Why do we take Jesus' words literally in the Eucharist and not elsewhere?

[eddie_too]

there are other places that we take the Lord’s words literally. we believe that the scripture must be interpreted with in the context, not only of the specific circumstances surrounding the Lord’s words and actions, but also within the context of the entire Gospel.

the Gospel of Jesus Christ is consistent in every respect. knowing this helps us to interpret the scriptures accurately and as they were intended to be interpreted by the sacred writer.

what exists from the early Church or evil the medieval Church to indicate the Church perceived the Eucharist as a mere symbol?

is it a hard doctrine to accept? yes, without question. does it being hard to accept make it false? i cannot see how it would make the doctrine false.

 

[PJM]

As I was trying to prepare a defense about the Real Presence to a Protestant, I came across a stumbling block. Of course Catholics say that the real “proof” of the Real Presence is in John 6:32-71, I was troubled by a protestant who said that Jesus did not literally mean by the phrase,

“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 yourselves. 54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

that the Communion Host would become Jesus, Himself, but rather it merely symbolizes Him. It seems the real hang up about the Eucharist is not so much that we have this communion service, but that we as Catholics are idol worshiping because Jesus did not intend for us to think that the host was literally change into Jesus.

The protestant argument is made more solid because Jesus often called himself many things, eg. “I am the vine, you are the branches.”

So how is it that we as Catholics can be so certain that in the case of the Eucharist, he did actually mean for us to take him literally and in other situations we know he only meant the statement symbolically?

There is not a single iota of evidence that what John 6: 46-57 is anything but REAL:

The Real Presence is TESTIFIED to by 5 DIFFERENT authors of the GOD Inspired [2nd Tim 3:16] bible.

Mt 26:26-28

Mk 14: 22-24

Lk 22:17-20

John 6: 46-57 & 67-70

[56] For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed. [57] He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and I in him.& 67-70 …[67] After this many of his disciples went back; and walked no more with him. [68] Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? [69]** And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.** [70]** And we have believed and have known, that thou art the Christ, the Son of God.**

AND Paul 1st Cor 11: 23-30
[23] For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread. [24] And giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. [25] In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me.

[26] For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come. [27]** Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. **[28] But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. [29] For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. [30] Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep. 'SLEEP" here means immortal -Eternal-death

Jesus & the authors of the Bible could not be more precise, more specif or more graphic in the language chosen. IMPOSSIBLE!

For a Catholic to bye into protestant & very human logic is very sad indeed.

It is the HOLY SPIRIT who prevents their ability to comprehend GOD"S Truths! It is a clear LACK of grace & and evidence of a very weak faith

The Early Church Knew, accepted, believed and Practiced the reality og the REAL PRESENCE

Acts Of Apostles 2:42
And they were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles, and in the communication of the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

GOOGLE “Eucharistic Miracles”

This silliness denies GOD, & 5 different Bible authors.

WHO ARE WE TO BELIEVE:shrug:

God Bless you,
PJM

 

[lissa70]

Thank you so much for all your replies. I wish I could be more engage in this discussion because it is quite interesting. (I am a homeschooling mom of six -time is always short for me!) It has really helped my approach in identifying exactly what the hang-ups from Protestants are and how to defend the Catholic position.

 

[Markie_Boy]

lissa70 - thank you for being a homeschooling mom of six! That is something - bless you and your family this Easter!

 

[TimothyH]

And not all Protestants either. Lutherans believe in a literal real presence, as do Methodists (?). Luther even wrote an essay defending Eucharistic adoration called Against the fanatics

Methodists do not believe that the bread becomes Jesus.

Communion is a “channel of grace” for Methodists but it is not Jesus.

-Tim-

 

[PJM]

Thank you so much for all your replies. I wish I could be more engage in this discussion because it is quite interesting. (I am a homeschooling mom of six -time is always short for me!) It has really helped my approach in identifying exactly what the hang-ups from Protestants are and how to defend the Catholic position.

Thankful that we could be of assistance

GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR HOME MINISTRY!

 

[fhansen]

As I was trying to prepare a defense about the Real Presence to a Protestant, I came across a stumbling block. Of course Catholics say that the real “proof” of the Real Presence is in John 6:32-71, I was troubled by a protestant who said that Jesus did not literally mean by the phrase,

“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 yourselves. 54 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever.”

that the Communion Host would become Jesus, Himself, but rather it merely symbolizes Him. It seems the real hang up about the Eucharist is not so much that we have this communion service, but that we as Catholics are idol worshiping because Jesus did not intend for us to think that the host was literally change into Jesus.

The protestant argument is made more solid because Jesus often called himself many things, eg. “I am the vine, you are the branches.”

So how is it that we as Catholics can be so certain that in the case of the Eucharist, he did actually mean for us to take him literally and in other situations we know he only meant the statement symbolically?

The Catholic Church has been there since the beginning, when she received the gospel first-hand. She’s simply the only one who could know what Scripture means with any degree of accuracy: what’s to be taken literally and what spiritually, etc. Any other way of understanding the faith is necessarily mainly guesswork. And, BTW, this is precisely why some sola scriptura adherents support the doctrine of the Real Presence while others don’t.

 

[spiderweb]

In John 6, Jesus says that he will give his flesh to eat and in the accounts of the last supper, he broke the bread and “gave it to them and said, “This is my body” (Mark 14:22). Jesus gave them something physical to literally eat and chew, not just something spiritual to believe or contemplate within their hearts.

John 6:51, If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh”.

Jesus literally gave his flesh for the life of the world. Jesus literally gave his disciples bread to eat. When he gave them the bread to eat, Jesus literally said, “This is my body”. Jesus also literally ascended into heaven (John 6:62, Acts 1:9). Everything Jesus spoke about in John 6 was fulfilled literally in a physical manner not some of it physically and some of it spiritually, although it all has spiritual elements along with the physical elements.

The term “remembrance” used at the Last Supper in Greek is “anamnesis” which is only used four times in the New Testament and each refers to a sacrificial offering of both Old and New Covenant (Luke 22:19, 1 Cor 11:24-25, Heb 10:3). The Greek word for remembering someone or something in memorial is “mnemosunon” (Mat. 26:13, Mark 14:9, and Acts 10:4). Jesus commands his Apostles to do this “anamnesis” sacrificial action at the Last Supper and not merely a “mnemosunon” symbolic memorial action. This is demonstrated as being practiced by the Apostles in 1 Corinthians 11 and is also alluded to in Hebrews 13:10 when it speaks about Christians having an “altar”, which by definition is used for sacrificial offerings and not for “remembering” (mnemosunon) a previous sacrifice, in which they partake in (See also 1 Cor 10:16-17).

It’s difficult to have a purely spiritual “belief” or symbolic understanding of John 6 when everything around it that pertains to Jesus’ words have a very literal physical meaning not only in their immediate fulfillment, but also within the early practice of the Christians in obedience to Christ’s command of “Do this in remembrance of me”.