Answer to: "So what is transubstantiation?"
(Sidenote: This was published on August 5th, 2008. So, ignore some of the date things...)
Hey everyone. If you have not read my other message, I will explain really quick what I am doing. God has called me to be a "witness in Christ", basically, to tell others about Him. So I have decided to do this through Facebook (and hopefully soon, I will have my own blog!).
(Sidenote: This is attempt #2, since my computer crashed after I finished my first draft of this note....)
Today's topic is transubstantiation, or the belief that the "bread and wine" we celebrate with during Mass is really Christ's body and blood. And I will also explain the reasoning behind these beliefs. The texts on this subject are very meaty, so try to read through them, and if you get lost, just read my comments later in this note to help you understand.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1376: "The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: 'Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.' "
Another reference is the Bible. In Luke 22: 19-20, it says:
"Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.' And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup that is poured for you is the new covenant in my blood.' "
During Mass, the Priest includes these words, and says:
"On the night he was betrayed, he took bread and gave you thanks and praise. He broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said:
'Take this, all of you, and eat it:
This is my body, which will be given up for you.'
When supper was ended, he took the cup. Again he gave you thanks and praise, gave the cup to his disciples, and said:
'Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant. It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.' "
Woah. You may now be wondering, "What does it all mean?" That's where I come in.
So, to summarize:
As Catholics, we believe that the "bread and wine" is truly transubstantiated (transformed) into Christ's body and blood. So, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we truly accept Christ's body and blood, literally, into ourselves. Isn't that totally awesome?
Transubstantiation is awesome like that.
Other religions believe that the "bread and wine" are symbols of Christ's body and blood. But, what did Jesus say? Did he say, "This is LIKE my body"? No, he said, "This is my body".
There is also Adoration, a time when Christ is literally right before you, in a consecrated (transubstantiated) form. So, basically, you are praying right to Him. For more on Adoration, read my note "So what was this Steubenvillle thing?".
I have some awesome pictures from Adoration from Steubenvillle that I will post on here. But nothing describes the experience as well as just living it, so if anyone ever wants to go to our church to Mass, to the Adoration Chapel, or anything, just let me know.
So, now it's up to you. I am asking you to leave your comments below about this. Again, it really helps me out to hear your feedback, even if you write only one word. Then I know that you have read this and are thinking about it! Also, please leave me more questions to talk about so that I can write more of these notes!
References:
http://catholic-resources.org/ChurchDocs/EP1-4.htm
The Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catholic Youth Bible
1 comment
How can the bread and wine, transformed, still cause people with gluten allergy to react to the wheat\\\'s gluten? How does one explan that it\\\'s transformed but it\\\'s still got the qualities of the substance? If it\\\'s changed, then people allergic to gluten shouldn\\\'t react to the gluten, right? Same for those with allergies to the sulfites in wine (me). Yes, we can ask for special no sulfite wine or low gluten hosts, but it\'s not wine or host anymore after the consecration, it\'s Jesus!