Alice
Claire Mansfield wrote: |
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Hi, guys —
Our pastor, Fr. X, said at a recent evening
workshop that when we receive Holy Communion, "we become the Body and Blood of Christ".
He meant this literally, not figuratively
speaking.
One person questioned how this can be; how
we can presume that we become God when we
receive Holy Communion. Fr. X didn't answer
her question. He sort of put her off with
some touchy, feely, new-age stuff.
- I know that St. Augustine exhorted his
congregation to become what they receive
at Communion, but does the Catholic Church
officially teach that we actually become
the Body and Blood of Christ when we receive
Holy Communion?
None of the other people at this workshop
had a problem with Fr. X's thinking, but my
friend and I sure did, and would appreciate your
insights.
Thank you kindly and God bless you for making
this forum available.
Alice
Houston, Texas
Magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt
His name together. Psalm 34
|
| { Does the Church
officially teach, we become
the Body and Blood of Christ when we receive
Communion? } |
Mike
replied:
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Hi, Alice Claire —
Thanks for the question.
No, we do not become the Body and
Blood of Christ. Through the Eucharist
we partake in
His Divine nature and really receive
His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity,
while retaining our human nature.
Jesus is a Divine Person with a Divine
and Human Will, neither of which
conflict with each other.
We are human people with only a human
will.
Through the Eucharist, we partake
in His Divine nature so we may carry
out The Lord's will in our lives,
for our own salvation and for the
salvation of others. (Galatians 2:19-20)
Thanks for writing and write again,
Mike
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Mary
Ann replied:
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Alice Claire —
We are united with His Resurrected
Self, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity.
We began the process of what the
Fathers called divinization at
Baptism, and the Eucharist nourishes
this real supernatural life in us,
a life which is a sharing in the
life of the Trinity, through the
sharing in the Risen humanity of
the Son.
The way in which we do become the
Body of the Lord is that together,
through Baptism and the Eucharist,
we are made the living Body of Christ.
The Church is the Body of Christ,
made so by each of us being incorporated
("in-bodied") into Christ
through Baptism, and this incorporation
is nourished and strengthened in
the Eucharist.
So the short answer is no and yes.
Mary Ann Parks
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John
replied:
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Alice Claire,
Like many aspects of our faith, this
is more of a mystery. When a Christian
walks into a room, he or she is indwelled
by the Holy Spirit. Hence,
one can say, that when that Christian
walks in the room, God walks in the
room. Now, that is not to say the
individual is God.
I think Fr. X may have confused the
issue by saying literally, the Body
of Christ. Although not entirely
inaccurate, it is misleading. Individuals
don't undergo transubstantiation.
In the case of the Eucharist, the
elements become the Sacramental Real
Presence, yet they retain the appearance
of bread and wine. We do not undergo
that same change. Our physical bodies, our minds, and our individual souls
remain after we receive the Lord.
Most likely, Fr. X was trying to
make a point, and glossed over a
lot of theology to make it.
John DiMascio
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Fr. Francis replied:
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Dear Alice Claire,
I did not see the original question,
but my sense is that it was something
to the effect of whether we become
the Body and Blood of Christ.
Mike,
you gave a fine and correct answer
as far as it goes. We are not transubstantiated ourselves. Bread and wine are transubstantiated,
i.e., totally transformed into the
Body and Blood of Christ. We are
not.
However, notice I did not use the
word "changed". I did not,
because indeed, by our reception
of the Blessed Sacrament of the Body
and Blood of Christ, we indeed do
become, or are changed into the Body
of Christ!!!
Saint Paul, in writing his First Letter to the Corinthians, teaches
us the profound truth of the three-fold
mystery and reality of the Body of
Christ.
- In chapter 15, he speaks of the
reality of the Risen Body of Christ.
- In chapters 10 and 11, Paul teaches
us about the reality and mystery
of the Eucharistic Body (and Blood)
of Christ, instituted by the Lord
Jesus Himself "on the night
before he died".
- Finally, in chapters 12-14, he
teaches us about the reality,
i.e., the Mystery of the Church
as the Body of Christ.
Pope John Paul II has "caught" the
whole Mystery of the Eucharist in his encyclical on the Eucharist.
In that wonderful teaching, he claims
that:
"The Eucharist makes the
Church and the Church makes the
Eucharist".
Now Mike, you caught the beauty of
the Second Millennium of Catholic
teaching concerning the Eucharist
in your answer. Your answer concentrated
on what exactly comes about "in
the Eucharist" — when
the Church celebrates the Eucharist.
Here, the teaching on Transubstantiation
is in order. But don't forget the
emphasis of the Church in the First
Millennium — that the Eucharist makes the Church.
Paul, and the other new Testament
writers, emphasize the Eucharist
making the Church.
Now Alice Claire, Mike is correct.
We are not transubstantiated into
the Body and Blood of Christ, but
we are united with, and made participants
and members of the Body of Christ.
As Saint Augustine states in one
of his wonderfully succinct teachings,
"It is your own Mystery
that you receive in your hand."
Father Francis
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Father Francis replied to John's reply as follows:
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Alice Claire,
To pick up and clarify your point
— It was Saint Athanasius in his wonderful
who stated:
"God became man so that man
could become God."
You stated correctly how this truly
orthodox statement (and teaching)
could be misquoted and misused.
A complete misuse and incorrect application
of it can be found in the core teaching
of the Mormons. (The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter Day Saints)
The
Mormons, in their Gnostic addition
to the New Testament canon, have
incorporated this once orthodox teaching
into their polytheistic nonsense.
Athanasius would scream!
Father Francis
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