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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.]"
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?
they will be responsible at their
particular judgment for what they
knew.
they will not be responsible
for what they did not know yet
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:
