Transubstantiation trouble spots

[atratus]

I need help understanding a few verses in light of the Church’s teaching on transubstantiation.

John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (NIV)

Obviously, a person still becomes physically thirsty and hungry after taking the Eucharist. So, how can Jesus be referring to the physical Eucharist in this verse?

Luke 22:19
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (NIV)

Why does Jesus ask the apostles to do this in “remembrance” of him, if it truly is him?

 

[MariaG]

Have you read this? catholic.com/library/Christ_in_the_Eucharist.asp

One of the keys to understanding these verses comes in Jphn 6:50 and beyond.

And are you aware that there have been a few saints who did not eat or drink anything but the body and blood? They truly did not hunger or thirst!

I hope this helps a little. But truly, I recommend reading that tract.

God Bless,
Maria

 

[DianJo]

This subject is sometimes so hard to explain with words.

In the consecrated host, Jesus is present sacramentally. We are not munching on his flesh as in cannibalism, although the word Jesus uses indicates gnawing or chewing. The words He speaks are of spirit - the flesh is of no avial. In other words, you have to believe with the spirit. We humans are of the flesh and cannot understand on our own. We must understand with the spirit.

Once we have Jesus in our lives through the Eucharist, we have no need for anything other than Jesus. Our spiritual life will be full, we will want for nothing. Does that mean that we stop eating and drinking - No. We must continue to eat and drink to sustain our physical bodies but our spiritual body will have all that it needs.

As someone in another post stated, there is medical documentation of one (or more) saints that existed on nothing but the Eucharist - one did it for 13 years! No food and no water, just the Eucharist for 13 years! I just read about her the other day and I can’t remember her name. Alzheimers, maybe? If I can remember who it was, I’ll post it. This person would, of course, be the exception.

Hope this helps with your understanding.

 

[VociMike]

atratus:

I need help understanding a few verses in light of the Church’s teaching on transubstantiation.

John 6:35
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (NIV)

Obviously, a person still becomes physically thirsty and hungry after taking the Eucharist. So, how can Jesus be referring to the physical Eucharist in this verse?

The Eucharist is not physical food (except for some miraculous cases), it is spiritual food in sacramental form. Take the phrase “he who eats will never be hungry”. That’s true, but only if we understand that we are to continue to eat, not just eat one time. Exactly the same, we continuously come to Christ in the Eucharist, not just one time. Even the figurative Protestant view has the same understanding, that there is a continuous process involved. When they say “comes to Me” means believe in Christ, they are not saying that if you once believed in Christ you would never be spiritually hungry, but that if you continue to believe in Christ you will never be spiritually hungry.

Luke 22:19
And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” (NIV)

Why does Jesus ask the apostles to do this in “remembrance” of him, if it truly is him?

First of all, “remembrance” is a poor translation of the actual word in Scripture, anamnesis. Look up the meaning of the word and you will see that it means more than remembrance, more like “making present again”.

Beyond that, even Protestants believe that Christ is truly present at their worship. “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” So the argument that Christ cannot truly be present at a “remembrance” of Him is even false by Protestant theology (which makes it all the more strange that they try to use the argument against the Eucharist! ).

 

[Apolonio]

Why does Jesus ask the apostles to do this in “remembrance” of him, if it truly is him?

Response:
The Christian life is participating in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. And the Mass is how we re-live the paschal mystery.

 

[gladtobe]

The key to understanding the verse is “coming to Jesus” and not receiving him at holy communion. Those who do not have the Lord in their life are always searching for more meaning to their life. So they are spiritually hungry. When one comes into the faith of trusting in Jesus Christ makes himself spiritually present to the believer inwardly.
Those who receive the flesh and blood of Christ during the Eucharist **already** have come to Jesus.