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“The Catholic Church teaches that when we partake of the Eucharist in Holy Communion, we are consuming the actual physical body of Jesus Christ (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1244, 1275, 1375).”

I personally find the theology of transubstantiation unintelligible, not because I don’t believe that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, but because I do not believe in prime matter, substantial forms, substance and accidents. I don’t think we have a clue what Jesus meant when he said, “This is my body.” I think we should humbly accept it as a mystery and not pretend we understand it. In any case, Jesus did not say, “This is my body. Adore me.” He said, “Take and eat. This is my body.” Only in the early 20th century,...

Did God Express His Indignation Over Pope Francis? By David Martin On Sunday, June 23, the Feast of Corpus Christi, Pope Francis in his Sunday address made what appeared to be a heretical statement. Speaking on the Holy Eucharist, he said: "In the presence of the Eucharist, Jesus who becomes bread, this simple bread that contains the entire reality of the Church, let us learn to bless all that we have, to praise God, to bless and not curse all that has led us to this moment, and to speak words of encouragement to others." The theological fact is...

Early this year, the blogger "Fra Cristoforo" on Anonimi Della Croce posted about the development of an "Ecumenical Mass" for Catholic and Protestants to celebrate together. The blog is now back with a new address and the rumour has actually gained some credibility.  We wrote about the latest on this blasphemous matter in a story by Marco Tossatti. Now, in his blog, Stilum Curae, Tossatti goes even further in describing the unrestrained influence of a lay Italian "liturgist," Andrew Grillo, who is involved in a major way, in the process, Grillo is a professor at the Pontifical Academy of Saint...

Roman Catholicism was 300 years too late to be “the stone that … became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Daniel 2:35). [This is the third installment of a three part series.]When former Protestant, Taylor Marshall, wrote Eternal City, he sought to explain why Christianity is necessarily Roman. “The Church,” he wrote, “receives the Roman empire” from its previous custodians. But in concluding this, Marshall has mistakenly transposed two kingdoms—both of which Daniel addressed, and both of which Daniel set against the background of the rise and fall of four world empires. One kingdom is of earth...

Long before Jesus turned water into wine, He turned Mary’s amniotic fluid into meconium, and her breast milk into transitional stools. Anyone who has ever changed a child’s diaper knows that the resulting odor offends the nostrils greatly. As Jesus would later instruct us, “whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly” and ends up in the toilet (Matthew 15:17), or in His case as an infant, in the diaper. Thus did Jesus’ lower gastrointestinal tract operate as it must for all men, and thus did our Lord endure the gastrocolic reflex, as all we mortals do. We...

When sharing with catholics the wonderful news about the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for the sins of the world, one of the most tragic and miserable deceptions that many of them have blindly bought into is their worship and idolization of the eucharist.   Breaking bread is something that all Bible believers cherish and take very seriously, especially after reading Paul's solemn admonition not to come to the Lord's table with any unconfessed sin in our hearts (1 Cor. 11:23-34). However, communion is only for those of us that have already been saved from...

Mere signs For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (1 Cor 11:26). There are liturgical churches that put great stock in the real presence. If you don’t believe in the real presence, you are said to reduce the sacraments to “mere signs” or “nude signs.” Let’s talk about signs for a moment. The camera is a wildly popular invention. It’s become even more popular in the age of digital cameras, cellphone cameras, and Facebook. Why do people like to take pictures? Well, there are different reasons....

Interpreting The Bible And Later Sources On The Eucharist I want to make a couple of points that aren't often emphasized, or even mentioned at all, in discussions about John 6 and the eucharist. - When John 6 is discussed in relation to the eucharist, the discussion often begins with the comments on the bread of Heaven in verse 31, verse 35, or somewhere else later in the passage. But we should keep the earlier context in mind. Given the contrast that Jesus sets up in John 6:26-29, in which resting in faith in Him is contrasted with the...

Never Thirst - Taking Jesus "Literally" can be Fatal Roman Catholics like to try to claim that they are just taking Jesus "literally" when they interpret "this is my body" to mean that what was in Jesus' hands was not bread but his physical body [FN1]. Three passages in John help to illustrate the problem with that approach: John 4, John 6, and John 7.  In the first, Jesus refers metaphorically to living water, in the second Jesus refers to himself as food and drink, and in the third Jesus offers drink to those who thirst. In John 4, Jesus...

Early Church Evidence Refutes Real Presence Introduction The real presence doctrine is probably the most important doctrine to Catholics today because it is the nucleolus of the Catholic mass. The doctrine insists that the eucharistic elements of bread and wine become the glorified body and blood of Christ when blessed by the priest. The doctrine further asserts that the substance of bread and wine are no longer present and only the accidents (characteristics or appearance) remain. Thus, the name derived from the explanation becomes transubstantiation (a change of substance). It is this belief that compels devout Catholics to worship the...

Preface: This is an extensive examination of the Roman Catholic sacrament of Eucharist (which means thanksgiving) as regards the doctrine of the “Real Presence.” This deals with the question as to whether Scripture teaches that Jesus is literally and wholly present—body and blood, soul and divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine by transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine. And by which believers thereby receive life in themselves. Or whether, consistent with other examples of figurative language and teaching, the elements are representations of Christ, and that eating and drinking Christ in John 6 refers to receiving and...

Over the past few weeks, I have received no less than three inquiries regarding the early church’s celebration of the Lord’s Table and its implications for the evangelical church today. Two of these inquiries have come from Roman Catholics, each of whom has suggested that the Roman Catholic practice of transubstantiation best represents the way the Lord’s Table was observed in the first few centuries of church history. Over the past few weeks, I have received no less than three inquiries regarding the early church’s celebration of the Lord’s Table and its implications for the evangelical church today. Two of...

by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, available from http://fssp.org One of the greatest tragedies of the Reformation is the loss of authentic holy orders in Protestant communities, and as a subsequent result of that, the loss of the real presence in Holy Communion. Of course this is not a problem for a large number of Protestants who no longer believe in the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion anyway. Transubstantiation is the belief that the bread and wine elements in communion, really and truly, become the actual body (flesh) and blood of Jesus Christ once they are...

The Baltimore Catechism Revised Edition (1941) Part Three: The Sacraments and Prayer The Holy Eucharist Lesson 26 from the Baltimore Cathechism343. What is the Holy Eucharist? The Holy Eucharist is a sacrament and a sacrifice. In the Holy Eucharist, under the appearances of bread and wine, the Lord Christ is contained, offered, and received.I am the living bread that has come down from heaven. If anyone eat of this bread he shall live forever. (John 6:51-52)344. When did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist? Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the night before He died.And having taken bread,...

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus( Outside the Church there is no salvation ) "Sicut palmes non potest ferre fructum a semitipso nisi manserit in vite:sic nec vos, nisi in Me maseritis"( "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine,so neither can you, unless you abide in Me" ) - Blessed Apostle Saint John 15:4 † Traditional True Mass Propers : Dominica VIII. Post Pentecosten ~ Eighth Sunday after Pentecost † Anno Dómini 22 July 2012 † Statio ad S. Petrum ~ Station at Saint Peter's † Commemorating The Feast of † Blessed Disciple Saint...

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus( Outside the Church there is no salvation ) "Sicut palmes non potest ferre fructum a semitipso nisi manserit in vite:sic nec vos, nisi in Me maseritis"( "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine,so neither can you, unless you abide in Me" ) - Blessed Apostle Saint John 15:4 † Traditional True Mass Propers : Dominica VI. Post Pentecosten ~ Sixth Sunday after Pentecost † Anno Dómini 8 July 2012 † Statio ad S. Petrum ~ Station at Saint Peter's † Commemorating The Feast of † Saint Elizabeth, Queen...

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus Traditional True Mass Propers :† Dominica IV Post Pentecostes - Fourth Sunday after Pentecost † Anno Dómini 24 June 2012 † Statio ad S. Petrum ~ Station at Saint Peter's † † Commemorating† † The Nativity of Saint John The baptist † Color : Albus/White VestmentsI Classis ~ Double of the First Class Observance De ventre matris meæ vocávit me Dóminus nómine meo: et pósuit os meum ut gládium acútum: sub teguménto manus suæ protexit me, et pósuit me quasi sagíttam eléctam.... ( From the womb of my mother the Lord hath called me by...

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus Traditional True Holy Mass Propers † Traditional True Mass Propers : Dominica III Post PentecostesSunday Within the Octave ofthe Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus ( Third Sunday after Pentecost ) † Anno Dómini 17 June 2012 † Statio ad S. Petrum ~ Station at Saint Peter's † † Commemorating The Feast Of † † Saint Teresa, Queen of Leon † Color : Albus/White Vestments II Classis ~ Second Class Observance Respice in me, et miserere mei, Domine: quoniam unicus, et pauper sum ego: vide humilitatem meam, et laborem meum: et dimitte omnia...

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus Traditional True Holy Mass Propers † In Festo Sanctissimae Trinitatis ~ Feast of the Most Holy Trinity † Anno Dómini 3 June 2012 Commemorating The Feast Of † Saint Clotilda, Queen of France † Color: Albus/White Vestments I Classis ~ First Class Observance "Benedícta sit sancta Trínitas, atque indivisa únitas: confitébimur ei, qua fecit nobíscum misericórdiam suam" ( Blessed be the Holy Trinity and undivided Unity: we will give glory to Him, because He hath shown His mercy to us.... ) ".... ergo docéte omnes gentes: baptizántes eos in nómine Patris, et Fílii, et Spíritus...