Quote:
Originally Posted by Vizio
If eating his flesh gives eternal life, why must you do it at every Mass?
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● John 6:53 . . Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.
Rome's understanding of the life referred to in Christ's statement is a bit proprietary.
"It is quite in keeping with the excellence of the heavenly Father that He should supply for His children during the pilgrimage a fitting sustenance which will sustain the dignity of their position, and be to them a pledge of resurrection and eternal life; and this is the Bread of the Holy Eucharist." (Catholic Encyclopedia)
Seeing as how the life obtained from the Eucharist has to be replenished from time to time in order to "sustain the dignity of their position, and be to them a pledge of resurrection and eternal life" then it's in the same category as manna, which was also a temporary sustenance. But Jesus said that the power of his "bread" isn't temporary; rather, it's perpetual.
● John 6:49-51 . . Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever;
Something else: I suspect Rome is under the illusion that John 6:48-58 and 1Cor 11:23-25 are teaching the same thing; but there is a world of difference between the two teachings.
As an illustration
: The Viet Nam War Memorial in Washington DC isn't set up as a food court where visitors come and dine upon the bodies and blood of the servicemen and women whose names are on the wall. No, the memorial is set up for remembering the people whose names are on the wall; lest we forget.
● 1Cor 11:23-25 . . For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
Note that, unlike John 6:48-58, the above passage doesn't say "do this in order to obtain eternal life". Not even! No, it's a memorial service; and the intent is to prevent Christ's crucifixion from becoming marginalized; and thus out of mind.
● 1Cor 11:26 . . For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
Q: But what about 1Cor 11:29? Doesn't that teach real presence?
A: No; it teaches that when people regard the Lord's supper as merely food on the table; they devalue the importance of his death; which is a pretty serious sin.
● 1Cor 11:30 . . That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep.
Apparently the Corinthian Christians set the Lord's supper up as sort of a potluck and/or an all you can eat buffet where people helped themselves instead of being served by priests and altar boys. Well; that would have been okay except that it led to excess and poor manners.
● 1Cor 11:20-23 . .When you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? Or do you despise the church of God, and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you.
● 1Cor 11:33-34 . . So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
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