Eucharist 101

Already on day two, it's time for the make-or-break question—possibly the greatest dispute between Catholics and all other Christians for the past 500+ years: Is the Eucharist Biblical? Or a false teaching that has been handed down and persists within the Catholic Church?

In today's video, we'll make the case that Biblical figures prior to Jesus, as well as Jesus himself and his Apostles, very clearly point towards the Eucharist as being the "Source and summit of the Christian life." (CCC, 1324)

Starting with the Old Testament, we'll explore how God revealed through the prophets that the Eucharist would become a soul-saving Sacrament and how different traditions within the Jewish faith prefigured how Catholics celebrate and understand the Eucharist today.

Moving into the New Testament, you'll hear the words of Jesus in the four Gospels—perhaps in a new way—as well as those of St. Paul as they both explicitly talk about the Eucharist and the various duties we have as a result of being given the Sacrament. 

“They set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, "The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!" Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread." — Luke 24:33-35

“For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."  — 1 Corinthians 11:23-25

“The miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique bread of his Eucharist..." — CCC, 1335

The Eucharist IS Biblical and as we'll discover in episode 4, some of the earliest writings we have from the first Christians, outside of the Gospels, have to do with Mass and the Eucharist. 

If you watch this video and realize you've heard other people give rebuttals or alternate interpretations of these passages, we hope you hear them in a different way today. But if not, please hold out a little longer! On day 5 we'll go into more detail and answer some of the more common rebuttals to these verses on the Eucharist, as well as tackle other common questions and challenges from our culture in regards to the Sacrament.

If some of the previous episodes of Eucharist 101 haven't been controversial enough, today's discussion is on a topic over which wars have been fought and disputes have raged for centuries!

Throughout this miniseries, we've learned what the Eucharist is, what a Sacrament is, we've seen that it is Biblical, and we've learned some spiritual words used to explain the deeper theology of what Jesus said at the Last Supper. 

If you are Christian, but not Catholic, you may recognize some of the definitions and teachings we've discussed, and they might sound familiar—similar to the type of "communion" or "Lord's supper" that you may have experienced in your own church, apart from anything to do with Catholicism.

But today, we're here to explore why it is that Catholics are so adamant that they are the "One, holy, universal, and Apostolic Church," and why they believe a valid Eucharist can only be found inside of Catholicism.

How can Catholics make this claim? Apostolic Succession.

What is Apostolic Succession? It refers to meticulously kept historical records showing that after Jesus died, the Apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, set about taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. However, when the Apostles started getting martyred one-by-one, they realized the necessity of appointing successors to carry on the work they were doing and serve God's people with the same powers given them by Jesus at the Last Supper.

Apostolic Succession, therefore, is a term referring to the bishops and popes who trace back in an unbroken historical line to the 12 Apostles and the priests they ordain to serve the Body of Christ.

What does this mean? For our purposes, it is just one part of the body of evidence showing that Catholic priests are ordained into the succession of the Apostles and thereby continue to this day to be the only ministers given power by Jesus himself to consecrate the bread and wine into the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

In other words, the Eucharist is uniquely Catholic!

It’s a strange time we live in that most people—even professed Christians—don’t really believe in miracles.

The majority of civilizations throughout history have believed in miracles. But for some reason, people in the 21^st century seem to think they’re too advanced—too enlightened—to believe in miracles.

But if miracles do happen… wouldn’t that change everything?

Miracles do happen and we can 100% verifiably prove it to you!

And not just some amazing phenomenon that happened hundreds of years ago that a Bishop in an obscure country looked at and declared was a miracle, either.

Today we'll be discussing Eucharistic Miracles, one of which happened as recently as 2006, another which has been unexplainably preserved for more than 1,000 years, and several of which have undergone extensive scientific testing by organizations as esteemed as the World Health Organization to prove the validity of the miraculous claims!

But before we get too excited, we must ask an important question: Why does God perform miracles?

Some reasons we know, but others we may never know.

One reason God does perform miracles is to spark faith in us, His beloved children. We can often wrestle with the idea of there being an invisible God until we see some sort of proof.

Another reason God may choose to perform a miracle is to show that someone, something, or some message He has sent to us is actually from Him, and not an imposter.

For example: When Jesus was preaching, healing the sick, and casting out demons among the Jews, some of those who observed his miracles accused him of working for the Devil. To that, Jesus said, “No house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, then, will his kingdom stand?” (Matthew 12:25-26)

In other words: Look at the miracles I am performing and see the good that is evident in them. God would not allow a false prophet to perform good miracles in His name.

And that is why we highlight Eucharistic miracles in today’s video.

Time and again throughout history, with no exception in our own times, people have called the validity of the Eucharist into question.

“Did Jesus really mean “Eat my flesh and drink my blood?” Or was it merely a metaphor?”
 
“Is Jesus truly present in the Eucharist as the Church teaches, or is it just a symbol?”

The miracles we present in today’s video are just a few out of the hundreds of documented and verified Eucharistic miracles from the archive of Bl. Carlo Acutis, not to mention the countless miracles experienced by the faithful throughout the centuries.

As you watch today's video and begin to research Eucharistic miracles on your own, ask yourself this question: "Why would God perform miracles like these through the Eucharist, if not to show that He is TRULY present in the sacrament as the Church teaches?"