The Bread of Life - Required Reading - Required Eating

Required Reading

The past four weeks at church we have been treated to an explanation of what the Eucharist is and how it affects the life of a Christian.  The readings have been all about bread and feeding many and how important it is.  Actually, important is not the word, essential would be the appropriate here. 

The Catholic Church believes that the Bible is the Word of God and in there is found the wisdom needed to live a good Christian life.  But nowhere in the Bible will you find it stating that it is the sole source of Christian belief.  Keep in mind that like it or not my Protestant brothers and sisters have had to rely on the Catholic Church to provide them with their Bible.  It was the Church that kept the book whole and pure.  It was the Church that decided that the Book of Revelation was canonical and the Gospel of Thomas was not. Why am I making this point?  Simply said the Catholic Church is not Bible centered, no, it is Christ centered.  We use the Bible as intended by it's ultimate author, the Holy Spirit but we also depend on the Holy Spirit and Sacred Tradition.   That being said you still may be wondering why I have mounted the soap box. Read on young warrior.

If sola scriptura be true and the Bible is the only source for what is required to be a Christian, then I would like a clear explanation from a Protestant, backed up by quotes from scripture, on why they do not believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament?  What did Martin Luther, the "prime reformer" think about the Holy Eucharist?  Here is what he thought (emphasis added): 

     "If any person could persuade me that there is nothing 

       in the sacrament but bread and wine, he would do me

       a great favor.  I have trued to extricate myself from the

       belief in the Real Presence, for I know that thereby I 

       would greatly annoy the Pope; but the text of the Gospel

       is too plain."   

The Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John is the place to go if you want to learn about the Eucharist and it's absolute place in the life of a Christian.  Jesus plainly says that if we do not eat His flesh and drink His blood we cannot enter heaven. 

" 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. 54 Whoever eats* my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink." 

The Sixth Chapter of the Gospel of John is an inexhaustible source of the positive proof of the Real Presence of Jesus, the Son of God, triumphant as He is in heaven today.  How sad that because of the so called reformation that so many thousands of people have gone their whole life without the many graces that this wonderful Gift supplies.  Sad too is that they have not experienced the joy be being one with Christ as He Himself enter physically into you and you become one.  You cannot get closer to Jesus this side of heaven! If the angels were capable of jealousy then they would be jealous because the Eucharist is not for them.  Jesus chose this wonderful gift so that we would not be orphans and it is in this way that He will remain with us until the day of His return.  For the sake of your soul I urge everyone, Catholics too, to read, meditate on, believe and act on the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John. 

God bless you young warrior, pray for the Light of Christ and that light will shine brightly and show you the path you should walk on.