In this clip, Cy Kellett welcomes Tim Staples to discuss the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist. Tim dives deep into the belief that the bread and wine are not merely symbols but the actual body and blood of Christ, revealing the profound intimacy this sacrament offers to believers. Whether you’re Catholic, Lutheran, or just curious, this conversation will challenge your understanding of faith!
Transcript:
Caller: I grew up Lutheran, and I’m currently in classes to become a Catholic. But one of the things that has been the hardest for me to transition is the Eucharist. Now, all these years, the bread and the wine have always represented the blood and body of Christ. And it’s my understanding that the Catholics believe that the bread and the wine are the body and blood of Christ. And I’m just kind of hoping that maybe you can help me understand that a little bit more.
Tim Staples: Absolutely. Well, Danny, this was a big one for me as a convert. And one thing I think will be helpful to you is to know we don’t believe. It’s not a symbol. It is the sacred hosts, or what we call the appearances of bread and wine have symbolic value. The Council of Trent taught that infallibly, they are symbols. They are symbols of the body, blood and soul. Body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord. They have symbolic value, but they are also what they symbolize. Right. Because see what we find. For example, in 1 Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 16, the Scripture says, and this is referring to the Eucharist, the cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? And the bread which we break? Is it not a participation in the body of Christ? So Jesus, in His great infinite mercy for us, deigned to come to us in a. I mean, think about this, Danny. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among. God didn’t have to become man in order to save us. God’s all powerful. He could have saved us any number of ways, but he chose the most intimate way. He became one of us to save us. Right. He took upon himself human nature. He suffered and died on the cross in order that we might have an intimacy of relationship that would not have been possible apart from this great august gift that he gave us in the Incarnation. Well, God loves us so much, he wants an even closer relationship with us. Because as you know, Danny, the scripture says in Philippians 2. Five, Christ, though He was in the form of God, thought his equality with God not something to be clung to, but he emptied himself, taking upon himself the form of a slave. But he didn’t end there in the Incarnation, just in the act of the Incarnation. He merited enough to save an infinite number of worlds. But that wasn’t enough. His love is insatiable. He further humbled himself even unto death, the death of on the cross. Oh, my goodness. In order to save us. Well, guess what? That wasn’t enough for Jesus either. Because now he, even in a Fuller way humiliates himself, taking upon himself the form, if you will, of bread and wine so that we can literally consume him, so that when we receive the Eucharist, it’s exactly what Paul says in First Corinthians 10:16. It’s a participation in the blood of Christ because that’s what it is. It’s a participation in the body of Christ. Why? Because that’s what it is. Jesus describes it for us in John, chapter 6, verse 53. He says, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. My food is my. My body is real meat. My blood is real drink. Jesus teaches us what this communion is that he’s talking about. He is, in John’s Gospel, the Lamb of God. He’s the Passover lamb. And as you know, Danny, they ate the Passover lamb. The lamb wasn’t just. They didn’t have little wafers that looked like lambs. They ate the lamb. According To Exodus, chapter 12, you did not participate in the Passover until you ate not just the lamb, but the entire lamb. Right. And if any of the lamb lasted, it had to be burned entirely because you had to eat the entire lamb. Well, that’s all symbolic of our Passover lamb. And this is why Paul would say when he’s talking about communion in First Corinthians 5:7, he says, Christ, our Passover has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us keep the feast. What feast? The Passover feast. And as you know, Danny, in the Passover, you had the first bloody day where the lamb was sacrificed, but that wasn’t the end. For seven days. Well, first they had to consume the lamb, but for seven days they had what was called the Feast of Unleavened bread, which was actually originally one feast. So you had the first day of the bloody sacrifice where you consume the land, and then you have seven days of unleavened bread. Well, guess what? We had the first and bloody day 2000 years ago, but we are now in that second feast of unleavened bread. And that’s just as much part of the. Of the passover as the first and bloody day where they eat the unleavened bread of sacrifice. And that’s why Paul says, christ, our Passover has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast. And then he describes that feast in 1st Corinthians 10:15. This feast is right. The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a part, literally a participation or a partaking of the blood of Christ. Right. And the bread which we break, is it not a partaking of the blood of Christ? And what we have to understand is we have a nuptial relationship. Jesus tells us through St. Paul in Ephesians 5, 1932 that marriage is a sacramental manifestation of the love of Christ for His Church. Right? That means that Christ has a bodily, intimate relationship with his bride, the Church. Now, this is not sexual, of course. Marriage is a symbolic representation. Representation of this. But the Eucharist becomes that bodily connection that Jesus has with his bride, where we consume him bodily. He comes into our bodies, and in that those 10 minutes of intimate relationship graces are confected and communicated that draw us to him in a way that you can’t get any other way. That’s how much. So the Eucharist, basically, Danny, is how radically in love Jesus is with us. We have to take a break, but I wonder if we can send Danny living bread. Is that right? Living bread. Living bread. All right. We’ll send you a CD from Tim. You can also get an MP3 version if you prefer.