1	The Eucharist “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” Jn 6:60
2	Certainly Not Jack Chick!
3	Overview What is it? When did the Church come up with it? What does Scripture say? What about the early Christians? And the Reformers? Why bother?
4	Jesus Flesh is Real Food! “Amen, amen, I say to you, 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 and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” (Jn 6:53-55) Jesus Christ, as reported by the Apostle John
5	YOW! CANNIBALISM! This was the understanding of the many folks present at the time Jesus spoke these words. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat” (Jn 6:52) Many disciples left over not being able to accept it (Jn 6:66) Peter responded “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6: 68-69)
6	“Simple” Faith The assent of the intellect to accept divine truth moved by the will under the influence of God. (Aquinas) Greek “pistos”, combines belief and trust
7	“Simple” Faith The remaining disciples “Believed that (Jesus) was the Holy One of God”, so they trusted what he said (except Judas) Faith is a grace. “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.” (Jn 6:65)
8	So, when did “it” start? Which “it”? Invented by the Council of Trent (1564) No, wait, Fourth Lateran Council (1215) Umm, Decretals of Innocent III? Pope Alexander III in 1150? Who am I??
9	Transubstantiation! First proposed as a term by Pope Alexander III in 1150 First officially used by Pope Innocent III Formally promulgated by Council of Trent in 1564 Adopted by Pope Pius VI as worthy of instructing the faithful (against Synod of Pistoja in 1786)
10	Transubstantiation! Term signifies the conversion of one thing into another thing “Thingness” is composed of what a thing looks like and what a thing IS. Can change appearance (accident) without changing “IS”ness (substance) Statue from marble block Can change substance, but in nature that always changes appearance Steak into Dr. Bob
11	What about Substance Without Accident? Aye, there’s the rub! Jesus says exactly that at the Last Supper While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat. This is my body.” (Mt 26:26) “This is my body.” (Lk 22:19) What it “is” isn’t what it “appears” to be…
12	Saint Paul Agrees! “For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you.’” (1Cor 11:23-24) Notice this is his FIRST letter to the Corinthians…
13	Easy to Understand, right? “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” (Jn 6:66) “When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad…”(Mt 19:22) See earlier slide on “Faith”
14	Looks like a duck… Three writers attest to it starting as bread… Three writers attest that Jesus said it was His body… Looks like the Eucharist was established long before the Council of Trent! “Every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.” (Mt 18:16)
15	Other Important Scripture
16	Symbolic Speech? The disciples who left didn’t think so. The Apostle Paul didn’t think so. The Church from 1150 on didn’t think so What about the Early Church?
17	Patristics St. Ignatius of Antioch- Third bishop of Antioch, Disciple of St. John (110 AD) “Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ…and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God…. They do not confess that the Eucharist is the Flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ.” (Smyrnaeans) St. Justin Martyr (150 AD) “For not as common bread do we receive these (but as) both the Flesh and Blood of that incarnated Jesus.” (Apology)
18	Patristics St. Irenaeus (195 AD) St. Cyril of Jerusalem (350 AD) St. Gregory of Nyssa (383 AD) St. John Chrysostom (390 AD) St. Cyril of Alexandria (430 AD) St. John Damascene (743 AD) More than “two or three witnesses”?
19	Can Jesus do this? “When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, ‘Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?’” (Jn 6:5) “Jesus said to him ‘Rise up, take your mat , and walk.’” (Jn 5:8) “All things came to be through him and without him nothing came to be.” (Jn 1:3) “Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” (Lk 1:31) “All things are possible for God.” (Mk 10:27)
20	So, Not “Can He Do It?” But Rather “Do I believe him?”
21	What About the Reformers? “Of all the fathers, as many as you can name, not one has ever spoken about the sacrament as these fanatics do. None of them uses such expression as ‘It is simply bread and wine,’ or ‘Christ’s body and blood are not present.’ Martin Luther Consubstantiation Philip Melanchthon agreed
22	What About the Reformers? “We say that the body and the blood of Christ are presented to us truly and effectively, but not naturally. By that we mean that this is not the substance itself of the body, nor the true and natural body of the Christ that is given us there, but all the benefits that the Christ offers us in his body.” John Calvin Signification (= abomination) Ulrich Zwingli, Martin Bucer, etc agreed
23	Why bother? We worship Christ in the Eucharist If it isn’t really Christ, than we are guilty of the grossest idolatry (Worshiping the Butternut God) If it IS Christ, then the whole focus of our separated brethren’s worship lacks a center We must guard against creeping “signification”
24	Recap The Church has always held that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist The Church has always held that the bread and wine are truly absent from the Eucharist Scripture supports this belief Philosophical term is “transubstantation”
25	IN FOCUS For the time has come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths (2Tim 4:3-4) It is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost (Mt 18:14)
26	IN FOCUS We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block (1Cor 1:23) Scripture is useful for teaching, refuting, and correcting (2Tim 3:16) We should not quarrel but should be gentle with everyone and correct with kindness (2Tim 2:24-25)
27	We are out to win souls, not debates! So, if you don’t believe Him, who do you say that He is? (Hint: Mt 16:16)
28	Sources Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma by Ludwig Ott Faith of the Early Fathers by William Jurgens vol 1-3 The Cleaving of Christendom by Warren Carroll Beginning Apologetics by Fr. Frank Chacon and Mr. Jim Burnham How to Explain and Defend the Catholic Faith How to Explain and Defend the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist