Proclaim the Truth of the Eucharist

by Letters Editor · October 22, 2015

From Henry Sylvester, Cape Town – Patrick Dacey (October 7) raises an interesting question on why clerics feel the necessity to convince us that the host only becomes the body and blood of Jesus at the consecration, adding that surely the transformation that takes place includes the presence of Jesus in his entirety, in all that he manifests.

He framed his letter around the account of a eucharistic miracle in which a defiled host was reported to have transformed into human flesh.

The letter reminds me of Roy Schoeman, a Jewish convert to the faith who in his search to find the true Church accidently came across the Fatima story which had a major impact in his conversion to Catholicism.

Dr Schoeman was extremely mad that this miraculous event was not known to the wider world and anxiously asked the question of why he had never heard of it!

The Shroud of Turin is another example of sceptics who question its validity, even though well-documented scientific tests that were done by a broad range of Christians and non-Christians posits a supernatural intervention.

God from time to time makes himself known in another form (Mk 16:12) through miraculous events such as these to awake the unbelievers and to provide evidence to a sceptical and damaged world that does not believe that God exists.

Jesus was obviously aware of unbelief and unwillingness to trust the leadership of the Church. Hence, one week later Jesus reappeared in the Upper Room to the magisterium and his devoted followers and allowed Thomas to test the evidence of his real presence (Jn 20:24-26).

Clergy and laity often deliberately behave in a manner unbecoming before and during the consecration: a rush to get through the liturgy or a lack of focus, and, of course, our living the faith and rebelling against the magisterium’s teachings which may bring our belief into question of the real presence of Christ.

Protestant apologists often question the validity of the Eucharist by pointing to how we Catholics have abandoned the faith for Protestantism. If Jesus was so real, Catholics would prostrate themselves before him and never miss an opportunity to attend Mass, many would say.

The Eucharist is arguably the most important sacrament which the Protestant reformers denied in order to distance themselves from Rome.

Martin Luther, in his efforts to have some unity within the Protestant reform tradition, offered a middle ground with his novel teaching of consubstantiation, the belief that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ, but that they also remain bread and wine.

Zwingli and Calvin denied transubstantiation completely.

The Church must verify such events as described by Mr Dacey by authentic means to dispel any misgivings, skullduggery or scepticism, and to make known the truth of what Christ taught his Church.