Understanding the Eucharist

[momor]

Hello,
I am new to the forums and I apologize if my question has been answered. I searched but did not find what I was looking for.

I am Catholic and believe that the Eucharist is truly our Lord’s body and blood. I have heard it explained that on Holy Thursday Jesus reached forward in time to his passion and death to obtain his real body and blood to give to the apostles. And at each Mass Jesus reaches back in time to Calvary to bring forward his real body and blood.

My question: Why do you think Jesus wants us to consume his actual body and blood rather than a spiritual communion? This is so hard for many people to accept, especially in the way it disgusts many and we are instinctually opposed to eating or drinking human flesh and blood. I suspect that it has to do with Old Testament sacrifice being made new in Jesus but I need a good explanation that I can offer to those who are repulsed.

 

[EasterJoy]

He gives us Himself totally, in every aspect, par excellence, in a way that holds nothing back and shrinks back from no humiliation nor from any effort, because that is the way we need to be freed to give ourselves to Him…not just our thoughts or emotions or spirit, but everything, without reservation, and without limit in space or time. We can only hope to give that to Him because He gives that to us. Otherwise, we are utterly unable to do it.

That’s what I think.

PS We are instinctually opposed to theft of the gift of life, that is true. This is not that. A major difference between cannibalism and the Eucharist is that in the Eucharist, the Author of Life freely gives life that is fully His to give, while in cannibalism the consumers hope to take life from someone who did not give freely, or if with consent, still take a gift that was not their victim’s to hand over.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

He gives us Himself totally, in every aspect, par excellence, in a way that holds nothing back and shrinks back from no humiliation nor from any effort, because that is the way we need to be freed to give ourselves to Him…not just our thoughts or emotions or spirit, but everything, without reservation, and without limit in space or time. We can only hope to give that to Him because He gives that to us. Otherwise, we are utterly unable to do it.

Beautifully stated.
VC

 

[PhilotheaZ]

My question: Why do you think Jesus wants us to consume his actual body and blood rather than a spiritual communion? This is so hard for many people to accept, especially in the way it disgusts many and we are instinctually opposed to eating or drinking human flesh and blood. I suspect that it has to do with Old Testament sacrifice being made new in Jesus but I need a good explanation that I can offer to those who are repulsed.

Yes, it has much to do with the Old Testament. At the Last Supper, not only was Jesus celebrating the Passover with His apostles, He BECAME the new Passover. In the Old Testament Passover, in order to be saved from death (the tenth plague), the Hebrews not only had to kill an unblemished lamb, they also had to eat it in order for the sacrifice to be finished.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb. In order to be saved, not only must Jesus be sacrificed (which happened at Calvary and is re-presented at every Mass), we also must partake of the sacrifice. Read this talk by Scott Hahn: webpages.marshall.edu/~trimbol3/4thcup4.htm (sorry, the red type is not easy on the eye). This paragraph in particular may help:

Well, go back to the Old Testament, to the book of Exodus. Suppose that night as head of my household and father, I sacrificed an unblemished lamb with no broken bones, and I sprinkled his blood on the door post, and then I said, "Family, we’re safe, let’s go to bed’, and we went to bed. I’d wake up in the morning to tragedy. My firstborn would be dead. Why? You had to eat the lamb. It isn’t enough to kill him. That is the satisfaction for sin, but the ultimate goal of sacrifice is not blood and gore and God making sure He sees the death. The ultimate goal is to restore communion, to have fellowship with God restored. And that’s what’s signified by eating the lamb. Who shares a common meal? Family. What is this a sign of? Covenant. And what is a covenant? A sacred family bond. In the Old Testament any family that sacrificed a lamb and sprinkled the blood had to eat the lamb. It wasn’t enough to say, ‘Well we don’t like lamb do we, kids? Why don’t we make lamb cookies? Little lamb wafers that symbolize the lamb? We’ll eat those and those’ll be enough, right? Symbolic presence of the lamb, and all that?’ No, you’d wake up and you’d be dead. You ate the lamb and you burned what was left. But you ate the lamb to reestablish and restore communion with your heavenly Father through His firstborn Son and Lamb. That’s the way it was in the Old Testament, and St. Paul recognizes that it’s still the way it is in the new covenant, only in spades, only with more glory. Why? Because Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us. Once and for all on Calvary he’s been put to death, therefore - what? Therefore we’ve nothing to do. Just celebrate the sacrifice, which is over and done with - No, something’s missing. We need to eat the Lamb. We need to receive the Lamb to restore communion and to complete the sacrifice and to keep the feast. It’s proper, and we now judge it to be necessary. 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, “Christ our Passover Lamb has been sacrificed and now let us celebrate the feast.” And the next five chapters in many ways St. Paul describes how the Eucharist is to be celebrated, because it’s the culmination of the Passover sacrifice.

 

[Julian0404]

Momor:
To knowingly and lovingly and without mortal sin or disbelief, as a child puts into their mouths whatever the mother provides them, in complete trust that it is good, is likewise to consume the Real Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus, as He has given Himself to us, to become one with Him and He one with us. The angles, who live with Jesus do not get to consume Him, only humanity. We cannot become any closer to Jesus at any time of our lives than we do when we consume Him in communion in the state of grace. This single moment in time, at which we consume Jesus, which last only for a few minutes, is truly heaven on earth. Anticipate it, want it and relish it, for it is good beyond our understanding.
At that moment, I ask Jesus to fill every cell of my body with His. To consume me, as I have consumed Him.
For any christian to disclaim the Eucharist on the basis of cannablism is to simply declare that they are not believers of Jesus as much as they are followers of a certain pastor. Error is easily absorbed without personal investigation and review. It is easier to believe what a “pastor” teaches, as they should know, than to pursue self doubt through self study and education. One of the amazing stories that Scot Hahn tells in his CD on his conversion was that he reached the conclusion that one day he would be standing before God on his judement day, and he would have to answer to his teaching. Was he teaching the truth, or was he merely teaching what he had been taught, which was in error.

 

[tmancath]

Hello,
I am new to the forums and I apologize if my question has been answered. I searched but did not find what I was looking for.

I am Catholic and believe that the Eucharist is truly our Lord’s body and blood. I have heard it explained that on Holy Thursday Jesus reached forward in time to his passion and death to obtain his real body and blood to give to the apostles. And at each Mass Jesus reaches back in time to Calvary to bring forward his real body and blood.

My question: Why do you think Jesus wants us to consume his actual body and blood rather than a spiritual communion? This is so hard for many people to accept, especially in the way it disgusts many and we are instinctually opposed to eating or drinking human flesh and blood. I suspect that it has to do with Old Testament sacrifice being made new in Jesus but I need a good explanation that I can offer to those who are repulsed.

It is unity with the Father. All through the Bible we are called to holiness and to imitate Christ. The whole mass is a sacrifice. When Christ asks us to do something we should be obedient.

 

[Pax]

momor in Christ,

Others have given very good answers to your question as to why Jesus gives us his flesh and blood as true food and true drink. I’ll try to answer the part of your question concerning cannibalism.

A look at the OT reveals some interesting insights relative to the new covenant. In Leviticus 1:1-5 we read the following:

“THE LORD called Moses, and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying, "Speak to the people of Israel, and say to them, When any man of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of cattle from the herd or from the flock. ‘If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish; he shall offer it at the door of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the Lord; he shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons the priests shall present the blood, and throw the blood round about against the altar that is at the door of the tent of meeting.”

There are many similar references in the OT describing animal sacrifice and the sprinkling of the blood upon the altar. This was done for the atonement of sin. When we compare this with the NT we see that

“In speaking of a new covenant he treats the first as obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. [Hebrews 8:13]

The scriptures then go on to say

“Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tent was prepared, the outer one, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence; it is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain stood a tent called the Holy of Holies, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, which contained a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. These preparations having thus been made, the priests go continually into the outer tent, performing their ritual duties; but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people. By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the sanctuary is not yet opened as long as the outer tent is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, but deal only with food and drink and various ablutions, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the Holy Place, taking not the blood of goats and calves but his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” [Hebrews 9:1-14]

There is clearly a foreshadowing in the Old Testament and an unveiling in the New Testament when it comes to blood, sacrifice, atonement, and eternal redemption. This foreshadowing includes the Eucharist which is prefigured by the manna and the bread of the presence as well as the sprinkling with blood. This whole theme in the OT is also continued in the Passover which requires the participants to consume the lamb. Jesus is the paschal lamb in the New Covenant.

So why is blood so important and why the prohibition of consuming blood in the OT? Furthermore, why does the consumption of Jesus flesh and blood become mandated in the New Covenant? Scripture clues us in by telling us the significance of the flesh and blood. The blood is considered to be “the life” in the living creature. Leviticus 17:11 says,

“For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it for you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life.”

Once again, this is a prefiguring of Jesus eternal redemptive sacrifice where we have a better covenant.

Please note that the “life” of the animal is in the blood and that is why the blood was given to God in sacrifice and everyone was forbidden to consume it. In the New Covenant Jesus blood gives us life. Animal blood in sacrifice cannot give that to us and that is why the Jews were told not to consume it. Eternal life is given to us through the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus. His flesh and blood are not like the flesh and blood of the animal sacrifices of the OT. Moreover, we do not consume the flesh and blood of Jesus in the same fashion as condemned in the OT. In the Eucharist we receive Jesus body, blood, soul, and divinity. In the Eucharist we receive this precious life giving gift sacramentaly rather than carnally. The prohibition in the Old Law simply does not trump Jesus’s command that we eat his flesh and drink his blood as true food and true drink.

cont. on next post

 

[Pax]

cont. from prior post

The body and blood of Jesus are the “life” of Jesus. We are a priestly people and have a ministerial priesthood. Priests offer sacrifice. Hebrews 9:7 indicates that sacrifices are not offered without blood. Our sacrifice is the re-presentation of Jesus sacrifice of his body and blood offered to the Father. Jesus has told us to “do this in remembrance” of him. Jesus is the paschal lamb and must be consumed. Jesus says, “this is my body…this is my blood.” Jesus says, ““Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

Eternal life is in the body and blood of Jesus and it is his body and blood that we are to consume.

I hope this helps.

 

[crazzeto]

He gives us Himself totally, in every aspect, par excellence, in a way that holds nothing back and shrinks back from no humiliation nor from any effort, because that is the way we need to be freed to give ourselves to Him…not just our thoughts or emotions or spirit, but everything, without reservation, and without limit in space or time. We can only hope to give that to Him because He gives that to us. Otherwise, we are utterly unable to do it.

That’s what I think.

PS We are instinctually opposed to theft of the gift of life, that is true. This is not that. A major difference between cannibalism and the Eucharist is that in the Eucharist, the Author of Life freely gives life that is fully His to give, while in cannibalism the consumers hope to take life from someone who did not give freely, or if with consent, still take a gift that was not their victim’s to hand over.

Also, Jesus fullfills and completes the old tesetament. On the cross, Jesus completes the passover sacrafice for all time.

 

[steve_b]

Yes, it has much to do with the Old Testament. At the Last Supper, not only was Jesus celebrating the Passover with His apostles, He BECAME the new Passover. In the Old Testament Passover, in order to be saved from death (the tenth plague), the Hebrews not only had to kill an unblemished lamb, they also had to eat it in order for the sacrifice to be finished.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb. In order to be saved, not only must Jesus be sacrificed (which happened at Calvary and is re-presented at every Mass), we also must partake of the sacrifice. Read this talk by Scott Hahn: webpages.marshall.edu/~trimbol3/4thcup4.htm (sorry, the red type is not easy on the eye). This paragraph in particular may help:

easier link to read, and further resources

http://zuserver2.star.ucl.ac.uk/~vgg/rc/aplgtc/hahn/m4/4cp.html
http://www.salvationhistory.com/library/