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Real Presence or Substantial Transformation? An Anglican Reflection on Eucharistic Theology:or The Anglican Reformers on the Eucharist chalice The starting point for this reflection on eucharistic theology is a helpful article by the late Roman Catholic theologian Edward J. Kilmartin, S.J., “The Active Role of Christ and the Holy Spirit in the Sanctification of the Eucharistic Elements,“ Theological Studies 45 (1984): 225-253.(1) Kilmartin’s article begins by examining numerous ecumenical agreed statements on eucharistic theology prepared by Roman Catholics and Lutherans, Roman Catholics and Anglicans, Roman Catholics and Reformed, Roman Catholics and Orthodox. Kilmartin notes that although all of the statements...

The Catholic Church teaches that in the Eucharist, the wafer and the wine really become the body and blood of Jesus Christ.  Have you ever met anyone who finds this a bit hard to take?If so, you shouldn’t be surprised.  When Jesus spoke about eating His flesh and drinking His blood in John 6, the response was less than enthusiastic.  “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (v. 52).  “This is a hard saying who can listen to it?” (v.60).  In fact so many of His disciples abandoned Him that Jesus asked the twelve if they also...

Apr. 22, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The American magazine Catholic Response has published an English translation of a provocative article, originally published in the official Vatican newspaper, calling for an end to the practice of receiving Communion in the hand. The article by Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, originally printed in L'Osservatore Romano, examines the historical record of Catholic practice, concluding that the early Church quickly developed the practice in which lay people Communion on the tongue while kneeling. Only ordained ministers were allowed to touch the consecrated Host with their hands. By the 6th century, Bishop Schneider writes, the...

The Eucharist in Scripture by Marty BarrackCopyright © 2000 - 2001 Martin K. Barrack. All rights reserved. "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, 'Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'" (Mt. 26:26-28) The Old Testament God Raises His Covenant ChildrenJesus introduced the Sacrament of...

Roman Catholic Christians share with most Christians the faith that Jesus Christ, on the night he was betrayed, ate a final or last supper with his Apostles. This final meal was also the celebration of the Jewish Passover or Feast of the Unleavened Bread which commemorated the passing over of the Jews from the death in slavery to the Egyptians to life in the Promised Land. Christians differ in the meaning this Last Supper has to them and the Church today. Catholic Christians together with other historical Christian Churches (e.g., Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Christians, Lutherans, Anglicans and some Episcopalians,...

The Early Church Fathers believed that the Eucharist, while retaining the appearance of bread and wine, was the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ.Ignatius of AntiochTake note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again....

Eucharist as Presence-Sacrament by .Fr. John Hardon, S.J. The Mass and Holy Communion derive all their meaning from the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament . We shall draw on the irreversible teaching of the Council of Trent about the Real Presence. The original doctrine is worded in the form of anathemas. What follows is a summary list of these dogmas expressed in positive terms. The Body and Blood of Christ together with the soul and divinity of Christ and therefore the whole Christ, is truly, really, and substantially contained in the sacrament of the most Holy...

This is My Body, This is My Blood by Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J. Saint Robert Bellarmine, writing in the sixteen hundreds, counted over two hundred interpretations of our Lord’s words at the Last Supper, “This is my Body…this is my Blood.” Over the centuries, this has been the principal source of division among the Protestant Churches of the world. My purpose in this conference will be twofold: first to identify and explain what the Catholic Church understands by the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and then to see how basic to Protestantism is the denial of the...

The History of Eucharistic Adoration Development of Doctrine in the Catholic Church INTRODUCTION The phenomenal growth of devotion to the Real Presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist has puzzled not a few sincere people. Nocturnal Adoration societies, Perpetual Adoration groups, national associations of the faithful promoting organized visits to the Blessed Sacrament, Holy Hours before the tabernacle, monthly, weekly and even daily exposition of the Eucharist in churches and chapels, in one country after another, have become commonplace. What to make of all of this? Is this another form of pious eccentricity, or is it founded on authentic Catholic...

Jesus’ hearers cannot believe the seemingly unbelievable. When Jesus makes the radical claim, “I am the living bread come down from heaven,” He is not only asking the Jews to accept His assertion that He can give His body as flesh to eat under the appearance of bread, Jesus is asking the Jews to believe in something even more fundamental — that He is the Son of God.That is why the Jews murmur among themselves that Jesus is nothing more than the son of Joseph, another man just like them. For Jesus to claim that He has come down from...

In 1263 a German priest, Peter of Prague, stopped at Bolsena while on a pilgrimage to Rome. He is described as being a pious priest, but one who found it difficult to believe that Christ was actually present in the consecrated Host. While celebrating Holy Mass above the tomb of St. Christina (located in the church named for this martyr), he had barely spoken the words of Consecration when blood started to seep from the consecrated Host and trickle over his hands onto the altar and the corporal. The priest was immediately confused. At first he attempted to hide the...

Interview With Archbishop Comastri, Pope's Vicar for Vatican City State VATICAN CITY, OCT. 20, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Is the real presence of the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist a convention or a fact? Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Pope's vicar general for Vatican City State, has asked himself this question and responds in this interview, which comes as the Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist draws to a close this Sunday. "Some years ago, I published an investigation on Eucharistic miracles," he says. "To my surprise, I received a letter that challenged the documents collected, stating that the phenomenon...

Passages from the Instrumentum Laboris, issued from the Holy See preparatory to the Bishops' Synod on the Eucharist. It is worth considering whether the removal of the tabernacle from the centre of the sanctuary to an obscure, undignified corner or to a separate chapel, or whether to have placed the celebrant's chair in the centre of the sanctuary or in front of the tabernacle -- as was done in many renovations of older churches and in new constructions -- has contributed in some way to a decrease in faith in the Real Presence. (§39) In other responses some lamented the...

ROME, MAY 12, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Understanding the true presence of Jesus Christ in the consecrated host and wine is difficult for Catholics. To this end, the Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum held a conference on miracles that are associated with the Eucharist as a way to help people comprehend the incomprehensible. The May 5 Conference also opened an exhibition entitled "Eucharistic Miracles," continuing through May 19, brings attention to these miracles that support the phenomenon of the truth of the faith. Giancarlo Casagrande, one of the event's organizers, and professor and dean of the Faculty of Science and Faith Studies, told me:...

ROME, MAY 5, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Dr. Edoardo Linoli says he held real cardiac tissue in his hands, when some years ago he analyzed the relics of the Eucharistic miracle of Lanciano, Italy. The phenomenon dates back to the eighth century. A Basilian monk, who had doubts about the real presence of Christ in the sacred species, was offering Mass, in a church dedicated to St. Legontian in the town of Lanciano. When he pronounced the words of the consecration, the host was miraculously changed into physical flesh and the wine into physical blood. Later the blood coagulated and the flesh...

Had a discussion with local Pastor reference the new "standing until everyone receives Communion" movement. The whole 9 yds...St. Longinus, Thomas, "Dominus Meus et Deus Meus."adoration for Divine versus respect for the earthly, The dubium and responsum from USCCB on the flawed Roman Missal translation...Domine non sum dignus...etc...His only response, "I disagree, but I respect your right to think that way." Then he recommended Doors to the Sacred by Joseph Martos...you probably know him as the author of May God Bless America: George W. Bush And Biblical Morality or why conservatives aren't Christian...or some such rot.This guy authored some bulletin...

"Could you not watch one hour with Me?" It all began at the Last Supper on Holy Thursday... 1st Century: Evangelists and St. Paul made it plain to the apostolic Church that the Eucharistic Elements were literally Jesus Christ continuing His saving mission among men (according to "the tradition which I handed on to you that came to me from "The Lord Himself""(1 Cor. II: 23-26)). Ignatius of Antioch warned people to not be taken in by the Gnostics who denied the Real Presence and thus abstained from The Eucharist. 2nd Century: The Rite of Fermentum was practiced. This...

Cardinal Castrillón Sends Letter for a World Day of Prayer VATICAN CITY, JUNE 26, 2003 (Zenit.org).- The key to overcome the infidelity of some priests is the rediscovery of their identity based on their relation with the Eucharist, says the Holy See. Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Clergy, delivered that message in a letter sent to bishops and priests on the occasion of World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. The Day of Prayer coincides this Friday with the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The cardinal in his letter says the...

At the Name of Jesus by Br. Alexis Bugnolo No doubt to many Catholics today, receiving Communion while kneeling is just another pious custom without much value and certainly not in any manner obligatory or important today. And yet the truth is that this pious custom touches upon some very central tenets of the Catholic Faith which are most essential and inalienable to the Church. Let us, then, go in search for the roots of this Ecclesiastical Tradition to understand in a more informed manner the importance it had throughout the whole Church just 50 years ago. Moses and the...

Adoremus Bulletin Vol. VIII, No. 8: November 2002 Singing for the Supper or the Sacrifice? by Lucy E. Carroll While actual numbers vary but little, most surveys today show that more than half of American Catholics either do not believe in the Real Presence, or do not understand the concept. Since the Real Presence is the primary difference between Catholicism and Protestantism (all other differences must pale in comparison), this is a serious issue. Causes are many: inadequate catechesis, incorrect catechesis, emphasis on the Liturgy of Word over the Liturgy of the Eucharist, removal of the Tabernacle, prohibitions on kneeling,...