“Easy! Jesus does not parish. He gives us Himself in The Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist”
Oops, no, you still didn’t address anything Augustine actually said. If Jesus gives Himself in the Eucharist, how can Augustine assert that the command “Believe on Him whom the Father has sent” is to “labor for that meat which perishes not.”
“Don’t bother posting me until you can do so in a kind manner!”
Don’t bother posting to me until you can accurately quote Augustine and make logical conclusions based on what he wrote, and not what you wish he wrote!
Here is something I think might help you..
Through the power of Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I come against every source of sin in my life. I ask you Lord Jesus to send forth an assignment of warring angels to strike down and destroy every demonic entity that has been influencing my sinful behaviors of envy, criticism, impatience, resentment, pride, rebellion, stubbornness, unforgiveness, gossip, disobedience, strife, violence, divorce, accusation, anger, manipulation, jealousy, greed, laziness, revenge, coveting, possessiveness, control, retaliation, selfishness, deceitfulness, deception, dishonesty, unbelief, seduction, lust, pornography, masturbation, idolatry and witchcraft.
May your warring angels strike down and destroy every demonic influence that has contributed to my physical and psychological infirmities of nerve disorder, lung disorder, brain disorder or dysfunction, AIDS, cancer, hypochondria, hyperactivity, depression, schizophrenia, fatigue, anorexia, bulimia, addictions, gluttony, perfectionism, alcoholism, self-abuse, sexual addictions, sexual perversions, attempted suicide, incest, pedophilia, lesbianism, homosexuality, adultery, homophobia, confusion, ignorance, procrastination, self-hatred, isolation, loneliness, ostracism, paranoia, nervousness, passivity, indecision, doubt, oppression, rejection, poor self-image, anxiety, shame, timidity and fear.
I arise today through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ and ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s gifts of peace, patience, love, joy, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, humility, forgiveness, goodness, fortitude, discipline, truth, relinquishment, good self-image, prosperity, charity, obedience, a sound mind, order, fulfillment in Christ, acceptance of self, acceptance of others, trust, freedom from addictions, freedom of having-to-control, freedom from shame, wholeness, wellness, health, wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and the light and life of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
WHY ARE OUR CATHOLIC LAITY SO ILLITERATE...
I haven't seen any posters here claim to not be part of the LAITY, so expect what you have been given as SOP of the Catholic laity.
I wish a Catholic Priest (or some other Authority, like a pope, or hay maybe the retired pope that quit. He's not real busy these days...) would post on threads on the Religion Forum.
The Mormons sent some of their top leaders to debate Christians here some time back.
Or I would settle even for a couple of the members of the Magicterium.
I think I may have figured out where the source of disagreement lies here, at least wrt Augustine’s Tractate 25. So this will address that but I suspect the source of disagreement elsewhere will lie in a similar source, namely, the way each of us are reading the Saint’s words. Observe....
GPH stated, “If Jesus gives Himself in the Eucharist, how can Augustine assert that the command “Believe on Him whom the Father has sent” is to “labor for that meat which perishes not.”
Apparently GPH derives this conclusion from this passage of Tractate 25: “Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on Him whom He has sent.” This is then to eat the meat, not that which perisheth, but that which endureth unto eternal life. To what purpose dost thou make ready teeth and stomach? Believe, and thou hast eaten already. (Augustine, Tractate 25)”
Or more specifically from this sentence: This is then to eat the meat, not that which perisheth, but that which endureth unto eternal life.
This sentence, or the interpretation of the phrase “This is then to eat the meat...” Is where the central disagreement lies here (I believe)
IOW, we Catholics interpret that sentence to say, “This is what HAPPENS when we eat the meat...”
GPH interprets it to say, “This is what it MEANS to say ‘we eat this meat’...”
Now I will conclude by saying this: Both interpretations, when taken at face value and divorced from the history of the author (Augustine) himself and from historical interpretation are valid and/or reasonable. But this is why I’ve said before that the historical framework in which this (and other Augustinian works) have been written cannot and should not be ignored, to whit, the man’s own personal history AND the Church (even at that time) Tradition to which he converted. Given THAT context, his words carry a clear meaning which I have described before which is, that the Eucharist is literally Christ’s body, understood in the spiritual SENSE, not the PHYSICAL sense, but still LITERALLY His Body nonetheless.
I do not know how much more clear I could be in explaining the difference of opinion here and I dare say I don’t know what else could be added at this point other than a simple agreement to disagree about the interpretation of the Saint’s words above (and elsewhere).