Things That Protestants Don't Understand About The Church - The Mass & The Eucharist

Well, here we have another two for one special because the Mass and the Holy Eucharist are so intertwined that I cannot discuss one without the other.  Unfortunately, this means that this post will be somewhat longer than the others in this series, but, I promise you it will be one that I am proud, pleased, and passionate to write about.  So, put on your seatbelts and let us begin. 

One of the things that we Christians do and are famous for is that we gather on Sunday, the Lord's Day, to worship our God.  We worship on Sunday because it commemorates that day when Jesus defeated the arch-enemy of mankind (to include womankind LOL) death by rising from the dead.  So, in accordance with the commandment to keep holy the sabbath day we gather together to sing the Lord's praises.  We pray for one another, for the Church and we sing hymns and we hear the written word of God, the Bible. Sunday should be a day of joy for all Christians.  Sunday is such a joyful day that it is not counted in the forty days of Lent so that any Lenten disciplines you may have assigned yourself can be foregone on Sunday.  So, for Christians, Sunday is a special day indeed.  In the Catholic Church, members are obligated to attend Mass every Sunday and on certain specific Holy Days.  It is considered a sin if you miss Mass without good cause. That is how important we Catholics consider our worship. 

At the Protestant services, I have attended it appears to me that they go something like this.  First, there is some singing, followed by an opening prayer, and then perhaps a Bible reading followed by a half an hour or so where the minister preaches his(or her) sermon. There may follow a Lord's Supper service where crackers and grape juice are passed around and people remember the Last Supper of Jesus. Then there may be more singing and finally, a benediction (blessing) and everyone departs for home.  Some Protestant denominations have the Lord's Supper once a month, others have it four times a year.  It generally does not form a very important part of the weekly service. 

For a Catholic Christian, the Mass follows pretty much the same pattern.  As the priest enters, we sing a song. The priest or deacon leads us in a prayer of repentance and we next express our joy by singing or reciting a prayer called the Gloria in which we praise God for being God. After an opening prayer, we sit and hear a reading taken from the Old Testament.  We then recite or sing one of the Psalms of David and then we hear a reading from the New Testament, the Epistles of Paul for example.  Then we rise from our seats and sing a hearty Alleluia and then the priest of deacon reads to us from the Gospel.  After the reading, the priest or deacon will spend five or ten minutes explaining the reading and helping us to integrate them into our lives. Next, we recite the Nicene Creed which is familiar to many denominations, it spells out what we believe.  We next pray for each other in a prayer called "The Prayer of the Faithful."  In this prayer, we pray for the Church, for our country, for fellow Christians, for our friends, and any other special intentions.  It is at this point where the normal Protestant service and the Catholic Mass part ways.  At this point, all of the things done at a normal Protestant service have been accomplished.  At the Catholic Mass, there is more, much more to follow. 

The first part of the Catholic Worship Service, aka the Mass, is called the Liturgy of the Word.  It extends from the beginning of the Mass to the end of the Prayer of the Faithful.  What follows next is the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  The Eucharist is Holy Communion.  It begins with the collection of gifts, the basket is passed around and we place money into the basket for the upkeep of the church and its ministries. The money collected is placed into one large container and a member of the congregation brings it up to the altar where it is accepted by the priest and placed before the altar.  Behind this gift of temporal things are members of the congregation that brings up the bread and wine that will be consecrated by the priest.  There are some preparations that the priest makes including making sure that there are enough hosts (pieces of bread) and wine to distribute to the congregation.  Then he symbolically washes his hands and invites us to pray.  He says:

"Pray brothers and sisters that our sacrifice may be acceptable to God the Almighty Father."  The congregation responds; May God accept the sacrifice at your hands for our good and for the good of His holy church."

Here I see the first real bone of contention between Catholics and Protestants.  How can we Catholics sacrifice Jesus again and again and again and again on the cross when he died once to save us?  Good point, and I am glad you asked.  Catholics call their worship the "Sacrifice of the Mass" not because we sacrifice Christ over and over again on the cross, no, we rather present again the sacrifice Jesus made once to the Father, and the Father who see this finds this pleasing. 

At this point after a preliminary prayer, we raise our voices in song with the angels and saints in heaven and sing the hymn that we find in the book of Revelations, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of Your Glory, hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest."   The most sacred part of the Mass follows.  The priest prays the prayer of consecration, using the words that Christ spoke at the Last Supper.  "Take this all of you and eat of it, for this is My Body."  The priest then raises the host so everyone can see it and we worship it because we believe it has been transubstantiated, that is changed, into the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.  Now stay with me here.  Next, he raises the chalice filled with wine and says the words of Christ, "Take and drink for this is the chalice of my Blood which has been shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.  Do this in memory of me."  The priest then raises the chalice which now contains not wine, but the very blood of Christ.  The priest then invites us to recite the Mystery of Faith.  We respond with one of four possible formulas, the one that is used on most Sundays is; "When we eat this bread and drink this cup we proclaim your death O Lord until you come again."  We are then invited to come forward and receive the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Holy Eucharist that was consecrated by the priest.  We approach the communion minister and he or she will say "Body of Christ." and we will respond, "Amen."  This "amen" means a whole lot more than you might think.  It means: I believe that this is the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ.  I believe Christ is physically present in me as I consume this sacred meal."   

I hear some Protestant's gasping in unbelief that we Catholics could be so ignorant as to think that a small round piece of bread and some common wine could contain the God of the Universe!  That's okay, let's finish Mass and we will discuss the Eucharist in some detail.  If you were at a Catholic Mass you would see some people taking only the bread while others take both the bread and wine.  The ones that don't take the wine, therefore, are not receiving the body and blood of Christ, they are receiving just His body.  Well, that sounds logical but it is not.  If you separate someone's body and blood you have what is known as a corpse and the Eucharist is a living thing, not a dead thing.  It is the Resurrected Christ as He is now, today, in Heaven.  

At this point in the Mass, we spend a few moments in silent prayer. Then the priest gathers all of our prayers together in a closing prayer and he gives us God's blessing.  The deacon tells us to go and spread the Good News.   We sing a closing hymn as the priest leaves the altar and then, some would say, all too soon we depart and go back into our mundane world.   So that is what the Catholic Mass is.  As you can see, you cannot separate it from the Eucharist. The Eucharist is considered so important that leftover hosts are kept in the tabernacle for those that are too sick to come to Mass. The Church dispatches ministers of communion to homes, nursing homes, and hospitals in the area to serve the Catholics that could not attend.   There must be a reason why Catholics consider the Eucharist so important.  Let's talk about the very Bread of Life next. 

There is one reason that I would never forsake the Catholic Church. That is because when I go to Mass, I receive the very Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ in the Eucharist.  "Yeah, sure, that is what you believe, but just believing in something does not make it true.  "Excellently spoken. grasshopper! it shows you are a person that thinks things through."  I have scant minor proof to show you that the bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus.  I have the words of Jesus, I have the words of Paul, I have the words of the first century Christians, I have the fact that the reality of the Presence was believed by all Christians, everywhere, for the first fifteen centuries of Church history.  

The first task is to consider just who this Jesus was.  For that let us go to the beginning of the Gospel of John, 

John 1: 1-5
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through Him, and without him, nothing came to be. What came to be through Him was life and this life was the light of the human race and the light shines in the darkness.

We know from the above passage that Jesus, the Word of God is God, the maker of all things.  It is He that made the universe and set all things into motion. In His time outside of his immediate family he was recognized as the Promised One by John the Baptist: 

John 1:29
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World."

There are more passages where Jesus proves his bona fides, but I think we can see from these two passages that Jesus was and is the Son of God, the Savior promised to us.  As God, He is all-powerful and can do anything. Need more proof?  Well let's look at the following: 


John 6: 16-21

16 When it was evening, his disciples went down to the sea, 17 embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum. It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. 18 The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea * and coming near the boat, and they began to be afraid. 20 But he said to them, "It is I. * Do not be afraid." 21 They wanted to take him into the boat, but the boat immediately arrived at the shore to which they were heading.

The Sea of Galilee is a freshwater lake approximately 33 miles around, 13 miles long and 8 miles wide.  At 209 meters below sea level, it is the lowest freshwater lake in the world and only the only body of water that is lower is the Dead Sea, which is a saltwater lake.  Jesus and his companions were about in the middle of the lake when the storm blew up and they saw Jesus walking on the water. They thought it was some sort of ghost.  He told them to not be afraid and suddenly the boat was on the other shore.  Jesus can control the nature of objects, i.e. he can walk on water and he can control motion because they immediately arrived at the other shore.  So we can see Jesus has many powers. 

 
We next move to Jesus in arguably the most important chapter in the Bible, John, Chapter 6.   First, we have the feeding of the multitude.

John 6: 1-14

1 After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (of Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed him because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near. 5 When Jesus raised his eyes and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, he said to Philip, "Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?" 6 He said this to test him because he himself knew what he was going to do. 7 Philip answered him, "Two hundred days' wages worth of food would not be enough for each of them to have a little ( a bit)." 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, 9 "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what good are these for so many?" 10 Jesus said, "Have the people recline." Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number. 11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 12 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, "Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted." 13 So they collected them and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, "This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world." 15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king. He withdrew again to the mountain alone.

Do you remember the story of the wedding feast at Cana? Recall how Jesus changed water into wine and not just ordinary wine but the finest vintage and not just a little, he produced gallons of the stuff so that the party could continue.  This was the first sign that Jesus was the messiah promised because it was believed that when the messiah came that there would follow an abundance of food and wine.  When Jesus fed the multitude he fed them not just a little bit, he fed them abundantly and there were twelve baskets full of leftovers.  The symbolism is easy to interpret, the twelve baskets represented the twelve tribes of Israel, or more exactly, everyone! Jesus was showing that He would be able to feed everyone abundantly! 

We now move to the heart of the matter. Jesus is asked for a sign so that the crowd would believe in Him.  

John 6: 30-35

30 So they said to him, "What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32 So Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34 So they said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 35 Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.

The crowd sees something good here.  Food forever, drink forever, they could quit work and rest and play forever.  They ask for this bread and Jesus says HE is the bread of life.  The crowd now says what is he talking about?  Jesus does not retreat.

John 6 49-69

49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; 50 this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." 52 The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" 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. 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. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." 59 These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. 60 Then many of his disciples who were listening said, "This saying is hard; who can accept it?" 61 Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, "Does this shock you? 62 What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe." Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. 65 And he said, "For this reason, I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father." 66 As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him. 67 Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?" 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

Jesus tells the crowd that they have to eat the flesh of the Son of Man or they will not have eternal life.  The crowd shrinks back and are sickened by what He told them.  There is no way Jesus is speaking figuratively here.  The word being used for "eat" is the word that means "chew, or rip, or tear flesh."  That is why the crowd was taken aback. Then we have the saddest verse in all of the scriptures, John 6:66, "As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him."  Jesus did not call them back saying, I am only speaking figuratively.  He let them go.  He then asked His apostles if they too wished to leave.  Peter answered for them all and answered by saying "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy one of God." 

I have often wondered if Protestant pastors cringe when they read this passage?  One of the tenets of Protestantism is the Bible above all. Here the Bible says we must eat the flesh of Jesus and drink His Blood or we will not have life within us.  I would imagine that most Protestant pastors skip this passage.  

Finally, let's look at the Last Supper. Did Jesus really give us His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity then?  Did he also make it possible for His apostles to imitate Him and do this time after time through the ages?   Recall what the Last Supper was recalling.  It was the prescribed ritual that the Hebrew people practiced to recall the Exodus where God saved them from the Egyptians.  At this meal, they ate lamb. That lamb had to be spotless, have no imperfections and it was sacrificed at the temple.  The lamb had to be roasted without any of the bones being broken.  They ate this meal standing with their staff in hand and ready to travel. Along with the lamb , they ate unleavened bread and wine.  Four cups of wine were to be consumed at this meal. The feast went along following the ritual right up until the third cup wine. It was then that Jesus took bread and passed it around and told His apostles to eat it as it was His body.  Then he passed the wine around and told them it was His blood.  He then told them to do this in remembrance of Him.  The important word in that sentence is the word "this."  The word refers to the actions that Jesus had just performed.  He had given the Passover meal a new and permanent meaning.  They then sang a Psalm which was supposed to be followed by the fourth and final cup of wine.  But they did not drink that fourth cup.  Instead, they all left and went out into the night, to the Garden.  The fourth cup of wine was never drunk. The Passover was never finished.  Later that evening, Jesus was arrested and eventually after being tried, convicted, tried, found innocent, tried and found guilty, he was taken and scourged with a cruel whip tipped with bone. He then carried his cross, was crucified.  It was a tradition that those who were to be crucified were offered a cup of wine with a bit of incense in it.  It was thought to dull the senses and thought to be a mercy.  It did not do much but mostly the criminals drank what was given to them.  When this cup was offered to Jesus, he refused it.  That was very surprising because he had nothing to eat or drink since the previous evening.  He was then crucified and He did fare well on the Cross.  Remember, he had been cruelly scourged by Pilate in a bid to capture the sympathy of the crowd so that Pilate could let Jesus go.  This plan failed because Jesus was just too big of a thorn in the heel of the high priest.  Right before the end, Jesus cried out, "I Thirst."  Very funny! He was there to die not to drink.  But one man lifted up a sponge soaked in wine to Jesus, and this time Jesus took the wine and then in a loud voice, it was not possible to shout when you were nailed to a cross but in spite of this irrefutable fact of human physiology, he yelled, "It is finished." He had concluded the new Passover, he had drunk the fourth cup. 

The evidence for the Real Presence is strong. Paul cautions us to not receive the Body of the Lord in vain.  Would he do that if the bread and wine were just a mere memorial?  Would Jesus have let followers walk away if he wasn't serious?  Why did Jesus not finish the Passover the night before He died? How can millions of Protestants ignore the evidence right in front of their eyes in John Chapter Six?  

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a rich source of information on Catholic belief and it is available for free, online.  If you want to burn down the Catholic Church and all she stands for then why not do it with her own words?  People that hate the Catholic Church do so because they hate what they think the Catholic Church is, not what she actually is.  Our beliefs, our doctrine have not changed from the beginning of the church until now.  Why are there so many denominations?  Is God a god of confusion?  Argue from a position of strength.  You will be surprised once you read what we believe and why we believe it how intelligent and logical our beliefs are.