Eucharist
Q:
Why do
Catholics believe the Eucharist is really Jesus and not just a
symbol?
-P.B.
A:
Now the Eucharist is a topic that's too serious to goof around about.
(Apparently, I'm comfortable goofing around on the other ones?) So no
joking
here.
The other way to say this is I just couldn't come up with any
good jokes.
But let's start with a pretty strong argument for believing in this
Real Presence of Jesus in communion: The Bible.
"Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do
not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has
eternal life." (John 6:53).
Actually, reading all of John 6 would be a good thing to do, because
Jesus keeps hammering this point home. He keeps saying we have to
literally eat His flesh and drink His blood. In fact, most translations
uses the word "eats" - but the original meaning before translation was
to "gnaw on" or "munch". So we're really supposed to be sinking our
teeth into something here.
So after Jesus was going on and on about truly eating His Body and
drinking His Blood, some of His followers can't buy it. Which makes
sense...because it's always been a tough teaching to believe. In fact,
it's the same thing lots of people say today about the Eucharist: "How
can it be?"
But Jesus never said "Come on, I'm just speaking symbolically here,
folks. Lighten up!" Instead, some of His followers actually leave Him
that day. And Jesus lets them go back to their former lives. So Jesus
seemed to want people to take His words seriously.
The early Church believed in Jesus' Real Presence. It was accepted
through the centuries, and even though many Protestant churches today
believe the bread and wine are only symbolic representations, it's
interesting to note that guys like Martin Luther may have had problems
with the Papacy, etc., but Luther clearly believed in the Real Presence
of Jesus in the Eucharist.
So ever since the Faith began, we've believed it. And to be honest, we
also have had a tough time believing it! It's definitely a difficult
concept to really grasp...which is probably why there have been
Eucharistic miracles throughout the centuries - to help us believe. It
can be pretty natural to question it - but we need to also say "Lord, I
believe, help my belief."
