Necessary for Salvation?

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aubreyL

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The other day my dad wanted to know why Catholics believe recieving the Eucharist is necessary for salvation. Well, I didn’t have a good answer for Him at all. It would be great if y’all could help me out on this! Thanks so much,

Aubrey
 
You could try

John 6:53 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.
 
You could try

John 6:53 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.

If you read all of John 6 there is more on Jesus’ command to do this.
 
aubreyL said:
He who eats my Body and drinks my Blood will have eternal salvation and will be raised up on the last day. The Eucharist forgives sins and unites us with Christ. Unless you eat my bread and drink my wine, you will not have ever lasting life.

It is alo a way of participating fully in the mass. If you were invited to dinner at your friends house and just sat t here and didn’t eat…
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From New Advent newadvent.org/cathen/05584a.htmWe distinguish two kinds of necessity,
—the necessity of means (necessitas medii) and —the necessity of precept (necessitas præcepti).In the first sense a thing or action is necessary because without it a given end cannot be attained; the eye, e.g. is necessary for vision. The second sort of necessity is that which is imposed by the free will of a superior, e.g. the necessity of fasting. As regards Communion a further distinction must be made between infants and adults. It is easy to prove that in the case of infants Holy Communion is not necessary to salvation, either as a means or as of precept…

…Communion is prescribed for adults, not only by the law of the Church, but also by a Divine command (John 6:50 sqq.), though for its absolute necessity as a means to salvation there is no more evidence than in the case of infants. For such a necessity could be established only on the supposition that Communion per se constituted a person in the state of grace or that this state could not be preserved without Communion. Neither supposition is correct. Not the first, for the simple reason that the Blessed Eucharist, being a sacrament of the living, presupposes the state of sanctifying grace; not the second, because in case of necessity, such as might arise, e.g., in a long sea-voyage, the Eucharistic graces may be supplied by actual graces. It is only when viewed in this light that we can understand how the primitive Church, without going counter to the Divine command, withheld the Eucharist from certain sinners even on their deathbeds. There is, however, a moral necessity on the part of adults to receive Holy Communion, as a means, for instance, of overcoming violent temptation, or as a viaticum for persons in danger of death. Eminent divines, like Francisco Suárez, claim that the Eucharist, if not absolutely necessary, is at least a relatively and morally necessary means to salvation, in the sense that no adult can long sustain his spiritual, supernatural life who neglects on principle to approach Holy Communion. This view is supported, not only by the solemn and earnest words of Christ, when He Promised the Eucharist, and by the very nature of the sacrament as the spiritual food and medicine of our souls, but also by the fact of the helplessness and perversity of human nature and by the daily experience of confessors and directors of souls.​
 
vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#The%20sacraments%20of%20Christian%20initiation

Compendium of the Catechism:

276. Where does the Eucharist fit in the divine plan of salvation?

1333-1344

The Eucharist was foreshadowed in the Old Covenant above all in the annual Passover meal celebrated every year by the Jews with unleavened bread to commemorate their hasty, liberating departure from Egypt. Jesus foretold it in his teaching and he instituted it when he celebrated the Last Supper with his apostles in a Passover meal. The Church, faithful to the command of her Lord, “Do this in memory of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24), has always celebrated the Eucharist, especially on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection of Jesus.
 
Thank Y’all for the replies…
I’m not sure if I’ve got it right ,but here goes…
The Eucharist is necessary for salvation because:

#1. Jesus commanded us to “Do This” And He said whoever does not recieve His Body and Blood does not have life.
#2. It’s necessary because it helps us in our spiritual life.

Well, if I didn’t understand correctly please tell me. It’s just kinda hard for me to understand what it means by ‘necessary’ for salvation because I was never taught this…

Thanks again for your help.
 
MarcoPolo said:
You could try

John 6:53 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.

If you read all of John 6 there is more on Jesus’ command to do this.
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Marc,
Good anwer, I was going to say the same thing, you beat me to it.😉

God bless you,
jean8
 
catholic1seeks said:
vatican.va/archive/compendium_ccc/documents/archive_2005_compendium-ccc_en.html#The%20sacraments%20of%20Christian%20initiation

Compendium of the Catechism:

276. Where does the Eucharist fit in the divine plan of salvation?

1333-1344

The Eucharist was foreshadowed in the Old Covenant above all in the annual Passover meal celebrated every year by the Jews with unleavened bread to commemorate their hasty, liberating departure from Egypt. Jesus foretold it in his teaching and he instituted it when he celebrated the Last Supper with his apostles in a Passover meal. The Church, faithful to the command of her Lord, “Do this in memory of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24), has always celebrated the Eucharist, especially on Sunday, the day of the Resurrection of Jesus.
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I would say the Eucharist fits into the plan of salvation because, before we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we must confess our sins and repent of our sins. The Bible warns we are not to do this sacramennt in a nonchalant manner.
Repent and receive the Lord Jesus Christ until he comes again.

Praise God,
jean8
 
aubreyL said:
Thank Y’all for the replies…
I’m not sure if I’ve got it right ,but here goes…
The Eucharist is necessary for salvation because:

#1. Jesus commanded us to “Do This” And He said whoever does not recieve His Body and Blood does not have life.
#2. It’s necessary because it helps us in our spiritual life.

Well, if I didn’t understand correctly please tell me. It’s just kinda hard for me to understand what it means by ‘necessary’ for salvation because I was never taught this…

Thanks again for your help.
Click to expand...
That is a very good question and an important one. Maybe you are asking…do you need the Eucharist to be “Justified”. Or maybe the negative is a better way to ask. Can someone go to heaven if they don’t ever take the Eucharist. I would be interested to know your thoughts.
 
I think one needs to understand the nature of Grace and how it is applied to us through the sacraments to understand why the Eucharist and the other sacraments are so important in our lives.
 
I think when we look to the sacraments and how they apply grace to us we need to look back to the New Testament and see how God’s healing grace was applied to people in certain situations.

I would point to the passages in scripture where healings were accomplished by the use of material things, that is where God’s healing grace is applied by something other that the words " be healed in the name of Jesus".
Acts 5:15, 19:12
Matthew 9:20-21, 14:36
Mark 6:56, 7:33, 8:23-25
John 9:7-7

I have wondered to myself of why the bible included these types of healings. One reason that came to me is that God was using those passages so we would be open to the sacraments and how they can convey his Grace to us through a physical means.
 
But remember aspects of eternal salvation:

1. Redemption
2. Forgiveness
3. Sanctification
4. Justification

*Sanctification and Justification are very similar. A Protestant would say otherwise.
**
Obviously, the Eucharist is a part of our sanctification. **

Still, this “type” of thinking led me to the question (that I asked on the Apologetics forum):

“How could GOOD WORKS be necessary?”
[edit: here’s link to forum: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=272737 ]

I struggle with, to what extinct, one needs to be sanctified.
 
beeper said:
That is a very good question and an important one. Maybe you are asking…do you need the Eucharist to be “Justified”. Or maybe the negative is a better way to ask. Can someone go to heaven if they don’t ever take the Eucharist. I would be interested to know your thoughts.
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Yes, someone can go to heaven even if they don’t ever take the Eucharist. For example, baptized children who have not yet received First Communion; non-Catholics who die in the state of grace; etc.
I know the language is a little technical, but see Post #4 by catholic1seeks.

Nita
 
Thank y’all for all your help!

OK so I don’t belive that the Eucharist is necessary in the sense that if you never partake in it you won’t go to heaven- because we can’t do anything ourselves that would save us. But it is necessary in the sense that it gives us grace in our walk w/ Christ and helps prevent us from sinning. And to refuse something that the Lord gives us to help us would be wrong…

So is that what the Church means when it teaches the Eucharist is necessary for salvation??? If someone could try to explain in simple terms what the Church really means by this that would be great! I have not joined the Church yet, but I believe God is leading me there. I’m really trying to understand everything, so help w/ this would be great 'cause I’m kinda confused about it…

Thanks- God Bless
 
. But it is necessary in the sense that it gives us grace in our walk w/ Christ and helps prevent us from sinning. And to refuse something that the Lord gives us to help us would be wrong…
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I would call those the benefits of the Eucharist, but not necessarily what makes them necessary. (You know, have you tried asking Fr. Serba on the “Ask The Apologist” forum here on CAF?)

I’m probably repeating something previously said, but…

It is necessary in the sense of necessity that Our Lord meant when He said “Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood you do not have life within you”.

Secondly, it is necessary for Catholics to do because we have a Church law that says we are to receive Holy Communion at least once a year.

The words of Our Lord in John 6 are so clear; and I have often wondered about them - because they are to be understood literally. Now, this is **purely my speculation **- but, no one knows what takes place in those moments before we die, or before we enter heaven. Is it possible that the Eucharist is offered to those destined for heaven, prior to their entry there. There have been cases where individuals received Holy Communion, distributed by angels or just thru the air, and where the hosts were not visible to others.

Eucharist = glorified body blood soul and divinity of Our Lord. Here on earth He gives it to us with the accidents of bread and wine. I do believe fully Our Lord’s words that unless we eat His flesh (take His flesh right within our being), drink His blood… - the “life” is not present within us. (“I am …, the life, …”) I don’t know whether it’s possible to be in heaven without having “life” in us.

Please remember, the above two paragraphs are only personal thoughts, not Church teaching (altho there is nothing in them, to my knowledge, that would violate Church teaching - as long as they are clearly labelled “private speculation”.

Nita
 
Thanks Nita! I understand it a little better now and I took your advice and asked Fr. Serpa. God Bless.

Aubrey
 
savedsinner said:
I have wondered to myself of why the bible included these types of healings. One reason that came to me is that God was using those passages so we would be open to the sacraments and how they can convey his Grace to us through a physical means.
Click to expand...
Those are good examples. Also, what are the sacraments: they are a perpetuation of Christ on earth. And Jesus Christ incarnate was both material and divine, earthly and heavenly, natural and supernatural, man and God, all at once. This is known as the Incarnational Principle, and something you can read about in many Church documents. It is one of the keys to understanding Christ’s Church. It is even the case why the Church, which is also a perpetuation of Christ, is both visible and invisible.

Luther’s fatal error was extracting all visible, material characteristics of the Church, thus separating Christ’s two inseparable natures. He created a chasm between heaven and earth which is bridged by the two natures of Christ. We need the sacraments and should embrace them as much as we are able, with all love, as we would embrace Christ Himself!!
 
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