``Where the
Bishop is, there let the multitude of believers be;
even as where Jesus is, there is the Catholic Church'' Ignatius of
Antioch, 1st c. A.D
The Eucharist
This topic is
so huge, so wondrous, it's hard to know where to begin,
so I'll guess I'll start with explaining what the Church teaches about
the Sacrifice of the Mass and about the Real Presence of Christ in the
Eucharist:
The Mass is a
true Sacrifice: Christ, as the High Priest after the order of
Melchizedek, offers the graces of His once and for all Sacrifice on the
Cross to us sacramentally under the appearances of bread and wine
through the ministry of His ordained priests
Christ's
ordained priests offer Christ to the Father under the appearances
of bread and wine. Christ is really and truly present, under the
appearance of bread and wine, in every way: Body, Blood, Soul, and
Divinity.
The Church, as
the Body of Christ, offers Herself to God. Each member, as a part of
the royal priesthood ("the priesthood of believers") offers his or her
own sufferings and prayers, uniting them with Christ's offering of
Himself. This includes the entire Church: Militant, Suffering, and
Triumphant.
Christ is not
re-crucified; the Sacrifice of the Mass is unbloody -- after the
order of Melchizedek. Christ died once at a finite point in
History; but God is outside of time and His offering of Himself is
eternal. The Grace Christ offers in the Divine Liturgy and what He
offered on the Cross are of the same sacrifice; therefore, in no way
can the liturgical Sacrifice be a "repetition" of the Crucifixion. His
sacrifice is re-presented ("made present again in some way"). As
the Council of Trent put it, "The fruits of that bloody sacrifice, it
is well understood, are received most abundantly through this unbloody
one, so far is the latter from derogating in any way from the former."
The Sacrifice of
the Mass is a propitiatory sacrifice, that is, it is made for the
remission of sins and for the appeasement of the Father. The Old
Testament sacrifices were ineffectual, but the Sacrifice of Christ on
Calvary, which the Mass re-presents, is effectual because
Christ Himself is both the High Priest and the perfect Victim.
Partaking of His Body (with right intention, as with all Sacraments)
remits venial sin and sanctifies.
All Christians
agree that Jesus Christ is a High Priest, a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 6:17-20) and that we are members of His
royal priesthood, "the priesthood of believers," as Protestants say (1
Peter 2:9-10, Revelation 1:6, Revelation 5:10 , Revelation 20:6). And
Catholics, Orthodox, and a few Protestants know that there is an
ordained priesthood (the Greek word for "elder" is "presbuteros," which
became "presbyter" in Latin and "priest" in English. So whenever you
see "elder" in the New Testament, see the word "priest"!). In all these
cases, the word "priesthood" entails "sacrifice" as sacrifice
is what priests do. The question becomes, then, what is being
offered by each kind of priest? The answer is found by looking at how
the Old Testament sacrifices prefigure and culminate in the New
Testament once and for all time perfect sacrifice made by Jesus Christ
on that one day (by Jewish reckoning) from sunset Holy Thursday to
sunset Good Friday.
Old Testament Sacrifices
Bread
and
Wine
Let's first look
at Old Testament sacrifices, starting with the
enigmatic Melchizedek. What a shadowy figure! He shows up, one time and
mysteriously, almost at the very beginning of the Bible -- in Genesis
14, after Abram (soon to become Abraham) rescues Lot from the all these
warring Kings. After the rescue, there he comes, Melchizedek, King of
Jerusalem and "High Priest of the God Most High" (this is the first
time the word priest, kohen, is used in the Bible!). He blesses
Abraham (indicating a position of authority), who gave him a "tenth of
everything." And what does this High Priest of the God Most High, this
King of Righteousness, this man who deigns to bless Abraham offer? Bread
and wine. An unbloody sacrificial offering.
Melchizedek is mentioned no more in the Old Testament until Psalm
110:4:
The LORD hath
sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest
for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
...but
his offering is alluded to in Malachi's prophecy:
Malachi 1:10-11
Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought?
neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure
in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at
your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of
the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every
place incense ["Sacrifice" in the Douay-Reims] shall be offered
unto my name, and a pure offering ["clean oblation" in the
Douay-Reims]: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the
Lord of hosts.
Then the Bible
is again silent about Melchizedek until the Book of Hebrews, which
tells us that Our Lord is a priest after the order of Melchizedek
forever and, in Hebrews 7:11-12, that " If therefore perfection were by
the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,)
what further need was there that another priest should rise after the
order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the order of Aaron? For
the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also
of the law." Here we can see that the priesthood still exists -- but it
is changed and is now after the order of Melchizedek. We know that
Melchizedek offered bread and wine. We know that the offering will be
pure!
Now let's back up again and see more of how the Old Testament
prefigures the Eucharist:
Leviticus
23:12-13
[And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying...] And ye shall offer that day
when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without blemish of the first year for
a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the meat offering thereof shall be
two tenth deals of fine flour mingled with oil, an offering made by
fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour: and the drink offering thereof
shall be of wine, the fourth part of an hin.
The offering was to be flour mixed with oil,
and it
was to be offered with wine.
Leviticus 24:5-9
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two
tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows,
six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. And thou shalt put
pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a
memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Every
sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being
taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And
it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy
place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made
by fire by a perpetual statute.
And
it was so:
1 Kings 7:48
And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the
LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread
was
2 Chronicles 2:4 2
[And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying...] Behold, I build
an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to
burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread,
and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and
on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This
is an ordinance for ever to Israel.
Thanksgiving
Offerings, or "Korban Todah"
Another type of Old Testament Korban (or quorban),
i.e., "offering," is the thanksgiving offering or "todah," a
form of Zebach Sh'lamim ("peace offering") which was initiated
in Leviticus 7:11-15:
And this is the
law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the
LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the
sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and
unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of
fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering
leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace
offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for
an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that
sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the
sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the
same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the
morning.
Interestingly,
even the Jewish rabbis said in the Midrash that, when the Messiah
comes, all offerings will be abolished except the thanksgiving todah
offering (Vayikra Rabba 9,2).
Blood and the Korban Pesach (Passover Offering)
In the Exodus account of the Passover, God commands the Israelites to
take an unblemished, male lamb, sacrifice it, and spread its blood on
their doorposts as a sign. They were told to eat the flesh of the
lamb that night, with unleavened bread. When He sees the blood on
the doorposts, those houses would be saved from having their firstborn
slain -- and this Passover was to be kept as a feast as an ordinance
forever (since the destruction of the Temple, the paschal lamb could no
longer be sacrificed; the post-Temple Jews replaced Passover practices
with the seder.).
Now, this Passover offering is intimately associated with (rabbis even
call the yearly memorial a form of) Korban Todah insofar as a Korban
Todah is obligatory when one has been saved from danger, as what
happened when God spared the Hebrews' firstborn. These two korbanot
go hand in hand. 1
Finally, another blood offering is described in Exodus 24:8:
And Moses took
the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood
of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these
words.
The
Red Heifer
After Melchizedek, one of the most enigmatic phenomena of the Old
Testament involves the sacrifice of the red heifer, described in
Numbers 19. Outside the city -- and this was the only sacrifice
to be made outside the city -- a perfect, unblemished, never-been-yoked
red heifer was to have its blood sprinkled seven times in front of the
tabernacle, and its body burned along with cedar wood, hyssop, and
scarlet, in front of the priest. Then the ashes were to be mixed
with pure water and sprinkled over those who are impure because of
contact with the dead and for the purpose of purification from sin
(Numbers 19:9).
Christ's Once and For All Historical Sacrifice
Brings
Together all the Old Testament Korbanot
All of these Old
Testament sacrifices were infeffectual in the eternal sense, but they
prefigure the New Testament Sacrifice instituted by Christ from Maundy
Thursday (the day before Good Friday) to His Crucifixion -- actually
the same day by Jewish reckoning, from sunset to sunset. Recalling the
Korban Pesach, He'd told his disciples beforehand that they must eat
His flesh and drink His blood. That He was understood to mean this
literally is obvious when one reads that people were offended,
disgusted, when they heard Him say so! They were so revolted, that many
walked away -- but Jesus didn't stop them and clarify, "You idiots, you
misunderstand! I speak in spiritual terms and am not talking
literally!" No. What He did was let them go:
John 6:51-69
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of
this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is
my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews
therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his
flesh to eat?
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye
eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life
in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal
life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat
indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father
hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he
shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not
as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this
bread shall live for ever.
These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum. Many
therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an
hard saying; who can hear it? [Note: if all Our Lord was talking about
was a monthly-or-so gathering together to sing "Shine, Jesus, Shine"
and eat some bread in memory of Him, how could it be such a "hard
saying"?]
When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said
unto them, Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of
man ascend up where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are
spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not.
For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and
who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no
man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with
him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon
Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of
eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God.
He
told what was
to come about and then, on that Thursday, He fulfilled Passover, taking
bread and wine, after the order of Melchizedek, and saying "This IS My
body, this IS My blood." (Matthew 26:26-27; Mark 14:22-24; Luke
22:19-20 -- absolutely parallel in the synoptic Gospels). In Luke
22:20, recalling Moses in Exodus 24:8, He says, "This cup is the new
testament in my blood, which is shed for you." He took bread and gave
thanks (todah). "Do this," He said, "in remembrance of
Me" (Luke 22:19). On that day, this "Lamb of God who takes away the
sins of the world" (John 1:29) prepared for His once and for all,
perfect Sacrifice.
Then He was taken, tried, scourged, and, as prefigured by the sacrifice
of the red heifer, draped in scarlet and taken outside the
city to be immolated for the sins of the world, hung on wood (cedar?
2) and given
vinegar upon hyssop
to drink.
After His resurrection, He ascended into Heaven where He appears at the
Altar of God, as both our High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, and
the Perfect Victim -- a "Lamb as it had been slain" (Revelation 5:6).
He offers the graces of His once and for all historical sacrifice to us
forever, sending to us the "hidden manna" He'd promised (John 6:35,
Revelation 2:17).
Melchizedek's bread and wine, korban todah, korban pesach, the
sacrifice of the red heifer, the Old Testament manna, Malachi's "pure offering"
-- all these sacrificial effects, gifts, and prophecies were brought
together when Christ instituted the Mass at His Last Supper and then,
on that same Jewish day, shed His blood for the remission of sin.
At the Sacrifice of the Mass, the Catholic priest offers that same
Sacrifice to the Father, and then eats and offers to us the glorified
Body of Christ in a form whose "accidents" look like bread and wine
after the order of Melchizedek. Calvary is pulled out of time and
re-presented before our very eyes! Read again: St. John's Heavenly
vision of our Lord, glorified and ascended, is that of a "Lamb as it
had been slain" (Revelation 5:6) with an Altar (Revelation 8:3), whence
He offers Himself to us in "hidden manna" (Revelation 2:17), the
Eucharist. Even in Heaven, the resurrected, glorified Christ, the King
of Kings, appears as a "lamb as it had been slain," the perfect
Oblation.
Read the prophecy of Malachi again:
Malachi 1:10-11
Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought?
neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure
in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at
your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of
the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every
place incense ["Sacrifice" in the Douay-Reims] shall be offered
unto my name, and a pure offering ["clean oblation" in the
Douay-Reims]: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the
Lord of hosts.
"In every
place..." How can there be predicted pure sacrifice in
every place in the New
Covenantif Protestant theology is true, if Christ's once
and for all Sacrifice is not to be re-presented as it is at the
Catholic Mass?
In Jerome's (A.D. 340-420) Vulgate, the word that the King James Bible
renders "incense" is "sacrificatur," and "offering" is rendered
"oblatio." Where in your faith community's worship is incense, let
alone, as
the true translation reads, sacrifice offered? Most importantly, where
is this pure
oblation? I've heard Protestants explain this away by saying that
Malachi was speaking about "spiritual offerings," but I challenge them
to defend their own purity, especially in light of the Calvinist
theology of "utter depravity," and Luther's thoughts on our goodness
which can be summarized by quoting his, "Be a sinner and sin on
bravely, but have stronger faith and rejoice in Christ, who is the
victory of sin, death, and the world. Do not for a moment imagine that
this life is the abiding place of justice: sin must be committed...sin
cannot tear you away from Him, even though you commit adultery a
hundred times a day and commit as many murders." Luther and Calvin, the
Father and Prince of Protestantism, viewed man as anything but capable
of offering God anything pure!
Protester, where are this incense and pure oblation
offered?
This sacrifice is prophecied! Where is it? Are your grape
juice and saltines a "pure offering"? Are they pure in
themselves? Or do your undoubtedly good intentions and personal
holiness make them pure? Are they an offering worthy of God
Almighty?
We Catholics believe that God is the only One able to offer
something pure enough to please Him -- His Son! At the Mass, the bread
and wine become Christ by the power of Christ. And it is God the Son --
not bread or wine, or grape juice and saltines -- Who is offered to the
Father at each and every Mass, drawing on that once and for all
Sacrifice, making it present again. We have the fulfillment of
Malachi's prediction (even, ironically, in terms of the faulty King
James "incense" translation!); do you? Does Christ the High Priest
drink the cup with you at your grape juice and saltine "services"?:
Matthew 27:27-29
And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I
will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day
when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.
Will
eating your grape juice and crackers unworthily make you sick and
possibly die? How do you make sense of Paul's words to the
Corinthians?
I Corinthians
11:23-30
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you,
that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is
my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After
the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this
cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink
it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink
this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever
shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall
be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For
he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation
to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are
weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
"Not
discerning" what (say it out loud now!)? What did Paul say the
apparent "bread" and "wine" are?
If consuming your grape juice and saltines unworthily can't make
you sick, then you are not eating what Paul was eating!
But "the Spirit quickeneth and the flesh profiteth
nothing"!
Some Protestants
claim that this part of John 6, "It is the spirit that quickeneth;
the flesh profiteth nothing" proves that Jesus was speaking only
symbolically. But how can He mean BOTH
Verily, verily,
I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink
his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh
my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
AND
It is the spirit
that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing?
How can both of
these verses be true if understood in the sense that Protestants
understand them? Is He schizophrenic? A liar? A contradicter of His own
words? Did He change His mind in between verses 58 and 63?
Whom was Christ addressing when He spoke those words? That section of
the chapter begins (verse 24) with our Lord saying
Amen, amen, I
say to you, you seek Me not because you have seen miracles [He had just
gotten done feeding the thousands with the five loaves], but because
you did eat of the loaves and were filled. Labour not for the
meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life
everlasting, which the Son of man will give you.
The crowd then
goes on to ask for manna -- and what did manna do? It
physically kept the Israelites alive. It was a non-salvific, non-grace
transmitting Heaven-sent bread given for physical sustenance. By saying
to His disciples that the "Spirit gives life, the flesh profiteth
nothing," He is not saying the His flesh is not meat indeed (which He
DEFINITELY goes on to say); He is admonishing those who only want a
bellyful and who think only carnally instead of seeing things
spiritually and seeking life everlasting. He is admonishing those who
care more for their earthly pleasures than heeding His words, "he that
eateth of this bread shall live for ever."
Here is what St. John Chrysostom, Bishop of Constantinople (A.D.
347-407) says about the verse:
Ver.
63. 'It is
the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing.' His meaning
is, 'Ye must hear spiritually what relateth to Me, for he who heareth
carnally is not profiled, nor gathereth any advantage.' [in fact, Paul
later says in I Corinthians 11:23-30 that he who eats the Body of
Christ without discerning the Body of Christ, he who eats it
unworthily, eats damnation on himself. He says that this is the reason
why some of the Christians get sick even.]
It
was carnal to question how He came down from Heaven, to deem that He
was the son of Joseph, to ask, 'How can he give us His flesh to eat?'
All this was carnal, when they ought to have understood the matter in a
mystical and spiritual sense. 'But,' saith some one, 'how could they
understand what the 'eating flesh might mean?' Then it was their duty
to wait for the proper time and enquire, and not to abandon Him. 'The
words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life.' That
is, they are divine and spiritual, have nothing carnal about them, are
not subject to the laws of physical consequence, but are free from any
such necessity, are even set above the laws appointed for this world,
and have also another and a different meaning.
Now as it, this passage He said 'spirit,' instead of
'spiritual,' so
when He speaketh of 'flesh,' He meant not 'carnal things,' but
'carnally hearing,' and alluding at the same time to them, because they
ever desired carnal things when they ought to have desired spiritual.
For if a man receives them carnally, he profits nothing. 'What then, is
not His flesh, flesh?' Most certainly. 'How then saith He, that the
flesh profiteth nothing?' He speaketh not of His own flesh, (God
forbid!) but of those who received His words in a carnal manner. But
what is 'understanding carnally'? It is looking merely to what is
before our eyes, without imagining anything beyond. This is
understanding carnally.
But we must not judge thus by sight, but must look into all mysteries
with the eyes within. This is seeing spiritually. He that eateth not
His flesh, and drinketh not His blood, hath no life in him. How then
doth 'the flesh profit nothing,' if without it we cannot live?
Seest thou that the words, 'the flesh profiteth nothing,' are spoken
not of His own flesh, but of carnal hearing? Ver. 64. 'But there are
some of you that believe not.' Again, according to His custom, He
addeth weight to His words, by foretelling what would come to pass, and
by showing that He spake thus not from desire of honor from them, but
because He cared for them. And when He said 'some,' He excepted the
disciples. For at first He said, 'Ye have both seen Me, and believe
not' (ver. 36); but here, 'There are some of you that believe not.' For
He 'knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who
should betray Him.
But -- how can any of this be? We are the
priesthood of
believers!
We can't possibly need some ordained priesthood to confect
the Eucharist!
Some people are
so turned-off by the idea of there existing a religious hierarchy, any
sort of authority, that they reject the idea of the necessity of an
ordained priesthood out of hand. These sorts of people often go on
negatively about "organized religion," talking about how they're
"spiritual, but not religious" or, if Christian, about how all they
need is their Bibles. Some Christians talk about "the priesthood of
believers" and how such a "fraternity" renders the ordained priesthood
unnecessary.
The Catholic Church teaches that yes, Christians are
members of what Catholics call the "royal priesthood" and what
Protestants call "the priesthood of believers," no doubt. But the
Church knows that so, too, were
the ancient Israelites:
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These
are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
This
Old Testament-era nation of priests still had their Aaronic priesthood
whose members were
the only ones allowed to offer certain sacrifices. The Aaronic
priesthood was based on genetic succession; it descended from Aaron,
through his sons, and their sons after them. The priesthood of the New
Covenant, having changed (Hebrews 7:11-12), is based on Apostolic
succession. Every validly ordained Catholic priest has been made a
priest by the laying on of hands: he has been ordained by a bishop
who's been ordained by a bishop who's been ordained by a bishop...who,
ultimately, going back two millennia, was ordained by the Apostles who
were
ordained by Christ.
And if you just can't stand the idea of hierarchy and think that
blurring the distinctions between the royal priesthood and the ordained
priesthood is no big deal, consider Jude 1:11 (yup, that's the New
Testament, folks):
Woe to them! For
they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of
Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah.
The "issues"
with Cain and Balaam are explained in Hebrews 11 and 2 Peter 2,
respectively. But who's this "Korah" and why was Jude "woe-ing" those
like him? See Numbers 16:3:
They [Korah and
company] gathered together against Moses and Aaron, and said to them,
"You take too much upon yourselves, for all the congregation is holy,
every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt
yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?"
Korah et al knew
they were part of the common priesthood but wanted more: they wanted
the powers of the ordained and got in Moses' face about it; in their
pride, they were offended by the idea of a "priestly class." Moses
challenged them to offer incense to God, as do the priests, the next
day. They did. And they died.
Jude has warned you -- in the New Testament, after the
coming of our Lord Whom many believe didn't come to fulfill the
Law but to destroy it. "Why, we're under a doctrine of Grace, and in
Him there is neither male nor female and such as that, so that means
hiearchy and 'religion' make no sense. All I need is my Bible and the
Holy Spirit to interpret it for me; I don't need priests!" Not
according to Jude. Not according to the very earliest Christians. Think
about it.
Final Notes
It's so sad, and
so infuriating, that Catholics are accused of "worshipping bread." Yes,
the Blessed Sacrament looks like bread and tastes like bread. If one
were to walk into a traditional Catholic Mass (that is, a Mass offered
according to pre-Vatican II rubrics), one might think Catholics are
crazy as they kneel down when the priest holds up what looks like a
"piece of bread" for them to adore. "Why, those Catholics are
bread-worshippers! I guess that hunk of dough must be some serious
"Wonder Bread" to those idiots, hahaha!" --- but the Creator of the
Universe said that it is not bread but His very Flesh, which is meat
indeed. What God Almighty, Who made the earth and the moon and stars
says, is. Once God, through the priest, has changed the
bread and wine into the Body and Blood, they should never, ever be
referred to as "bread and wine"; they are the Body, Blood, Soul, and
Divinity of Christ Jesus. In other words, we don't worship bread; we
worship Christ!
It takes the eyes of faith to "see" that the apparent mere
bread and wine are truly the Body and Blood of Christ; it takes an
intellectual assent to divine revelation, not emotional "feelings"
(though one might experience tremendous emotion, too; I've wept out of
sheer gratitude to my Savior for humbling Himself for me in such a way
at the Mass!). Sometimes one might struggle to "feel" that what appears
to be "bread" and "wine" are what He said they are, especially at many
modern Masses during which the Body and Blood are so often treated with
irreverence. The proper response to doubt, though, is, "Lord, I
believe! Help Thou mine unbelief!" (Mark 9:24), not mockery.
Bottom line: one either reads Scripture, listens to the Church, and
intellectually assents to what they've taught for two millennia, in
spite of one's "feelings," in spite of the accidents (the appearances)
of "bread" and "wine," or one doesn't. To those who not only don't, but
feel compelled to mock, well, mock on. They scorned Jesus, too. Just
know that you are in bad company; many walked away in the 1st century,
too, when hearing these "hard sayings":
John 6:58, 60, 66
This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did
eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for
ever... Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this,
said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?... From that time many
of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
2
John 1:7
For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that
Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an
antichrist.
Footnote: 1 Note: most fascinating, and
relevant
to the common Protestant accusations of Catholics "re-crucifiying"
Jesus and denying the efficacy of His once and for all sacrifice at
Golgotha, is the Seder practice of quoting from the Haggada, " v'hi
sh'amda l'avoteinu... sheb'chol dor v'dor omdim aleinu l'chaloteinu...,"
that is: the Israelites' national redemption was not only a
"one-time historical event" but perpetual in every generation. See http://www.tanach.org/special/pesach/shiur3.htm
2 The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1917,
in its entry for "Archaeology of the Cross and Crucifix," notes that
microsopic analysis of relics of the Cross (taken to Rome by
Constantine's mother, Helena) were found to be of pine; cedar is of the
pine family. Cedar, too, is mentioned all throughout the Bible as a
building material, including for the building of the Temple itself, and
in more poetic terms, such as in Psalm 104:16-17 "The trees of the LORD
are full of sap; the cedars of Lebanon, which he hath planted; Where
the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her
house."
A part of the titulus -- the sign with the words "Jesus of Nazareth,
King of the Jews" in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew -- that is kept in the
Church of San Croce in Rome, is made of a type of walnut. The other
half of the titulus was kept in Jerusalem, but was lost when Jerusalem,
then Christian, was sacked by Jews and Persians in the 7th century. It
may have survived that sacking as there is mention that it was seen at
Sainte Chapelle in Paris, having been bought by King Louis IX (St.
Louis) from Constantinople, where it was stored away after it was saved
from the Jerusalem wreckage. If this is the case, that second half was
destroyed during the French Revolution.
Relevant Scripture
Genesis
14:18-20
And Melchizedek king of Salem [ie, Jerusalem] brought forth bread and
wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him,
and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven
and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine
enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Exodus 12:1-14
And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying,
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the
first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of
Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them
every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for
an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and
his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of
the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for
the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:
ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall
keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole
assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.
And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts
and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and
unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat not of
it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head
with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. And ye shall let
nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it
until the morning ye shall burn with fire. And thus shall ye eat it;
with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your
hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover. For I
will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the
gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. And the blood
shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I
see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon
you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. And this day shall
be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the LORD
throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance
for ever.
Exodus 12:24
An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon
thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine
oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I
will bless thee.
Exodus 19:6
And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These
are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. [Note
that the "priesthood of the people" did not obviate the need for Temple
priests!]
Exodus 16:15
And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is
manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is
the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
Exodus 24:8
And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said,
Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you
concerning all these words. [see Matthew 26:28]
Leviticus 7:11-15
And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall
offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall
offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with
oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with
oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his
offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace
offerings. And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for
an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that
sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings. And the flesh of the
sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the
same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the
morning.
Leviticus 23:12-13
And ye shall offer that day when ye wave the sheaf an he lamb without
blemish of the first year for a burnt offering unto the LORD. And the
meat offering thereof shall be two tenth deals of fine flour mingled
with oil, an offering made by fire unto the LORD for a sweet savour:
and the drink offering thereof shall be of wine, the fourth part of an
hin.
Leviticus 24:5-9
And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof: two
tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thou shalt set them in two rows,
six on a row, upon the pure table before the LORD. And thou shalt put
pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a
memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Every sabbath he
shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the
children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. And it shall be Aaron's
and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most
holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire by a perpetual
statute.
1 Kings 7:48
And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the
LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread
was
2 Chronicles 2:4 2
[And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying...] Behold, I build
an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to
burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for
the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the
new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an
ordinance for ever to Israel.
Psalm 51:17
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite
heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Psalm 110:4
The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedek.
Isaiah 66:18-21
For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will
gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of
them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to
Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame,
neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the
Gentiles. And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto
the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in
litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain
Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering
in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take of
them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD. [priests and
Levites -- those specially ordained to the priesthood]
Malachi 1:10-11
Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought?
neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure
in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at
your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of
the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place
incense shall be offered unto my name, and a PURE OFFERING: for my name
shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts.
Matthew 26:28
For this is my blood of the new testament [NKJV, RSV, NIV, NASB, etc.:
"covenant"], which is shed for many for the remission of sins. [see
Exodus 24:8]
Luke 22:19
This IS my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.
[Note: the word used here for "remembrance" is "anamnesis," which is
used exclusively to refer to sacrifices in the Old Testament: Leviticus
2:2, 9,16; 5:12; 6:15; 24:7; Numbers 5:26; 10:10 -- and in the New
Testament: Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24-25; Hebrews 10:3. This is in
contradistinction to the word "anamimnesko," used in Genesis 8:1; 41:9;
Exodus 23:13; 2 Samuel 18:18, etc., and which refers not to a
sacrificial re-presenting, but to a mere memorial Both Greek words are
used together in Numbers 10:9-10 -- verses which clearly distinguish
between the two words and which show that Luke 22:10 refers to a true
sacrifice.)
John 1:29
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the
Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
John
6:32-36
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave
you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread
from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven,
and giveth life unto the world. Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore
give us this bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life:
he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me
shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and
believe not.
John 6:51-69
I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of
this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is
my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews
therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his
flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye
have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath
eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is
meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father
hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he
shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not
as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this
bread shall live for ever. These things said he in the synagogue, as he
taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of his disciples, when they had
heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? When Jesus
knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them,
Doth this offend you? What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up
where he was before? It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh
profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,
and they are life. But there are some of you that believe not. For
Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who
should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man
can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that
time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then
said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away? Then Simon Peter
answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal
life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of
the living God.
Acts 2:42
And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and
fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
1 Corinthians 10
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the
blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of
the body of Christ?
I Corinthians 11:23-30
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you,
that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is
my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After
the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this
cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink
it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink
this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever
shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall
be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine
himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For
he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation
to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are
weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. [Note: eating a "symbol"
unworthily would bring damnation on one's self and make one guilty of
the body and blood of Christ? Only Catholic theology makes sense of
these verses! Also note that the the use of "and" in "he that eateth
and drinketh unworthily" is King James usage. St. Jerome's Vulgate, the
Douay-Reims, New King James Version, NIV, NASB, NLT, ESV, ASV, etc.,
all use the proper "or" -- "vel" in Latin. This is important because it
shows clearly that the "bread" and "wine" each become the Body and
Blood of our Lord because eating or drinking unworthily makes
one guilty of both. This is why one can receive Christ entirely
by consuming either.]
Hebrews 2:16-17
For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him
the seed of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made
like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins
of the people.
Hebrews 3:1
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider
the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus
Hebrews 4:14
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the
heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Hebrews 5:1-10
For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in
things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices
for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are
out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.
And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself,
to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he
that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not
himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art
my Son, to day have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place,
Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Who in the
days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications
with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from
death, and was heard in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet
learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made
perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that
obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.
Hebrews 6:17-20
Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise
the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two
immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might
have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon
the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul,
both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high
priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. [RSV: So when God
desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the
unchangeable character of his purpose, he interposed with an oath, so
that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that
God should prove false, we who have fled for refuge might have strong
encouragement to seize the hope set before us. We have this as a sure
and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner
shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our
behalf, having become a high priest for ever after the order of
Melchiz'edek.]
Hebrews 7:11-12
If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it
the people received the law,) what further need was there that another
priest should rise after the order of Melchisedec, and not be called
after the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, there is
made of necessity a change also of the law. [Note: "for the priesthood
being changed," not eradicated!]
Hebrews 7:24-28
But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable
priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost
that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession
for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Who
needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first
for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when
he offered up himself. For the law maketh men high priests which have
infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh
the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
Hebrews 9:22-24
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without
shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the
patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but
the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For
Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are
the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us [NIV: "It was necessary, then, for the copies of
the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the
heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these."; YLT:
"[It is] necessary, therefore, the pattern indeed of the things in the
heavens to be purified with these, and the heavenly things themselves
with better sacrifices than these." In other words, sacrifices --
plural -- are still necessary.]
Hebrews 9:28
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that
look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation. [Yes, His death on the Cross was once and for all, but His
offering of Himself is eternal, or else He could not be a "priest after
the order of Melchizedek." The Mass is an unbloody sacrifice!]
Hebrews 13:10
We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve the
tabernacle. [an altar indicates sacrifices!]
1 Peter 2:5
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by
Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:9-10
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a
peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath
called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; Which in time
past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not
obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.
Revelation 1:6
And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 2:17
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the
churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden
manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name
written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Revelation 5:6-8
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four
beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been
slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits
of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out
of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had
taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down
before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full
of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Revelation 5:10
And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on
the earth.
Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on
such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God
and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.