Why does belief in the real presence matter?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rozellelily
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Rozellelily

Guest
_emphasized text_I’m baptised but not attending church,never received first communion etc but I’m aware that Catholics and the church believe In the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist,that literally the bread and wine is turned into Jesus-is this correct?
I’m just wondering why would it matter if people believed that Jesus was literally there or not-does it make some spiritual difference etc?

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Yes, it makes all the difference in the world!

The difference between a symbolic piece of bread and the real Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ being received into your body.

The difference between knowing about Jesus, and having Him literally there, sitting beside you, and being in His presence.

Having the Body of the One who died for my sins, with all of the forgiveness and graces that come with Him…or just a cracker on a plate.

It’s all the difference in the world. 🙏
 
It’s of critical importance- the rejection of the Real Presence is a rejection of God Himself. Jesus says in the Bread of Life discourse in John 6 that, unless we eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, we have no life in us.

In ancient Israel, it was unlawful to consume blood specifically because God declared that the “life” of an animal was in its blood. But here we have Jesus telling us to do precisely that. However, a creature’s (man or animal) blood can only contain its physical life. What Jesus offers us in His blood is spiritual life. This is why He connects drinking it (and eating His flesh) to eternal life.

It matters because we’re discussing eternal life here. In order to attain it, we necessarily must perform whatever action Jesus associates with attaining it. In John 6, that’s eating His flesh and drinking His blood.
 
"Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His Blood,…

…you have no life in you."

Sounds pretty darned important. Jesus said it. I believe it. That settled it for me.
 
If you receive holy Communion but still see it as a symbol not the actual body and blood, is that a sin?
 
Jump4Joy said:
If you receive holy Communion but still see it as a symbol not the actual body and blood, is that a sin?
Click to expand...
If a Catholic does not believe in the Real Presence then not only is that a mortal sin but it is also heresy for which the penalty is automatic excommunication.
 
Last edited:
How would someone be excommumicated for that unless they tell a priest? How is that sin if it is a belief?
 
Jump4Joy said:
How would someone be excommumicated for that unless they tell a priest? How is that sin if it is a belief?
Click to expand...
Let me repeat this. If a Catholic does not believe in the Real Presence and believes Communion is only symbolic that is heresy.
The penalty is automatic excommunication. That means it does not need to get declared by the priest or bishop for the excommunication to be in effect. It is automatic.
 
Jump4Joy said:
If you receive holy Communion but still see it as a symbol not the actual body and blood, is that a sin?
Click to expand...
It would be very, very wrong to receive the Eucharist while denying the Real Presence. You know that only those in unity with the Church can receive. And belief in the Real Presence is an absolute basic, most essential belief to be in unity.

You would be in mortal sin to do this. You would be receiving His Precious Body unworthily and bringing a curse upon yourself. Much better to wait, and not partake until your faith is stronger and you are assured of the Real Presence.

Pray and ask God to reveal the truth to you. Go to Adoration and sit in His presence…kneel at His feet and listen for awhile. If you go to Adoration frequently, I think you will start to feel differently about the Eucharist.

Can you attend RCIA to go over the basics of the faith and ask your questions? I bet it would be really helpful for you, Jump. You can attend to learn more without intending to get the Sacraments.
 
Last edited:
To answer the OP, it is like the difference between having a picture of your mom (or another loved one) versus actually having her there to hug, kiss, and talk to. And of course this is just a weak analogy, since we receive within us in the most intimate possible union GOD HIMSELF. We believe it, although we can never fully understand it.
 
Last edited:
Rozellelily said:
I’m just wondering why would it matter if people believed that Jesus was literally there or not-does it make some spiritual difference etc?
Click to expand...
If Jesus was not present in the Real Presence of the Eucharist, there would be very little point in going to Mass.
That is why we go, to see Him.
Not to listen to a homily - I could get a homily on Youtube or the radio or maybe just read a book.
Not to have “fellowship” - I could go to a bar, a picnic, any other social event for that.
Not even to just pray with people - I could do that online, or pray along with the television, or just grab a few people and go to the park and say prayers.

We go to Mass because Jesus is There In Person, In the Eucharist.

Sadly I think this point tends to get lost among today’s Catholics carping about whether the music was to their taste and whether people chatted before the Mass and whether anyone said hello to them at the coffee get-together afterwards.

A couple weeks ago I heard a homily where the priest compared receiving Jesus in the Eucharist to getting a little preview of Heaven. When you receive Jesus, for that short amount of time you are connected to Heaven, and by extension to all your deceased loved ones who are there, through Him.
 
Last edited:
“A preview of heaven” is often how I think of it. It makes me far, far less fearful to meet Christ upon death when I meet and greet him in person in the Eucharist every day of my life!
 
Yes. It is the essence of Catholicism. It is the most important thing in the world, how people survive without the Eucharist I truly have no idea. Jesus stayed behind for us and is there on the altar for us at each and every mass and in the tabernacle in-between masses. That is so amazing that words fail me…
 
Limoncello4021 said:
It makes me far, far less fearful to meet Christ upon death when I meet and greet him in person in the Eucharist every day of my life!
Click to expand...
That’s a really nice thought. I try to go to Mass every day and when I arrive there or at Adoration I usually mentally say, “Hi, Jesus, here I am again, nice to see you” etc. Maybe when I die I can say the same thing, but probably adding, “Wow! You look so different!” Like in the Adoro te devote.
 
We need to be very careful here. Throwing around the accusation of heresy is not a good idea or even a Christian one. In order to be guilty of heresy you must first understand exactly what the Church teaches then, with full knowledge, deny that teaching. If one does not understand this, there is no excommunication and no heresy.
 
We replay the Last Supper at every Mass.
This is why it matters.
 
Once transubstantiation happens, it no longer is symbolic, if it ever was. And it now is Jesus. Jesus made it possible to receive body and blood in a way that some people see as cannibalistic?
 
margaret42 said:
Jesus made it possible to receive body and blood in a way that some people see as cannibalistic?
Click to expand...
It is not cannibalism because, while the bread and wine is transformed into Jesus, we do not consume him in a cannibalistic form, but in the form of bread and wine.
A fuller explanation from a CAF apologist is here:

www.catholic.com

Are Catholics Cannibals?

Miriam-Webster defines cannibalism as: 1. The usually ritualistic eating of human flesh by a human being.2. The eating of the flesh of an animal by another anim...
www.catholic.com www.catholic.com
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top