Real Presence

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Earl_of_Funk

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If Christ rose from the dead why do Catholics look to the real presence as being at the time of his crucifixion. The sacrifice on the cross is important but isn’t the fact that he rose from the dead also important. Why does the Eucharist go to the time of the crucifixion and not after the resurrection?
 
Earl of Funk #1
If Christ rose from the dead why do Catholics look to the real presence as being at the time of his crucifixion. The sacrifice on the cross is important but isn’t the fact that he rose from the dead also important. Why does the Eucharist go to the time of the crucifixion and not after the resurrection?
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Christ established the Eucharist at the end of the Last Supper:

The clarity and directness of Christ – “This IS My Body” at the Last Supper after carefully teaching in Jn 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh," establishes the reality.

A sign of the reality of Presence of Christ in the Eucharist may be seen in what St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, in which he not only repeated the words and actions of the Last Supper but notes the punishment upon those who unworthily receive the Holy Eucharist:
11:23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 11:24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 11:25 In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 11:26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 11:27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 11:28 Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 11:29 For any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.

With Christ’s teaching on His Body to eat and His Blood to drink, He made sure that this was not misunderstood by:
  1. Reemphasizing His teaching and refusing to change it even when many left Him
  2. By questioning, ensuring that His Apostles, with Peter the Supreme Vicar of His Church, understood and assented to His teaching – so clear as to His meaning – that the doubters left Him.
We listen to the Sacred Scriptures: “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you." (John 14:15-18) “The Advocate, the holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name, he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” (John 14:26) “But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:13-15)
 
Earl_of_Funk said:
If Christ rose from the dead why do Catholics look to the real presence as being at the time of his crucifixion. The sacrifice on the cross is important but isn’t the fact that he rose from the dead also important. Why does the Eucharist go to the time of the crucifixion and not after the resurrection?
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First let me point out that I am no scholar on these matters. I am just offering what I see and understand as a man in the pew.

First, as already pointed out, the Eucharist was instituted at the last supper, therefore this is a very important aspect of what we share at the mass.

Secondly, the Eucharist is the “new sacrifice”. It replaces the OT blood sacrifices in the temple. So again, we look to this aspect of “Sacrifice” as a part of the mass.

Thirdly - and most importantly - there is no slighting of the resurrection either in the Eucharist or the mass for without the resurrection the Eucharist would be meaningless.

Please do not make the mistake of trying to choose between the importance of the cross and the resurrection. Both things are equally important and both things are addressed in the prayers of the mass.

Hope my simple answers help.

Peace
James
 
Earl_of_Funk said:
If Christ rose from the dead why do Catholics look to the real presence as being at the time of his crucifixion. The sacrifice on the cross is important but isn’t the fact that he rose from the dead also important. Why does the Eucharist go to the time of the crucifixion and not after the resurrection?
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When we receive the Eucharist we receive the Risen Glorified Christ.
 
Earl_of_Funk said:
If Christ rose from the dead why do Catholics look to the real presence as being at the time of his crucifixion. The sacrifice on the cross is important but isn’t the fact that he rose from the dead also important. Why does the Eucharist go to the time of the crucifixion and not after the resurrection?
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The Eucharist IS the Risen Christ!
 
*CCC#1067 “The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He accomplished this work principally by the Paschal mystery of his blessed Passion, Resurrection from the dead, and glorious Ascension, whereby ‘dying he destroyed our death, rising he restored our life.’ For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth 'the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.”’ For this reason, the Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation.*While the Eucharist is certainly centered around Jesus saying “This is my body which is given for you” (a reference to the crucifixion), and also that water and blood (the consecrated wine is his blood) from the Cross is a Eucharistic sign, the Paschal mystery, as we see in 1067 above, includes the Resurrection and Ascension. Redemption is accomplished through all these occasions as a singular “event” so to speak.
 
Earl_of_Funk said:
If Christ rose from the dead why do Catholics look to the real presence as being at the time of his crucifixion. The sacrifice on the cross is important but isn’t the fact that he rose from the dead also important. Why does the Eucharist go to the time of the crucifixion and not after the resurrection?
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It does go to after the resurrection. It goes to both. The mass is a sacrifice, and it is the sacrament of receiving the risen lord.

Please consider that the risen Lord himself, each time he encountered the apostles, broke bread with them. He showed us how he was to be with us forever. the apostles recognized the risen Lord when Jesus broke bread with them.

St. Augustine said:

Ah yes, brothers and sisters, but where did the Lord wish to be recognized? In the breaking of bread. We’re all right, nothing to worry about – we break bread, and we recognize the Lord. It was for our sake that he didn’t want to be recognized anywhere but there, because we weren’t going to see him in the flesh, and yet we were going to eat his flesh. So if you’re a believer, any of you, if you’re not called a Christian for nothing, if you don’t come to Church pointlessly, if you listen to the Word of God in fear and hope, you may take comfort in the breaking of bread. The Lord’s absence is not an absence. Have faith, and the one you cannot see is with you. (Sermon 235. 2-3)

The pernicious myth that Catholics just re-sacrifice Christ over and over is one of those things that keeps us separated out of ignorance.

So the receiving of the risen Lord is what he told us to do, and showed us how to do it.

The re-presentation of the sacrifice of the Lord is done also because he told us to.
 
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