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Why we should respect consecrated bread and wine

Each time we attend Mass we are blessed to witness the miracle of miracles that is central and important to our Catholic Faith.  We witness ordinary bread and wine truly become the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Not a symbol, but a reality.  We are called to believe in Jesus’ real presence in the Eucharist.  Where did this teaching come from?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1376 and 1377) teaches us, “By the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood…The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist.”  While this is a worthwhile explanation of the Eucharist, it does not translate into a message that changes the heart.

We should reflect upon our own First Communion; the examples of our parents and the basic principles that we were taught as seven-year-olds.

As a young boy, I knelt along with my parents at the moment of consecration. I was mesmerized by that plain white host being lifted high by the priest, the bells ringing, and being taught that it is not simply a piece of bread but something special.  My CCD (PSR) teacher and my parents did their best to help me understand that the host was no longer bread but Jesus.  Did I “completely” understand this teaching? No. But I believed it to be true because Jesus said so in the Bible and my parents reinforced this belief.

During our teen years, many of us begin to question some of the things we were taught, especially pertaining to our Catholic faith.  Our friends, or not-so-friends, challenge us to defend our Catholic beliefs, such as Jesus’s true presence in the Eucharist.  They claim that the bread and wine remain bread and wine.  Somehow, saying “Transubstantiation” is not an acceptable response even if we had some understanding as a teenager.

The best defense always comes from scripture.  We know from John’s Gospel, Chapter 6, that Jesus calls the bread and wine His flesh and His blood. He does this five times. “He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me. And likewise, this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”   The Jews that were there questioned how this could be, how Jesus could give His flesh to eat, his blood to drink. They failed to believe.  As Catholics, we take Jesus at his Word and not metaphorically.

I could go on and on, reference more scripture, etc., but it really comes down to faith.  It comes down to believing what God has revealed to us.   It’s not blind faith.  It is faith based on reason derived from the Bible and the teachings passed down from the apostles, the Church Fathers, and Holy Mother Church.

Jesus performs several miracles, but the greatest miracle occurs at every Mass by the means of eight words., “This is my Body, this is my Blood.”  Jesus took something ordinary and created himself.





Author Bio:
Deacon Dan Vaughn