| Transubstantiation was officially defined as a dogma by Pope Innocent
III at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 A.D.
"If any one shall say that Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is not to
be adored in the holy sacrament of the Eucharist, even with the open worship
of Latria ... nor to be solemnly carried about in processions ... and that
He is not to be publicly set before the people to be adored, and that His
adorers are idolaters,--let him be accursed!" Council of
Trent*, Canon VI
"If any one shall deny that the body and blood, together with the soul and
divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and therefore entire Christ, are truly,
really, and substantially contained in the sacrament of the most Holy
Eucharist; and shall say that He is only in it as a sign, or in a figure--let
him be accursed!" Council of Trent*,
Canon.I
"If any one shall say that the substance of the bread and wine remains in
the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist, together with the body and blood
ofour Lord Jesus Christ...--let him be accursed!" Council of
Trent*, Canon.II
When Mass ends, the wafers do not change back into bread again, but
remain God, according to Canon IV of the Council of
Trent*.
"When Jesus Christ said, 'Do this for a commemoration of Me,' He made
His Apostles priests, and commanded them to change bread and wine into His
Body and Blood."
Catholic Faith, Based on The Catholic Catechism, by His Eminence Peter
Cardinal Gasparri (P.J. Kenedy & Sons, 1938), p 214 Nihil
Obstat, M. McCabe. O.M.Cap., S.T.D., Imprimi Potest, Ignatius
Weisbruch, O.M.Cap; Nihil Obstat, Arthur J. Scanlan, S.T.D.;
Imprimatur, Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of NY
"My Lord Jesus Christ, I belive that Thou art truly present in the Blessed
Sacrament. I believe that in holy communion I shall receive Thy sacred body
and Thy precious blood." Holy Souls Book, by Rev. F.X. Lasance, ed.
(Benziger Brothers, 1922), p. 316, Nihil
Obstat: A.J. Scanlan, S.T.D.; Imprimatur, P.J.
Hayes, D.D., Archbishop of NY.
"Aspiration at the Elevation of the Sacred Host: My Lord and My God! The
faithful who, at the elevation of the Sacred Host during Mass or when It
is solemnly exposed, recite this ejaculation with faith, piety and love,
are granted an indulgence of 7 years." -- S.P. Ap., June 21. 1927 and Jan.
26, 1937. Ibid, p. 316
"After Jesus Christ had changed the bread and wine into His Body and Blood,
only the appearances of bread and wine remained. 'O Hidden God, devoutly
I adore Thee Who truly art within the forms before me. Adoro Te.'"
Catholic Faith, Based on The Catholic Catechism, by His Eminence Peter
Cardinal Gasparri (P.J. Kenedy & Sons, 1938), p 213 Nihil
Obstat, M. McCabe. O.M.Cap., S.T.D., Imprimi Potest, Ignatius
Weisbruch, O.M.Cap; Nihil Obstat, Arthur J. Scanlan, S.T.D.;
Imprimatur, Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Archbishop of NY
"In the Sacrament Christ is offered every day for the people." Ibid, p.
215, quoting St. Augustine
"The Mass is the same Sacrifice as the Sacrifice of the Cross. The Victim
is the same--Jesus Christ--offering Himself in the Mass through the
ministry of His priests, as He once offered Himself on the Cross. Only the
manner of offering is different." Ibid, p. 217
"Revere, therefore, this table of which we all partake; Christ is slain for
us; the Sacrifice is placed upon this altar." Ibid, p 217, quoting
St. John Chrysostom
"The most obvious meaning of the Consecration is the 'miracle' of the
transubstantiation, or change of the bread and wine into the Body and
Blood of the Saviour; and wherever His Body and Blood are, there is the whole
Christ with His Soul and His Divinity. Before, on the altar, there was something,
now there is Somebody...Christ, the Word Incarnate, is really present on
the altar. He is present as really as in heaven, though in a different
manner." My Mass, by Joseph Putz. S.J. (Newman Press, 1955), p 55
Imprimi Potest: L. Schillebeeckx, S.J.; Imprimatur,
J. Fernandes
"The presence of Our Lord under the appearances of bread is a wonderful
reality... the Real Presence... When we receive the Sacred Host, Our Lord
becomes present in us. This 'bodily' union is very real and admirable..."
Ibid, p 65
"Christ changes our gifts into His Body and Blood ... it is the same Christ
who was born of Mary and lifted up on the Cross for our salvation ...our
God whom we adore: 'My Lord and my God.' ... here goes up to heaven teh most
efficacious satisfaction for the world's sins ..." Ibid, p 77 |
Roman Catholicism's doctrine of "transubstantiation" -- the bread and
wine actually turning into God, and therefore "adorable" (Holy Souls
Book, p. 221) -- is based on Jesus' statement, "This is My Body."
However, in John 10 Jesus said, "I am the Door..." and elsewhere he spoke
figuratively ("I am the Light," etc.) in the same way. He did not mean the
door was literally being transformed into him/God, or that we should worship
a door.
The true purpose of the celebration of the Lord's Supper is threefold:
1) fellowship, 1 Corinthians 10:16;
2) remembrance, 1 Corinthians 11:24; and
3) proclamation of His death till he comes again, 1 Corinthians 11:26.
Acts 20:7-11 sheds light on the informality of first-century "church services."
1 Corinthians 10:17 says we are the bread.
1 Corinthians 10:16, 17 indicates it is still bread, not God, even after
the words were spoken.
1 Corinthians 10:18 partakers
1 Corinthians 11:25 "this cup is ..." (signifies)
John 6:27 decomposes
In only Matthew and Mark is it recorded that Jesus said both "This is my
body" and "This is my blood." No account is given whatsoever of the Lord's
Supper in John. Luke's account speaks only of the bread being claimed as
symbolic (the same is true of 1 Corinthians.) And Paul clearly states that
he personally derived understanding/revelation of the supper from the Lord
Himself.
Leviticus 12:23 The Levitical laws clearly show that drinking the blood of
anything is abominable in God's sight.
1 Corinthians 10:17 We partake of the bread, etc., not flesh. And the body
spoken of is the church, not Jesus' physical body.
John 6:47, 48, 53 This must be symbolic, not literal, because otherwise it
says we can't have life unless we receive or take the "host" (blessed bread).
John 6:54, 55, etc. In the same way that the above would eliminate salvation
to those never receiving the "Holy Eucharist," if translated literally, assurance
of salvation would be possible simply for eating the "host" once (if
Catholicism's literal interpretation were applied here)!
Having once recognized these truths, we must depart from the partaking of
pagan sacrifices. "Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners of the altar?"
1 Corinthians 10:18
Jesus simply meant that he alone should be our sustenance. John 6:48, 55
The next verses show the disciples' confusion -- and Jesus' explanation.
John 6:63
John 6:33, 35, 41 "I am the Bread ..." NOT the Bread is me!
Jesus said He would not again drink of the fruit of the VINE until the kingdom,
indicating the wine does not become his blood, but is just plain old wine.
The ancient pagan Babylonians made wafer cakes in their worship of a false
god. Jeremiah 7:18; 44:17-19; etc.
..
..
...
. |
