makes present the redeeming sacrifice of Christ . This is why Vatican II teaches that “ as often as the sacrifice of the cross in which Christ our Passover was sacrificed ( cf . 1 Cor 5:7 ) is celebrated on the altar , the work of our redemption is carried on ” ( Lumen Gentium , 3 ).
The New Testament provides unmistakable witness to the real substantial presence of Christ in the Eucharist . At the Last Supper , Jesus takes the bread , blesses it , and gives it to his disciples saying : “ Take and eat ; this is my body ” ( Mt 26:26 ; cf . Mk 14:22 and Lk 22:19 ). Jesus does not say this represents my body or this is a symbol of my body . Instead , he says : “ this is my body .” When he takes the chalice and asks his disciples to drink , he says : “ this is my blood of the covenant , which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins ” ( Mt 26:27 ; cf . Mk 14:24 and Lk 22:20 ). Again , we see that Jesus does not say this is a symbol of my blood , but this is my blood . In John 6:54 Jesus tells his disciples that “ unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood , you do not have life within you .” Many of his disciples left because they could not accept this hard saying ( Jn 6:66 ). St . Paul hands on this teaching of the Lord in 1 Corinthians 11:23 – 32 , and he makes it clear that we must discern Christ ’ s body in the Eucharist or bring judgment on ourselves ( cf . 1 Cor 11:29 ).
The Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is testified by all the Fathers of the Church . St . Ignatius of Antioch ( d . ca . 107 ) speaks of the Eucharist as “ the Flesh of Jesus Christ ” and “ his Blood ” ( Letter to the Romans , 7 ). St . Justin Martyr ( c . 100 – 165 ) says that “ the food over which thanks has been given by the prayer of the word that is given by Him … is the Flesh and Blood of the same incarnate Jesus ” ( First Apology , 66 ).
The Eastern Fathers spoke of the bread and wine undergoing a change ( metabollo ) or a remaking ( metapoiei ) into the body and blood of Christ . In the sixth century , Leontios of Jerusalem used the term transubstantiation ( metousiosis ) in reference to the change of the water into blood in Exodus 7:17 , but it was only in the twelfth century that Roland Bandinelli ( c . 1105 – 1181 ) and Alan of Lille ( c . 1116 – 1202 ) spoke of the Eucharistic change as transubstantiation . The ecumenical council , Lateran IV , of 1215 teaches that the body and blood of Jesus Christ are truly contained in the sacrament of the altar under the appearances ( sub speciebus ) of bread and wine , the bread being transubstantiated ( transsubstantiatis ) into the body by the divine power , and the wine into the blood ” ( Denz . -H , 802 ).
The Council of Trent reaffirms this teaching in 1551 and states that the change of the bread and wine into the substance of Christ ’ s body and blood has been “ fittingly and properly named transubstantiation ” by the Catholic Church ( Denz . -H , 1642 , 1652 ). Trent condemns those who deny “ that in the sacrament of the most holy Eucharist the body and blood , together with the soul and divinity , of our Lord Jesus Christ and , therefore , the whole Christ is truly , really , and substantially contained ” ( Denz . -H , 1651 ; cf . 1636 and 1640 ). Trent also teaches that “ the whole Christ is contained under each species and under each part of either species when separated ” ( Denz . -H , 1653 ). Moreover , after the Mass , the substance of Christ ’ s body and blood remains in the consecrated hosts and particles ( Denz . -H , 1654 ), and Christ is to be adored in the Sacrament with the worship due to God ( Denz . -H , 1656 ).
What Trent teaches about transubstantiation remains the dogma of the Catholic Church ( see the Catechism of the Catholic Church , 1376 ). In the 1960s , some Catholic theologians proposed transsignification and transfinalization as alternate expressions for transubstantiation . Pope Paul VI responded to these proposals in his 1965 encyclical , Mysterium Fidei , no . 46 : As a result of transubstantiation , the species of bread and wine undoubtedly take on a new signification and a new finality , for they are no longer ordinary bread and wine but instead a sign of something sacred and a sign of spiritual food ; but they take on this new signification , this new finality , precisely because they contain a new “ reality ” which we can rightly call ontological . For what now lies beneath the aforementioned species is not what was there before , but something completely different ; and not just in the estimation of Church belief but in reality , since once the substance or nature of the bread and wine has been changed into the body and blood of Christ , nothing remains of the bread and the wine except for the species — beneath which Christ is present whole and entire in His physical “ reality ,” corporeally present , although not in the manner in which bodies are in a place ( Denz . -H , 4413 ).
The holy Eucharist is not simply bread and wine invested with a new significance and new finality . After the consecration at Mass , only the appearances of bread and wine remain . The substance or reality of the bread and wine becomes the body , blood , soul , and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ . In holy Communion , we receive Christ whole and entire . This is our Lord ’ s great gift to us . This is his way of remaining with us , nourishing us , and uniting with us . The Eucharist is truly a miracle . The laws of physics and chemistry cannot explain the mysterious change of the substance or reality of bread and wine into the body , blood , soul , and divinity of Christ . This marvelous change is brought about by the power of God . As Catholics , we must never lose faith in the most holy Eucharist . We must have the same faith as the three shepherd children of Fatima , who , in the autumn of 1916 , memorized a prayer taught to them by an angel , which begins : O Most Holy Trinity , Father , Son , and Holy Spirit , I adore Thee profoundly . I offer Thee the most precious Body , Blood , Soul , and Divinity of Jesus Christ , present in all the tabernacles of the world .
Dr . Robert Fastiggi , Bishop Kevin M . Britt Chair of Dogmatic Theology and Christology , has been at Sacred Heart Major Seminary since 1999 . During his time at Sacred Heart , Dr . Fastiggi has taught courses in ecclesiology , Christology , Mariology , church history , sacramental theology , and moral theology .
shms . edu 5