Think About It

The ministry of Jesus lasted only three years, but it has been analyzed, studied, and written about more than anything else in human history. The first year of his ministry is referred to as the Year of Obscurity. It is the period in which Jesus began his public teaching but was still relatively unknown. It lasted from his baptism to his second Passover and arrival in Galilee. The second year of his ministry is the Year of Popularity. It is the period in which Jesus’ reputation spread across Judea, with his Sermon on the Mount, miracles and healings, and the resurrection of Jarius’ daughter. The third and final year of his ministry is the Year of Opposition, or Year of Rejection. It started with the feeding of the five thousand and lasted until Palm Sunday and his entrance into Jerusalem. It was a period were many of his followers abandoned him and the religious authorities started to conspire against him. But what happened? What caused the crowd to turn on Jesus? It was his Bread of Life Discourse.

After Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish and fed the five thousand, he returned to Capernaum. The crowd followed him there wanting to see more signs and wonders and hoping for more miracle bread to eat. However, when Jesus told them that he was the bread that comes down from heaven, and that they must eat his flesh and drink his blood to inherit eternal life, they were shocked; “How can he give us his flesh to eat?” “This sort of talk is hard to endure.” And as John tells us, many of his followers left and would no longer remain in his company. Even the twelve were confused. So much so, that Jesus asked them directly, “You do not want to leave too, do you?” To which Peter replied, with some timidity but resolutely, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Despite the crowd’s reaction, Jesus did not retract what he said. He did not try to regain the favor of the crowd by apologizing or trying to explain himself more fully. In fact, he guaranteed that this doctrine would become a focal point of his Church when he instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist about a year later.

The doctrine of transubstantiation, the belief that Jesus is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist, confused and bewildered people in Christ’s time and continues to do so today. It has always been difficult for people to comprehend, and through the centuries, has been constantly challenged and criticized by theologians, reformers, and non-believers. However, like Christ, the Catholic Church has remained steadfast in its teaching. Ecumenical Council after Council, and Papal Encyclical after Encyclical, the Church has reaffirmed that Jesus Christ is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist.

Regardless, people still struggle with the doctrine. How can bread and wine be transformed into the body and blood of Jesus? This is not something that anyone can fully comprehend. However, it is something that we can begin to grasp when we remember who Jesus is, and where, for lack of a better word, he resides.

Jesus is God, the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, both fully man and fully God. As a man, he resided in time and history, in Palestine two thousand years ago. As God, he resides outside of time in eternity. There is no past or future for God. Everything for God resides in his ever present now. When Jesus broke the bread, blessed it, and gave it to his disciples to eat, he did that as a man in the upper room the night before his crucifixion and death. As God, he does it in eternity, in his ever present now.

But how is it done? How is the essence, the substance of the bread and wine changed? It is done by the word, the same word that continually speaks creation into existence. Creation exists because God wills it. If God stopped willing it, it would cease to be. We exist because God loves us. If God stopped loving us, we would cease to be. But that cannot happen because God is love and his will is love. God continually loves and wills us into existence. The same word that creates and sustains the universe transforms the substance of the bread and wine used in communion into its own body and blood. It is the word of God, that makes it happen in eternity and in his ever present now.

When the Priest is on the alter consecrating the Eucharist he is doing it “In persona Christi,” in the person of Christ. It is not Father Mike or Father Marcos saying the words, it is Christ himself consecrating the bread and wine we consume at Mass, joining it with the bread and wine he consecrated in eternity at the Last Supper. The Priest is speaking in the first person as Christ, using Christ’s words when he says,

“Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body, which will be given up for you. Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood, the blood of a new and eternal covenant, which will be poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this in memory of me.”

The bread and wine transforms into the body and blood of Jesus because Jesus commands it. The same word that speaks creation into existence, speaks itself into the substance of the Eucharist.

There are seven sacraments but only the Eucharist is referred to as the Most Blessed Sacrament. This is because while the power of Christ is present in the other sacraments, Christ himself is present body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Bread of Eternal Life and the Sacrament of Our Salvation.

When we consume the Eucharist, Christ consumes us and more fully and completely incorporates us into his Mystical Body.

If it is difficult for those of us, who have the benefit of hindsight to comprehend, imagine how bewildering it must have been for the Apostles. Although Jesus told them why they were going to Jerusalem, they could not possibly have known what was going to unfold.

“You know that in two days’ time it will be Passover, and that the Son of Man is to be handed over to be crucified.”

Imagine what was going through the minds of the Apostles when at the Passover meal Jesus took the bread and wine, blessed it, told them that it was his body and blood, and that they were to not only eat it, but do it again in again in perpetuity in remembrance of his sacrifice. What sacrifice? None of them could have foreseen what was about to happen, that in a few short hours Jesus was going to be betrayed, tortured, and crucified. Then three days later he was going to rise from the dead, appear to them in the upper room, show them his wounds, and share a meal with them. It probably was not until Pentecost, until the Holy Spirit descended upon them and enlightened their minds, that they even began to start to comprehend the events that had transpired.

It is not surprising that people have difficulty understanding the Eucharist because it is the mystery of our faith. However, like the Apostles, we can rely upon the Holy Spirit for understanding because that is what Jesus promised.

“But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.”

And again, like the Apostles, we must have faith and trust Jesus, even if we do not completely understand what he is telling us.

So, how should we approach the Eucharist? Well, we need to look internally, examine our conscience, and think about the outpouring of grace and love it offers us, and the opportunity it provides us to partake in the sacrifice of Christ and share in his resurrection.

We need to approach the Most Blessed Sacrament with reverence. A profound sense of awe, respect, and love needs to overwhelm us. We need to stay in the moment and focus on what we are doing. We are entering into communion with our Lord and Savior, the one who by his death and resurrection has set us free. We are receiving The Bread of Eternal Life and sharing in the divinity of Christ.

We need to be humble because there is nothing, we can do to merit the sacrifice that Jesus makes for us. We have to understand that none of us are worthy of receiving the gift that is being offered. Not even the Saints are worthy, and they understand this better than the rest of us, which is the primary reason they are Saints, and we are not.

Finally, we need to be grateful and show our gratitude by allowing Christ to enter into our hearts and change us. If we are willingly being incorporated into the Mystical Body, we need to allow ourselves to diminish so Christ can emerge in everything we think, say, and do.

The truth that Jesus is truly present, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist is difficult to fully comprehend. However, occasionally, God gives us a gentle reminder.

On August 18, 1996, after Sunday Mass concluded in the quaint Parish of Saint Mary’s Church in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of the parishioners noticed a host left on the base of a candlestick and brought it to the celebrant Fr. Pezet. Normally, Fr. Pezet would have consumed the consecrated host, but because he did not know if the it had been desecrated or tampered with, he put it in a container of water and locked it in the tabernacle. The protocol is to wait until the host dissolves and pour it out onto the ground. However, after a couple of days, they noticed that the host was transforming and growing into a “jelly-like” substance that was red in color. About a month later, it was sealed in a jar of distilled water and remained there for three years.

Eventually, a sample of the substance was given to Professor Fredrick Zugibe, the chief medical examiner for Rockland County, New York. Professor Zugibe was a cardiologist with decades of experience. He was not told where the sample came from, only asked to identify what it was.

Professor Zugibe studied the sample and concluded that it was heart muscle tissue, coming from the left ventricle. He noted that the cardiac muscle was inflamed and came from a person who had suffered trauma to the chest. He concluded that because of the abundant presence of white blood cells, the sample was alive when it was taken. When Professor Zugibe was finally told of the sample’s origin, he was astounded and replied, “Absolutely incredible! Inexplicable by science!”