Let's rephrase the entire discussion. If the Creator of the Universe says to you, "I am the Bread of Life", you might challenge him for a better explanation. Again, he says to you "I am the Bread of Life. Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood, you will not have life within you". You will probably be taken aback at such a statement and, again, ask him for clarification. He gives it to you and again, you can't grasp this, so you ask again. He spells it out a fourth time. So he rephrases the same words "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day". You are thinking 'this can't be right, I need to ask again'. A fifth time, you ask him for an explanation. He tells you "my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed". You wonder how this can be; surely you are misunderstanding Jesus, so you ask again. He responds, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" This is still not registering so you ask a 7th time, then an 8th time ... a 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th time. How many times does our Lord have to tell you something for you to understand it? No interpretation is necessary; these are the words of Jesus Christ.
It is my very firm belief that the scripture, taken as a whole, conveys the fact that the symbols of bread and wine are just that - symbols. You must take what Jesus said in John 6, what Matthew/Mark/Luke recorded about the ‘last supper’, and then further writings like Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul all spoke of this as a ‘remembrance’. In my church we take this time to remember what He did. We often take the elements with family and friends, to give thanks for our great high priest and encourage one another...forgive if need be.
I admit I don’t understand the catholic teaching. John says you must eat/drink flesh/blood. The wine/bread become the flesh/blood, and are thus eaten/drank. But I don’t get why it is an ongoing thing - like the other places in scripture direct. And it is obviously much more than just a ‘remembrance’ at that point. Seems inconsistent to me.
And, honestly, a bit scary. The cross of Christ is declared to be a stumbling block. Jesus came, obeyed His Father, and laid His life down on the cross. As the Son of God, He was the perfect sinless sacrifice - one time, for all mankind. Still a stumbling block...