The Catholic belief that the Eucharist is truly Christ's body and blood is one of the most compelling reasons why Protestants join the Church. It is a difficult doctrine for many and there were no shortage of disciples that abandoned Jesus over the teaching when he first discussed it in John 6, but it is also one of the clearest both foreshadowed and outright discussed in Scripture as well as in the writings of the early Christians.
Of all the things I have come to love about the Catholic Church, it is the Eucharist which is sustains me and sets my heart afire for Christ like nothing else. It gives me tangible grace that is truly unrivaled, and I have come to experience firsthand how literal Jesus' words were when he said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you."
Today over at Called to Communion, Tim Troutman documents the evidence that the Church Fathers believed in and practiced what today we technically term as "transubstantiation:"
The Church Fathers on Transubstantiation
May it prove helpful to you, no matter where you are in your journey.
Yes, once you believe the Eucharist is truly the Body and Precious Blood of Jesus, there is nowhere to go but the Catholic Church.
ReplyDeleteIt was because of the Real Presence that my sister converted. I am a convert too. I so longed for my Protestant sister to join me in the Church. We used to have very lively discussions about the Real Presence and through the Holy Spirit, she finally came to believe. At first, my sister didn't know whether she was comfortable with all the other truths of our faith. But it didn't really matter. She believed in the True Presence and the Catholic Church is the only one where Jesus is truly present. All else was secondary and she knew she'd deal with everything else in time. And everything else did fall into place.