By RAYMOND DE SOUZA, KM
Part 13
Perhaps what makes me feel really sorry for Protestants is the tragic reality that they believe in Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, but do not have Him in their midst in the marvelous Sacrament of His Love for us: The Holy Eucharist.
They claim to believe in the Bible, and yet do not believe in the clearest teaching of all, as we see in St. John’s Gospel chapter 6. It is the only time in the whole New Testament in which our Lord Jesus Christ repeats over and over again the very same teaching: His Real Presence in the Sacrament He instituted at the Last Supper.
Since the very first century of Christian history, as far back as St. Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians chapter 10 and 11, the teaching of the Catholic Church has been continuous and unchanged. Let me break it down into questions and answers, to facilitate the memorization — yes, I mean it, the memorization. All of us should know these points by heart. OK, here we go:
Who instituted the Holy Eucharist? Jesus Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist, at the Last Supper with His apostles.
What is contained in the Holy Eucharist, apart from bread and wine? The Holy Eucharist is Christ Himself — His Body and Blood, His Soul and Divinity. There is no bread and wine anymore. It is He — really, truly, and substantially, present under the species (accidents, appearances) of bread and wine.
How is the change done? His Presence is effected by transubstantiation, that is, by a change in the substance of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ.
Does the bread become His Body and the wine His Blood? No, He is wholly present both under the species of bread and under the species of wine; when the Sacred Species of the bread or wine are divided, He is wholly present in each part or division.
When does the Real Presence begin? The Real Presence begins the instant the consecration is completed; it is not restricted to the moment in which the Blessed Eucharist is being received; it continues in the Hosts that may be reserved after Holy Communion has been given.
Do we worship the Holy Eucharist? Yes, we do. Christ in the Blessed Eucharist is to be worshipped with the supreme worship due to God Himself. That is why every decent Catholic parish has frequent holy hours of adoration.
As you see, dear readers, it does take faith! We have no scientific proof whatsoever, but we believe because He said so, and He can neither deceive nor be deceived. Period.
The proof we have are the words He used when He promised the Blessed Eucharist, and when He actually instituted it. Thus, we read in the sixth chapter of St. John’s Gospel how Jesus fed a multitude of five thousand men with five loaves and two fishes; and how, on the following night, He walked upon the waters, and rejoined His disciples as they were crossing the lake to Capernaum.
He performed those miracles to show to the disciples that He was the Lord of Nature, and the normal natural laws do not apply when He uses His divine power to change them. The next day, we are told by St. John, He again addressed the multitude, which had followed Him to that city. By the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, He had proven to them His love and consideration for them, and His dominion over the laws of nature: He had thus prepared their minds and hearts for His doctrine of the heavenly food of the Blessed Eucharist.
His didactic approach was second to none: First, He performs miracles to convince the crowd that He had a divine power, and they believed Him; second, He teaches them about His Real Presence in the Eucharist, and asks them to make an act of faith.
“Do not labor,” He said to them, “for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you.” First distinction: He tells them that there are two kinds of food: the food that perishes, which He gave to them the day before (loaves and fishes), and the food that endures to eternal life, which He will give to them at a later stage.
They were very happy about it, of course, and said, “Lord, give us this bread always.” Good. Then, He continued: “I am the Bread of Life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.”
They were stunned by that teaching. How could He be the Bread of Life? To solve their dilemma, He spoke clearly and told them that “the Bread which I shall give for the life of the world is . . . the Bible!?”
No, He did not say this. He said that “the Bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my Flesh.” Their reaction was extreme: “How can this man give us His Flesh to eat?” They did not think Jesus was speaking figuratively, in a new parable, but literally, and objected to the idea that He would give His Flesh to them to eat. But Jesus insists on the literal meaning of His words, telling them with still greater emphasis that they must not only eat His Flesh but drink His Blood:
“Amen, amen, 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.”
Folks, bear in mind that the Law of Moses forbade eating animal blood, let alone human blood! They were puzzled! How could they please God by breaking Moses’ Law? That was the time for them to accept Jesus in their hearts as their Lord and Savior and believe in Him!
But they did not. Like non-Catholics today, they wanted to have their own interpretation of His words…and did not make the Act of Faith that Jesus expected them to make.
Many of His disciples thought this was “a hard saying,” and would not accept it. Jesus said to them, “Do you take offense at this?” that is, “Are you shocked at what I have said?”
Please note the coincidence: The Gospel verse that records the disciples’ refusal to accept Jesus’ teaching on the Real Presence is John 6:66. Interesting, eh?
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(Raymond de Souza, KM, is a Knight of the Sovereign and Military Order of Malta; a delegate for International Missions for Human Life International [HLI]; and an EWTN program host. He is a militant pro-life writer and apologist, addressing live audiences and delivering talks on television, radio, and online. To date he has given over 2,500 presentations in 38 countries of the six continents. He is available to speak at Catholic events, both large and small, anywhere in the Free World, in four languages — English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Website: www.RaymonddeSouza.com.)
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