Understanding the Eucharist - What is it?

Every now and then the discussion in my Bible Study will veer into the realm of Mormonism.  And when discussing Mormonism, it is easy to poke fun at its more eccentric beliefs.  However, I try to remind the kids that we – as Catholics – have a few doozies of our own.  Probably the hardest one of all is our doctrine on the Eucharist. 

We believe that during the Catholic worship service (the “Mass”), when the priest holds up the bread and wine (the “elements”) and says, “This is my body / this is my blood” … those elements become the body our Savior.  Yet despite this change, the Eucharist retains the same size, shape, weight, taste, and nutritional value it had before.  You could put it under a microscope and you’ll only ever see bread. 

What has changed is the so-called “substance” of those elements.  You might also call it the metaphysical core, the underlying reality, the true nature.  Regardless of how you phrase it, what you now see is only bread and wine by appearance.  But the answer to the question, “What is that?” has radically changed.  That is what the Catholic Church refers to as "transubstantiation".

This has been universally believed since the earliest days of Christianity, and folks have been struggling with it just as long.  How do we understand this bizarre teaching?

Today I want to look at one way of breaking it down and understanding it better.



A Combination of Two Miracles:

First thing, I can't take credit for this explanation.  I learned it from apologist Jimmy Akin.  He notes that the Eucharist appears to be a combination of two miracles we see in Scripture.


1. Changing Water into Wine:

The first miracle is Jesus changing water into wine at the wedding feast at Cana.

In this instance, Jesus brought about a total transformation of water into wine.  One thing was turned into another thing. Here is the text:

“Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ 

So they took it.  When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, ‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.’” - John 2:6-10

#1 - A thing being changed into something else. 

2. Angels Appearing as Men:

The second miracle is the phenomenon of angels appears as humans.

Angles really don’t have physical bodies.  They are pure spirits by nature – living in heaven and worshiping God.  Yet there are several places in Scripture where angels appear as human beings to facilitate communication. 

Here is one such instance from Luke’s account of the resurrection:

“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body.  While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.’” – Luke 24:2-7

So when we observe an angel appearing as a human, that body does not accurately reflect the true essence of the angel.  We have a mismatch between the purely spiritual nature of an angel and the physical body which appears before the startled onlookers.

#2 - A thing appearing in a way which doesn't reflect its true nature.

Putting Them Together:

With the Eucharist, certain aspects of both miracles are occurring simultaneously. 

From the first miracle, one thing is being turned into a different thing.  The bread and wine are transformed into the body of Christ. 

From the second miracle, there is a mismatch between the appearances of and true nature of the Eucharist.  The substance of Christ exists under appearances - bread and wine - which do not reflect what is truly there.

So anyway, this illustration was very helpful for me when I first heard it.  Hopefully it was for you too.