Literal or symbolic? Partaking of the flesh and blood

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cody.helscel

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One Protestant told me different people believe it is symbolic to partake in Christ’s flesh and blood. I understand Catholics teach that it’s literal because Christ (aka God) said, “this IS my flesh…”.

My Protestant friend then asked, “so Catholics pick and choose what Jesus taught literally”.

How can we know the flesh and blood is literal compared to perhaps other symbolic verses?
 
I have faith and I believe it is the literal truth. I know you are looking for more and probably someone else can explain it to you.
 
Jesus calls himself the Gate and the Shepherd in other parables. What makes him not those things is that he later explains himself to the disciples, saying ‘this parable means xyz’

In the Bread of Life discourse, he does not do this. In fact, he doubles down- Many of his followers leave him. If it was just a symbol, Jesus can say as such! He does not- He instead reiterates what he said to the disciples.
 
The Priests are acting as if they are Jesus, just as Jesus gave up His life for us (the church) the Priests also give up everything for us (the church) including their right to marriage and sex, and all the comforts that most people have. So in that very moment as it’s being consecrated (bless, prayed over, transformed from just bread and wine to the eucharist), yes it is the body and blood of Jesus. We are to take it seriously and renew our commitment to following Jesus every time we receive communion. I am a Catholic convert, used to be protestant and there is a huge difference because protestant pastors do not have to give up anything for the church and become like Jesus, as the Catholic priests do and have to give up everything to become like Jesus for us (the church). Protestants communion is only 1 time a month and seen as symbolic you are right about that. Catholics are able to receive the body and blood of Jesus everyday!!
 
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Jesus is our Passover sacrifice, and just as it was required for those under the Old Covenant to eat the Passover lamb, so must we eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Lamb as He Himself tells us.
 
Scripture can be interpreted either way, which is exactly why some Protestant churches, even, believe in the Real Presence. But the Church that God established at the beginning has simply believed, taught, and practiced it this way always and everywhere. Such that this belief is essentially the same in both the eastern and western ancient churches despite centuries of isolation from each other. The purpose and reason for this truth: man was made for communion with God; we must partake directly, intimately, of Him, ‘apart from whom we can do nothing’, in order for us to have life and “life abundantly”, everlasting life.
 
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I have often thought it ironic that many Protestants say they believe in the Bible literally and yet do not attempt to eat Christ’s body or drink His blood.

I heard one “Bible-believing” Evangelical on radio (didn’t catch his name) say these Christans, who supposedly take the whole Bible literally, know when a metaphor is being used, such as when Christ calls Himself the GATE for the sheep (John 10:9). The point is that they also pick and choose what is literal or symbolic.

The Catholic Church has tried from the beginning to follow the teachings of Christ and of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes our understanding changes over time and sometimes it doesn’t. We believe God literally wants us to eat of Christ’s body and drink of His blood.
 
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cody.helscel said:
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How can we know the flesh and blood is literal compared to perhaps other symbolic verses?
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Something symbolic is not hard to accept.

John 6
58 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me.
59 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead. He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever.
60 These things he said, teaching in the synagogue, in Capharnaum.
61 Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said: This saying is hard, and who can hear it?
…
67 After this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him.
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“THIS” IS MY BODY…“THIS” IS MY BLOOD…can it not be any plainer than that…if anyone doesn’t understand that then don’t even bother to try to explain…they are just like the followers of Jesus who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) understand…so he let them walk away…do the same…
 
It is both a symbol and a literal thing for us. It’s both!! Of course it is a symbol, of our growing oneness with God, of our deepening faith. But it also his real body and blood, which of course gives us a much deeper spiritual and organic bond with God - what we eat becomes a part of every cell in our body. This is the fullness! Don’t let well meaning opponents back you into a “symbol or literal” corner. For us it is both!
 
Jesus did NOTHING symbolic. He didn’t symbolically cure the sick, raise the dead, forgive sinners. Did Jesus use symbolism in His teaching? Yes. His parables were most likely allegorical; the prodigal son, the unworthy servant, the five foolish virgins, etc. I think those who attack the RCC intentionally mix this idea of reality vs. symbolism to support their own beliefs.
 
joeybaggz said:
Jesus did NOTHING symbolic. He didn’t symbolically cure the sick, raise the dead, forgive sinners
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Don’t you think healing the sick was a symbol of how he can heal us? Raising the dead was a symbol of how we can be raised?
 
Dovekin said:
Don’t you think healing the sick was a symbol of how he can heal us? Raising the dead was a symbol of how we can be raised?
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Absolutely - but those are secondary, spiritual meanings which hinge on the literal, historical fact that he healed the sick and raised the dead.
 
As a non-Catholic, this one is very hard to swallow.

I’m pretty sure Catholics have died and had autopsies done, and that muscle and blood weren’t found in the stomach. So. . . what does “literal” mean, then?

If transubstantiation were literal, we’d have the DNA of Jesus. We could make Jesus clones simply by removing the “literal” flesh and blood of Jesus from a stomach and sequencing its DNA.

I know, this is gross and maybe disrespectful. I don’t intend to insult. But I know what “literal” means.
 
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Point taken. Spyridon’s subsequent post goes to what I intended by my post.
Shalom
 
What is ironic is that there are huge numbers of Evangelical Protestants that take every part of the Bible literally except for the parts when Jesus Himself taught about the Eucharist.
 
Don’t forget that Catholicism is not based on scripture alone. You must also take into account tradition and authority. Bottom line: since the time of the Apostles this was taken literally. Real presence is essential Christian and Catholic belief since the very beginning. That is more than enough for me.
 
benjamin197325m
As a non-Catholic, this one is very hard to swallow.

I’m pretty sure Catholics have died and had autopsies done, and that muscle and blood weren’t found in the stomach. So. . . what does “literal” mean, then?

If transubstantiation were literal, we’d have the DNA of Jesus. We could make Jesus clones simply by removing the “literal” flesh and blood of Jesus from a stomach and sequencing its DNA.

I know, this is gross and maybe disrespectful. I don’t intend to insult. But I know what “literal” means.

Catholics have also "literally eaten…fish…meat…vegetables…fruits etc…I’m sure it hasn’t all been found in their stomachs after an autopsy…it doesn’t remain in ones stomach…if it’s so hard to swallow as a non Catholic then you must doubly reject the resurrection of our Lord…after all…have you ever heard of someone raising themselves from the grave…impossible to believe also… right…incidentally…there have been Eucharistic miracles where the consecrated host has bled…and scientifically tested with startling results…this may be to hard for non Catholics to swallow also…but here is the evidence…there are more…nothing is impossible with God…that’s why we Catholics believe the words Jesus spoke

 
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