When you receive the host (not wafer, as some refer to it) at mass, how do you believe Jesus comes to you? The Church uses the word "host" because it comes from the Latin "hostia" which means "victim" (A wafer is a cookie). Jesus comes to us as the victim who offered His life for our sins. He comes as nourishment for our body and soul. But how does He come?
The Catholic understanding is that with every valid consecration we receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That's right-we receive the real person of Jesus. While we await His bodily presence in heaven, Christ does not deprive us of His bodily presence in our sojourn on earth, for He joins us to His very Body and Blood in the Eucharist.
When a validly ordained priest prays the words of consecration with the intent of the Church over bread made of wheat and water only and natural wine from the fruit of the vine, the entire substance of the bread is converted to the Body of Christ and the entire substance of the wine is converted to the Blood of Christ. In other words, the Body of Christ is present under the form of bread and the Blood of Christ under the form of wine by the power of the words of consecration.
The "sign" of the sacrament produces what it signifies. What is present by the words of consecration is whatever the words uttered say is present and thus cause to be present (sacramental sign). Because of the real connection of the Body and Blood of Christ, Christ's Blood and Soul are also present with the Body of Christ under the from of bread, since He is a living body. His Divinity is present as a result of His hypostatic union. Thus, the words of consecration "This is My Body" produce only the Body of Christ, while His Blood, Soul, and Divinity are present along with His Body as natural accompaniments, and not as a direct result of the words of consecration. So too for the words, "This is My Blood;" they only produce the Blood of Christ, while His Body, Soul, and Divinity are there along with the Blood of Christ by natural accompaniment.
The transformation of the whole substance of the bread into the Body of Christ and the transformation of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood of Christ is called "transubstantiation." Only the "substance" of the bread and wine are changed; their "accidents" remain. By "accidents" we mean the physical properties-the size, shape, taste, weight, nourishing power, etc. By substance we mean that which makes a thing what it is. In other words, what makes a carrot a carrot and what makes an apple an apple is called substance. What makes me, me and you, you is called substance. Substance is not something which can be discerned with the senses, but only with the mind. This miraculous conversion of the substance of the bread and wine to the substance of the Body and Blood of Christ takes place by the power of God. The conversion of the entire substance of the bread into the substance of the Body of Christ occurs instantaneously at the moment of completion of the words of consecration "This is My Body." The c
Some people think that you must receive both the consecrated bread and the consecrated wine to receive the whole Christ. This is a heresy. We believe that the entire person of Jesus-His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity-is present in the consecrated bread alone and is present in the consecrated wine alone.
Not just anyone can effect transubstantiation. Only a validly ordained priest/bishop who, while offering the holy sacrifice of the mass "in personna Christe"-in the Person of Christ-saying the words of consecration, can bring about the true presence of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.
Every particle of the "consecrated bread" is truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. This is because the "wholeness" of a substance is truly present in small quantities of it as in large. For example, the "wholeness" of air is as present in small amounts of air just as it is in large amounts. Thus, we should have the utmost reverence for even small particles of the consecrated bread, since it truly is the whole Christ, His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
Thus, Christ does not "leave heaven" and "deposit" Himself in the Eucharist. Christ remains in heaven in His own proper appearance and is also present in countless altars around the world at the same time via His sacramental presence. Since Christ's presence is by way of sacramental presence in the Eucharist, we perceive Him not by our senses, but by our mind through faith. We would not be, as some children think, "licking God with our tongue" when we receive Him on our tongue.
Since Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, this is why St. Paul warns us to examine our conscience before we receive the Eucharist. It would be a grave sin of sacrilege to knowingly receive the Eucharist while in the state of mortal (grave) sin without having first made a valid, sacramental confession. A simple "act of contrition" to God is not sufficient to receive the Eucharist while in grave sin. Only a sacramental confession suffices.
Sometime Catholics are accused of "cannibalism" by non-Catholics when they say that they are truly consuming the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. Nothing could be further from the truth. First, Christ's Body is really and substantially present, not in a natural way, but in a supernatural way in the Eucharist. Second, "cannibalism" normally refers to eating the flesh of a dead human person. We believe that the Christ we receive is the Eucharist is alive, not dead. Third, Jesus was one person with two natures-a divine person with a human and divine nature. But He wasn't a human person, or otherwise He would not have two persons. So, we're really not eating the flesh of a human person. Also, "cannibalism" has been practiced out of the belief that the cannibal could assimilate certain attributes from the spirit of the deceased, like strength, courage, etc. However, we do not believe that when we partake of the Eucharist that Jesus is assimilated into us, but rather that we are assimilated unto Him. Thu
We should especially remember the words of Our Lord; "Unless you eat of My flesh and drink of My blood, you shall not have live in you." "My flesh is real food; my blood is real drink." If Christ tells us to do it, how can we refuse?
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