Need Help explaining to Protestant!

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Veronica97

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Over a period of time I’ve been trying to explain to someone who is Protestant about the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I’ve already explained the verses in John where Jesus loses some of His disciples because they cannot accept that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood. NOW I have been asked a question that has stumped me! The person has quoted Acts 7:48 which says “Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands.” He wants to know then how Jesus resides in a Communion wafer in the Tabernacle (I was trying to explain to him how Jesus is physically present in the Catholic Church). He ALSO wants to know why, if we receive the Trinity at Baptism, do we need to receive Jesus in the Eucharist when He already dwells in us? I don’t know how to explain it other than we are NOURISHED by receiving the Eucharist. PLEASE HELP!!
 
And there is an example of cherry picking a verse…
Acts 7:47-48
Stephens speech represents Luke’s description of Christianity’s break from a Jewish Matrix. Two motifs become prominent in the speech
(1) Israel’s reaction to God’s chosen leaders in the past reveals that the people have consistently rejected them.
(2) Israel has misunderstood God’s choice of the of the Jerusalem temple as the place where He is to be worshiped.
 
Veronica97 said:
… NOW I have been asked a question that has stumped me! The person has quoted Acts 7:48 which says “Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands.” He wants to know then how Jesus resides in a Communion wafer in the Tabernacle (I was trying to explain to him how Jesus is physically present in the Catholic Church)…
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How did He reside in Mary’s womb?
 
I recently tried this different approach… If you can believe that Jesus had nails hammered through His hands and feet, was speared in His side, and died on a cross; and AFTER ALL THAT appeared RISEN AND ALIVE to the Apostles, how hard is it to believe in transubstansiation? If you’re going to believe in the Resurection, how great a leap of faith is transubstansiation?
 
Unfortunately, this is yet another of the innumerable attempts to de-construct Catholicism using a single verse torn from the seamless garment of scripture. The Orthodox Churches believe and practice exactly the same - yet come under no hostile attack for their beliefs! Ask them what they think about the Orthodox Churches.

Ask this friend why Paul would teach that eating the bread and drinking the cup is a “participation” in the body and Blood of Christ. Not “remembrance” or “symbolisim” or any such nonsense. Participation. (1 Corinthians 10:16)

He also wrote that those who eat and drink the Body and Blood unworthily are eating and drinking damnation unto themselves. Would Christ really send you to hell over a symbol of Him? Or, over His true Body and Blood? Paul taught that many were ill and some had even died because of unworthily receiving communion. (1 Corinthians 11:27-30)

There have been 495 years in which to develop attacks against the Catholic Church. You cannot fight them, let alone defeat them, until you know your faith.

Please get a copy of Catholicism for Dummies and have a read. It is an excellent book that is easily understood.
 
Veronica97 said:
The person has quoted Acts 7:48 which says “Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands.” He wants to know then how Jesus resides in a Communion wafer in the Tabernacle
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Notice that, in context, Stephen was talking about how the Jews thought that God lived in the temple – and only in the temple! So, Stephen is pointing out that this belief is incorrect: God cannot be constrained by a “house made by human hands”. However, the Church doesn’t believe that it locks up Jesus – such that he dwells there and only there – when the Eucharist is in the Tabernacle.
(I was trying to explain to him how Jesus is physically present in the Catholic Church).
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I hope you don’t mean physically present in the Eucharist, do you? 'Cause He isn’t. He’s truly present in the Eucharist (sacramentally), but the physical properties remain the physical properties of bread and wine.
He ALSO wants to know why, if we receive the Trinity at Baptism, do we need to receive Jesus in the Eucharist when He already dwells in us?
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We don’t receive the Trinity at Baptism. In a way, we can say that we receive the Spirit at Baptism.

And, of course, we need to receive Jesus in the Eucharist because He tells us so (“unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you” – John 6:53).
 
po18guy said:
Unfortunately, this is yet another of the innumerable attempts to de-construct Catholicism using a single verse torn from the seamless garment of scripture. The Orthodox Churches believe and practice exactly the same - yet come under no hostile attack for their beliefs! Ask them what they think about the Orthodox Churches.

Ask this friend why Paul would teach that eating the bread and drinking the cup is a “participation” in the body and Blood of Christ. Not “remembrance” or “symbolisim” or any such nonsense. Participation. (1 Corinthians 10:16)

He also wrote that those who eat and drink the Body and Blood unworthily are eating and drinking damnation unto themselves. Would Christ really send you to hell over a symbol of Him? Or, over His true Body and Blood? Paul taught that many were ill and some had even died because of unworthily receiving communion. (1 Corinthians 11:27-30)

There have been 495 years in which to develop attacks against the Catholic Church. You cannot fight them, let alone defeat them, until you know your faith.

Please get a copy of Catholicism for Dummies and have a read. It is an excellent book that is easily understood.
Click to expand...
I’m focused on the part where if one unworthily participates in the eating and drinking of the Body and Blood they are causing damnation unto themselves.

Okay…an athetist admitted she receives at Catholic weddings because the Church doesn’t care,and she doesn’t want to be alone in the pew. A Protestant was surprised because I said I would never think of taking communion in a Protestant church. She asked why? I said, “Because I’m not Protestant.” Yes, I know there’s more to that answer but we’re a lunch. She felt that her church would be open to me receiving…I’m thinking this falls into the realm of being polite not theology. Now the athetist’s actions were told to a priest who stated, “Yes, I know that happens.”

Is that enough? I don’t think so. I think the priest has a moral obligation to state at Mass you can only receive if you are Catholic. Catholics can only receive if you are in the state of grace. If you are not in either category, come forward at communion with your hands folded, and I’ll be pleased to give you my blessing.
 
aicirt said:
I’m focused on the part where if one unworthily participates in the eating and drinking of the Body and Blood they are causing damnation unto themselves.

Okay…an athetist admitted she receives at Catholic weddings because the Church doesn’t care,and she doesn’t want to be alone in the pew. A Protestant was surprised because I said I would never think of taking communion in a Protestant church. She asked why? I said, “Because I’m not Protestant.” Yes, I know there’s more to that answer but we’re a lunch. She felt that her church would be open to me receiving…I’m thinking this falls into the realm of being polite not theology. Now the athetist’s actions were told to a priest who stated, “Yes, I know that happens.”

Is that enough? I don’t think so. I think the priest has a moral obligation to state at Mass you can only receive if you are Catholic. Catholics can only receive if you are in the state of grace. If you are not in either category, come forward at communion with your hands folded, and I’ll be pleased to give you my blessing.
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It absolutely cracks me up that many who attack the Catholic Church for her icons then do an immediate about face on the Eucharist only to claim that it is symbolic. Did Jesus really violate the second commandment?
 
po18guy said:
It absolutely cracks me up that many who attack the Catholic Church for her icons then do an immediate about face on the Eucharist only to claim that it is symbolic. Did Jesus really violate the second commandment?
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True but why aren’t the priests taking the opportunity at Mass, at Catholic weddings, at funeral services to set everyone straight? Everyone attending Sunday Mass receives but you can count on one, or if you are lucky, two hands the number of people at Saturday confession.
 
MaryJ, I did tell my friend about the ark of the covenant–thank you! Also rfournier, he thought that was a really good point about all the other miraculous things we’re asked to believe in as Christians!! Now…I can’t get past him saying “If we’ve already received the Holy Spirit at Baptism and thus, the Father and Son also dwell within us because They are part of the Trinity…then WHY do we have to receive Jesus in the Eucharist?” I’ve tried to explain how the Eucharist is an intimate communion with Jesus that helps us grow in charity and unites us with the whole Body of Christ (church of believers). He wants to know why we keep receiving Jesus over and over again in the Eucharist when He already dwells in us? Then he wants to know HOW LONG does Jesus stay in us after we consume the Eucharist? I see what he is getting at…I just don’t know how to explain it!!!
 
Whatever you say, your friend will counteract by the sounds of it.

Your friend will best learn from how you in words and deeds and that be your best testimony to your friend when discussion is going to be on going. Its not just what you say but whether you have a glow in you when you are saying it. How much you actually mean it. Just gently keep on saying what you believe in a quite way and in time, whether they believe is not the issue but that they accept that you believe that.
 
Bottom line is that we believe Jesus is present because that is what He said. Saint Paul backs it up in his writings. The Church has followed that practice since that first communion.
 
Veronica97 said:
MaryJ, I did tell my friend about the ark of the covenant–thank you! Also rfournier, he thought that was a really good point about all the other miraculous things we’re asked to believe in as Christians!! Now…I can’t get past him saying “If we’ve already received the Holy Spirit at Baptism and thus, the Father and Son also dwell within us because They are part of the Trinity…then WHY do we have to receive Jesus in the Eucharist?” I’ve tried to explain how the Eucharist is an intimate communion with Jesus that helps us grow in charity and unites us with the whole Body of Christ (church of believers). He wants to know why we keep receiving Jesus over and over again in the Eucharist when He already dwells in us? Then he wants to know HOW LONG does Jesus stay in us after we consume the Eucharist? I see what he is getting at…I just don’t know how to explain it!!!
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You still need Catholicism for Dummies.
 
aicirt said:
True but why aren’t the priests taking the opportunity at Mass, at Catholic weddings, at funeral services to set everyone straight? Everyone attending Sunday Mass receives but you can count on one, or if you are lucky, two hands the number of people at Saturday confession.
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The good and faithful ones, who truly love the Lord, do this. We have a lot of praying to do.
 
po18guy said:
The good and faithful ones, who truly love the Lord, do this. We have a lot of praying to do.
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In Rome at Mass at St. Peter’s…all going to communion. Figure at least 500. Adjacent was a roped off area for those going to confession. I counted 10. Which made us wonder how many tourists, not Catholic, were receiving. I told my friend, non Catholic, to follow me up to the altar and keep her hands together so he’d know she wanted a blessing. She did. He had no idea and keep trying to give her communion. She kept on saying “no” until he understood.

I thought this would be an IDEAL time to say to those visiting…“Confessionals are open. Go now so you may receive at communion time.”
 
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