Among the various dogmas of the Catholic Church, there is none which rest on stronger scripture authority than the doctrine of the Real presence of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. One of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, the Eucharist is a ritual in which, according to Catholic theology, bread and wine blessed by a priest really becomes the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ.
Then Jesus said to them: “Amen, Amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the son of Man and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you. He that eats my flesh and drinks my blood has everlasting life, and I shall raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood drink indeed.” (John 6:45-56). The Holy Eucharist plays a central role in Catholicism, it has been called the “fount and apex of the whole Christian life.” Transubstantiation – the idea that during Mass, the bread and wine used for Communion become the body and blood of Jesus Christ – is central to the Catholic faith. Indeed, the Catholic Church teaches that “the Eucharist is 'the source and summit of the Christian life. '”
When our Savior said to the Jews: “Your fathers did eat the manna and still died . . . he that eats this (Eucharist) bread shall live forever”, He evidently wishes to affirm the superiority of the food which He would give, over the manna.
These words: “This is My Body; this is My Blood,” are the exact words of Jesus. These words embodied a new dogma of faith which all were obliged to believe, and a new law which all were obliged to practice. They were the last will and testament of our blessed Savior. He said to the disciples: “Do this in memory of me.” At every Mass, we hear these words of Jesus.
The Holy Eucharist has the power to heal, to deliver and restore. May we find the grace to continue to believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
Fr. Abraham