Catholics bow down to the Eucharistic host as Christ gave Himself to us through bread and wine. Catholics aren’t worshipping a false god, but the real and true God through the physical matter that He freely gave to us, and our works of faith in bringing Himself closer to us.

 

Up to the Protestant Reformation time, there was no official question regarding the Real Presence of the Eucharist. All Christians understood the literal meaning of the Lord's words in the last supper accounts. When Martin Luther started the Reformation, he disagreed with various things, yet he believed in the real presence of the Eucharist in some ways. It wasn't until a former priest, Huldrych Zwingli got involved with the Reformation in Switzerland that he denied the real presence, and announced that the last supper was just symbolic. As a result, many non-Catholic Christians now believe that the bread and wine are mere symbols of Christ's body and blood, and many believe various things regarding the Eucharist. Many Christian denominations believe that literal meanings can only come from statements that do not imply impossibility, contradiction, or absurdity. But noting this idea, isn't nothing impossible for God? We must ask ourselves if we take all the events in the Bible with great significance and meaning, how then could the most important night of Jesus' life be just a symbol of remembrance? 

 

One crucial factor in understanding the significance of the Last Supper, is that it wasn't a coincidence that Jesus was still around to partake in His last "Passover meal" and institute the Eucharist. Jesus made sure that He would be present until he didn't need to be. Satan had already entered into Judas, and Judas was wondering how he could betray Jesus. Jesus only told two of His disciples, where they would have the Passover meal. The others had to wait until later on when they gathered to know where the location was. It's ironic considering Jesus rarely chose only particular disciples to do a specific mission. It could be seen that Jesus didn't want particular people to know where He would be at a specific place at a particular time. Therefore, if the last supper was only meant to be symbolic, why would Jesus have secured his certainty that He could institute the last supper?

 

The Catholic Church teaches that the Eucharist is the real Blood and Body, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Catholics believe this because, in John 6:32-58, Jesus speaks to his followers, revealing himself as the true bread from Heaven. Therefore using the last supper accounts and John 6:32-58, we are given a more straightforward understanding of what Jesus' message to us is. The bread of life discourse in John 6 is one year before Jesus' last supper. Jesus is preparing His disciples for the institution of the Eucharist and is speaking to His followers on what they must do as followers of Christ.

 

Many non-Catholics see John 6 as a metaphor, the same kind of metaphors that Jesus uses to describe Himself as the door, and the vine (John 10:9, 15:1). However when we read these “I AM” statements closely, we can notice the ones that are symbolic and the ones that are literal. For one example in John 10 and 15, Jesus doesn’t imply Himself is a literal door, made of wood, or that He is a plant. Yet in John 6, Jesus doesn't just say that He is the bread of life, and that He will give us life receiving him, but He is much more distinct as He says "'For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink.” (John 6:55). 

 

Despite Jesus not using the materialistic word "wine" in this passage, we see that it connects to a drink, something more than just bread. When we look at the language of the words in John 6:54, the literal meaning increases. John uses the language for eating is Trogo, which means "to chew on". Jesus tells the followers that He is the "bread of life". He is the "living bread" both as Word of God and as the sacrificial victim for humankind's salvation. He refers to the manna in the wilderness, and how many Israelites died. Even though God supernaturally gave the bread, it didn't give them eternal life. Jesus is the real bread of Heaven, the one sacrifice for all creation. Just like the Israelites have to eat the Passover, He is telling His disciples then and now that we have to eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life.

 

The Jews believed Jesus as being literal; however, they didn't understand how they could consume Christ, mostly since they were prohibited to drink blood, as it would be going against the law of Moses. Many followers left at that point, turning away from the teachings of Christ. The concept of eating someone's flesh and drinking His blood was an absurd thing to do. Even though Jesus knew His followers didn't understand this teaching, He didn't give up speaking the truth and didn't imply at any point that it's just a metaphor. Jesus let them go because He allows people to have free will. The last supper and John 6 are interwoven. Jesus' words in each one would only be symbolic without the other. 

 

"They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes"  Ignatius of Antioch AD 110

 

In Matthew 4:4, Jesus gives us an indication that he will become the spiritual bread that feeds the believers. He explains that human beings can't live on mortal bread, but the supernatural bread that Jesus gives to us. We need to have faith and understand the significance of what we are feeding on, and we need to listen to Christ's words. "But Jesus answered, 'The scripture says, Human beings cannot live on bread alone, but need every word that God speaks.”(Matthew 4:4)

 

We must consider that when Jesus uses the word "body", it refers to the totality of Himself, who He is. Likewise, regarding the word "blood", it isn't just saying the physical blood that runs through our veins, but the life source. 

 

In the Jewish faith, they see blood as the life-source and the energy of a person. In the Jewish law and tradition, to drink the blood of an animal was forbidden, because that's where the life source is. The Isrealites were commanded when an animal was sacrificed, their blood was to be poured on the altar for atonement of sins (Leviticus 17:11). Therefore, Jesus telling the people they must drink His blood to have eternal life sounds entirely against the law of Moses (John 6:53-54). However, The purpose of eating and drinking His body and blood is that we may have life in Christ. Notice, the only time when Jesus uses the word "covenant" in the New Testament is when He says “This cup is God's new covenant sealed with my blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20) 

 

The Eucharist only became His real presence when Jesus rose from the dead. Consuming the Lord's body and blood and having life through that, reveals that we are receiving the risen Christ, not dead flesh.