Bringing you the "Good News" of Jesus Christ and His Church While PROMOTING CATHOLIC Apologetic Support groups loyal to the Holy Father and Church's magisterium
Home About
AskACatholic.com
What's New? Resources The Church Family Life Mass and
Adoration
Ask A Catholic
Knowledge base
AskACatholic Disclaimer
Search the
AskACatholic Database
Donate and
Support our work
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
New Questions
Cool Catholic Videos
About Saints
Disciplines and Practices for distinct Church seasons
Purgatory and Indulgences
About the Holy Mass
back
About Mary
Searching and Confused
Contemplating becoming a Catholic or Coming home
Homosexual and Gender Issues
Life, Dating, and Family
No Salvation Outside the Church
Sacred Scripture
non-Catholic Cults
Justification and Salvation
The Pope and Papacy
The Sacraments
Relationships and Marriage situations
Specific people, organizations and events
Doctrine and Teachings
Specific Practices
Church Internals
Church History


Craig wrote:

Hi, guys —

Thanks for reading this.

My girlfriend and I recently broke up, and she just sent me an e-mail talking about the Eucharist and why she doesn't believe in it among other things.  I was wondering if you might help me respond to what she said:

I do believe it is possible that when Christ was physically present. It may have become his actual Body and Blood. I believe He is one with us when Christ ascended into Heaven and gave us the Holy Spirit. That's how I understand what He did there.

  • Do you not believe that you have to attend Mass for Christ to re-dwell in you each time?

Christ doesn't need a physical medium to be in us — that's what the Holy Spirit is.

  • What about the secret underground Christians in China?

    They don't go to Mass every Sunday, but I don't believe they are sinning or have Christ in them any less than a weekly Catholic does.

  • What about the people who don't go to church but read their Bible, pray, love and help others daily by following the commandments Christ laid out?

To me, they are much more of a Christian than someone who just goes to church every Sunday! Also, I never felt welcomed in the Catholic Church.  I felt welcome by you and your family, but very few people seemed happy to be there, as if they were merely there out of an obligation or the fear of Hell.  Church is a privilege, not an obligation!

I'll try to have a few more verses next time.

  • Can anyone help me response to what she said?

Thanks!

Craig

  { How do I respond to my ex-girlfriend and how she feels about the Eucharist and going to Mass? }

Mary Ann replied:

Dear Craig,

The Holy Spirit is not Christ. He is the Third person of the Blessed Trinity. The Second Person,
the Son, became Man. He and the Father send the Bond of their Love, which is the Holy Spirit, to us, so that we are united to them.

We cannot receive this Holy Spirit unless we are made part of the Body of Christ because it is His glorified Body which is The Vehicle, The Means, whereby we are connected to God. We become one with Him in His glorified human nature, and are thus joined to God. We are made part of the Body of Christ at Baptism, wherein the Trinity indwells by the power of the Spirit. Nevertheless, our life with God is not just a spiritual life, and we are not just spiritual beings. Like Christ, our entire humanity must be joined to God, body and soul.

Our bodies must receive the life of His Body in order for our bodies to be able to be raised again and be glorified so we can live forever as complete beings, body and soul.

Mary Ann

Mike replied:

Hi, Craig —

I'd like to respond to a few comments that your ex-girlfriend has made.

She said:
I believe He is one with us when Christ ascended into Heaven and gave us the Holy Spirit. That's how I understand what he did there.

I'm sorry, this makes no sense. Before Our Blessed Lord ascended into Heaven, He said:

18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, [to the close of the age.|to the end of time.]"

Matthew 28:18-20

  • If your ex-girlfriend is correct, how can Our Lord, Jesus [who is God Incarnate], who can neither deceive, nor be deceived, allow over 30,000 Protestant denominations to break from the Church He founded on St. Peter?

Certainly, this can't be the Holy Spirit making us one with Him.

No, there has to be another logical meaning; it is through the Blessed Sacrament where we are one with Him. As Catholics, we can have confidence in this.

  • Why?

Not because it's our Church, but because historically the Catholic Christian Church is the one and only Church Jesus established on St. Peter and His successors.

This is where we get our confidence!

She said:
Christ doesn't need a physical medium to be in us . . .

Of course, he doesn't. He can chose any means to be with us. He is God, but because Our Lord, chose to become an incarnated (physical) man, like us, for our salvation, before He ascended into Heaven, He chose to give us the seven sacraments to transmit His Grace through the priesthood to us by physical means. Remember what a sacrament is:

It is an outward sign, instituted by Christ, that gives [sanctifying] Grace.

A sacrament always has a form (the words) and matter (the substance). Through Baptism, Christ dwells within the Christian but to strengthen the Christian, in confusing times like ours, before He ascended into Heaven, He told his disciples at the First Eucharist or Last Supper:

Do This In Memory Of Me.

Not, do this, if you feel like it. When we go to Mass on Sunday, in a manner we can only accept in faith, we enter into that one sacrifice of Calvary, and receive many graces to help us discern good, holy choices from bad, demonic choices for that week. In the same way the Israelites were told to eat the Passover lamb, each Sunday we eat the New Testament Passover Lamb, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

She said:

  • What about the secret underground Christians in China?

They don't go to Mass every Sunday, but I don't believe they are sinning or have Christ in them any less than a weekly Catholic does.

  • Who says they don't go to Mass every Sunday?

The underground Church in China just celebrates its Masses underground.

  • Why?

Because they, like all Christian obey the ten commandments, not suggestions. The third commandment tells the Christian to keep the Lord's Day Holy. Catholic Christians do this by attending Mass on Sundays and on Holy Day's of Obligation.

If any Chinese Catholic cannot make it to Mass for a good reason, they would be excused for that week but should say a Spiritual Communion.

Spiritual Communion

O Lord Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.

I love you above all things, (with all my mind, with all my heart, and with all my soul).
I love you because you are infinitely good and worthy of all my love.

Since I cannot receive You now sacramentally, at least come spiritually into my heart.
I embrace myself entirely to You and unite myself wholly to You.
Never permit me to be separated from You.

Come Lord Jesus and glorify Yourself through my weak, broken body.

Amen.

She said:

  • What about the people who don't go to church but read their Bible, pray, and love and help others daily by following the commandments Christ laid out?
  1. they will be responsible at their particular judgment for what they knew.
  2. they will not be responsible for what they did not know yet
  3. if they are non-Christians, will be responsible if they purposely ignored the obligation of forming a Christian conscience or the prompting of the Holy Spirit from within.

Being a good person is not enough.

  • Why?

Because each person has their own definition of what a good person is. The Church defines it, ideally, as a faithful, practicing Catholic.

She said:
Church is a privilege, not an obligation!

She said:
I'll try to have a few more verses next time.

Great! You can have some more verses for her too!

Although the Bible is not the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Timothy 3:15) you can give her a Biblical defense for Catholic teachings and the faith here:

Just print the web page out and give it to her to read.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Please report any and all typos or grammatical errors.
Suggestions for this web page and the web site can be sent to Mike Humphrey
© 2012 Panoramic Sites
The Early Church Fathers Church Fathers on the Primacy of Peter. The Early Church Fathers on the Catholic Church and the term Catholic. The Early Church Fathers on the importance of the Roman Catholic Church centered in Rome.