Let's first look back on how humanity fell into sin in the first place; it wasn't murder or adultery; it was disobeying God and eating a forbidden fruit that God told them not to eat. It's not God only seeing our love for food that He came down and presented himself as food, but to save humanity by reversing what happened in the Garden of Eden. He asks us to eat the bread that has come down from Heaven and drink His blood. The Eucharist is the new manna from Heaven, the bread that will never go old, the true bread from Heaven that will always sustain us. 

 

The Eucharist is the new fulfilled Passover established by Jesus Christ. As we mentioned, the first Passover was to release the Israelites from the Egyptians. To be free from the angel of death, not only did the Israelites have to slaughter the lamb, but eat the lamb as well. God says that when the angel of death sees the blood of the sacrificial lamb on the doorpost, the angel will pass over that house, that's why it's called "Passover". Jesus institutes the Eucharist at the Passover feast. He is sacrificing Himself for us, putting himself in place of sinners. As Jesus is the lamb, of the new Passover, we have to eat his flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life. 

 

Jesus himself says in the Gospel of Matthew, “Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. “Drink it, all of you’,” he said; “this is my blood, which seals God's covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:27-28). In this verse, Jesus uses the word "drink". We remember this word from John 6:53.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul mentions how important it is to keep the reverence and the respect of the Eucharist. Paul highlights the presence of God in the bread and wine. He warns us of our conscience while taking the bread and wine, and if we are in sin and do not recognise it is the Body and Blood of Christ that we are partaking in, that we dishonour Jesus and we are casting judgement upon ourselves. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 is a clear message that Paul did not believe that the bread and wine were only symbols or just metaphors but truly Christ. If they were only symbols, how would we truly be guilty of sin against the Lord's Body and Blood? Why would it be so important to examine yourself before eating the bread that's just a metaphor of Christ?

 

This is why Catholics believe that no one in mortal sin should receive Communion without reconciliation first. 

 

If we go back to the book of Genesis just for a minute, we notice a small connection. As we know in the Garden of Eden there was the Tree of Life and the Tree of Good and Evil. The Tree of Life symbolised eternal life, it gave holiness, and showed a oneness with God. When Adam and Eve sinned, a part of God's mercy to them was blocking the access to the Tree of Life, so they or future generations would not defile themselves by receiving God's holiness when they are in mortal sin. In the New Testament, Christ is the new Tree of Life. By dying on the cross and resurrecting, He shares His holiness and life with us through the Eucharist. 

 

The Catholic Church has always taught that a person in mortal sin would be defiling themselves by eating of the Lord's Body and Blood. This is also why non-Catholics should not partake in the Eucharist in The Catholic Church, not because they are worse than Catholics in any way, but because many may not recognise the true presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. When you go up and receive the bread or the wine, the priest or minister will say "the body of Christ", or "The blood of Christ", and in return, partakers will say "Amen", which is a statement that they believe that is the body and blood of Christ.

 

"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, These are the Passover regulations: No foreigner shall eat the Passover meal, but any slave that you have bought may eat it if you circumcise him first. No temporary resident or hired worker may eat it. The whole meal must be eaten in the house in which it was prepared; it must not be taken outside. And do not break any of the animal's bones. The whole community of Israel must celebrate this festival, but no uncircumcised man may eat it. If a foreigner has settled among you and wants to celebrate Passover to honor the Lord , you must first circumcise all the males of his household. He is then to be treated like a native-born Israelite and may join in the festival." (Exodus 12:43-48)

 

"We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration [i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus" - Justin Martyr A.D. 151

 

Knowing all of this, however, may give some questions. One in particular: "If we receive the Eucharist, and Catholics believe that it is Christ that they consume, then why do they continue to sin?" or rather, "why don't most consumers believe that it is Christ?" These are all good and thought-provoking questions. In answering this, it is a good idea to look back on the story of Adam and Eve in the beginnings of Genesis. Adam and Eve were made pure and holy. They were both in a friendship with God. However, we must remember that God gave them free will as a gift to choose right from wrong. Even though Adam and Eve were in a state of grace, they still had the freedom to choose, and unfortunately, they chose wrong. Even though Catholics receive Christ in the Eucharist, it doesn't mean we are the holiest people or can't sin. We still do have the freedom to choose. However, we do receive grace, and that grace empowers us to make more Christ-centered choices.

 

The answer to the second question is similar to the first. Sometimes through our free will, we don't make the time to actually sit and reflect on the true meaning of Communion and the real presence of the Eucharist. It is faith that exceeds human understanding, however we must always be active in reading the Scriptures and praying for God's wisdom and the Holy Spirit to guide our hearts.