miss fellowship with other Christians. I am thankful that me not being able to feel included at church has led me to rely on God more. But if Jesus had meant us to follow Him on our own we would not have had churches in the first place. Jesus told Peter he was the “rock on which He would build his Chuch” Not he would be the rock that breaks into individual pebbles that have to be kicked aside and go their own way!

 

[Joan_M]

How could Jesus have given the apostles his body and blood when he had not yet died on the cross?

The answer is very simple. He is God. Nothing is impossible for God.

 

[EasterJoy]

Again thanks. Does anybody have website addresses that I can read as I can’t hear. I have read several books including “If Protestantism is true” which I found very helpful and made a lot of sense. Thank you for your help and please pray that I get closer to God and that I find a way to get to the church God wants me to go to as I miss fellowship with other Christians. I am thankful that me not being able to feel included at church has led me to rely on God more. But if Jesus had meant us to follow Him on our own we would not have had churches in the first place. Jesus told Peter he was the “rock on which He would build his Chuch” Not he would be the rock that breaks into individual pebbles that have to be kicked aside and go their own way!

If you would like to read homilies or encyclicals by any of the Holy Fathers of modern times (which is a LOT of reading!!), go to www.vatican.va.

Choose your best language. Under Supreme Pontiffs, you can choose a Pope of interest. When you get to his web page, you’ll be able to choose from encyclicals, homilies, apostolic letters, and so on. Not all have been translated into every language on the web site, but there is so much to read, you’ll never get to the bottom of it.

To get a specific encyclical or the Catechism or the Compendium, I have the best luck if I just use Google to look for that specifically by name, then I choose the copy at www.vatican.va. One tip, though: There is a church named St. Charles Borromeo that has a more recent copy of the catechism than the Holy See had posted, the last time I looked: www.scborromeo.org/ccc.htm

Oh, and don’t forget the brochures that are posted here by Catholic Answers. Leave this forum and go there by scrolling to the top of this page and choosing Catholic.com. Under “READ” on Catholic.com, you can choose from the magazine, tracts, Catholic Answers documents, and so on…

That ought to keep you out of trouble!! (Literally!)

 

[Woolybabe]

Thanks. I must say the more I read about the Catholic faith, the more it makes sense. I started looking into it as a way of examining my faith from a different direction, thinking that it was just the same as another denomination. I now realise that that is not true. I realise now that the Catholic church is the same church that Christ Himself started up, but having spent all of my Christian life in protestant churches who have taught me that the Bible is the only authority on God’s word and anything outside the Bible is Man made tradition to make it easier for us to worship Him, and that the bread and wine we share at Communion is just bread and wine, and a symbol, it is a bit confusing to change that thinking. But I do see it makes sense and I am looking into ways of getting to a Catholic Church, but at the moment it is not easy. Also my husband is happy with the church he goes to, so if I go to a Catholic church it would mean that we would not go to church together, but at the moment I only go to church a couple of times a month as there is a sign language interpreted church once a month and a church that is fully in sign language once a month. But if something happens and I can’t get there one week, it means another month before I can go. I think it is better to go to different churches, than to not go at all. Can you please let me know your views. thanks