The Biggest Claim the Catholic Church Makes Part 1 (History)

Hello Friends,

We all know the Catholic Church makes claims. As I sit and think about the biggest claims that bothered me coming to the church I believe the two biggest would be:
1. The Catholic Church is the one true church
2. Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist (really present, not a symbol).

When I ponder which of these is the bigger claim it would be the second one. The first claim is made by other churches (Jehovah's Witness for example). To claim Jesus is physically present in the Eucharist, in His full body, soul and divinity through a miracle of the Holy Spirit is one that isn't just a small claim, but this claim begs to be addressed. In our world it is easy to accept relative truths, things that might be good for me, but don't affect you. To claim Jesus is truly present in the Catholic Church is a claim that affects everyone. If it is true- then we can't go to another church once we know that our Lord is present in one (not just spiritually present as he is spiritually present everywhere, physically present.) If it is false, that is the biggest heresy catholics have ever claimed. This will be a couple part series to address this question:

Is Jesus present in the Eucharist?

I want to present the evidence and hopefully you can come to the conclusion on whether the catholic church is claiming truth or heresy.

We can start... in the beginning.
History.

What did the early christians believe about the eucharist? What was written down?

Justin the Martyr (100-165)- This man was beheaded for refusing to offer sacrifices to another God. Writings say He glorified God and confessed the Savior while He was scourged and beheaded.  So we can say he was pretty serious about his faith. He wrote:

And this food is called among us the Eucharist of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh. For the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them; that Jesus took bread, and when He had given thanks, said, "This do ye in remembrance of Me, this is My body;" and that, after the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, He said, "This is My blood;" and gave it to them alone.

-"First Apology", Ch. 66, inter A.D. 148-155.

St. Ignatius of Antioch (the third pope)- an amazing leader and martyr of the church (you will find a theme that most of the faithful were murdered for their beliefs)

"Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They have no regard for charity, none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the man in prison, the hungry or the thirsty. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His graciousness, raised from the dead."

"Letter to the Smyrnaeans", paragraph 6. circa 80-110 A.D.

(in this letter he also used the phrase "catholic church" for the first time to mean all christians...)

St. Augustine-a man with a radical conversion and a prolific writer who was a Catholic Bishop in 396. He's pretty well known and quoted quite a bit in all christian circles but some of his  writings show his devotion to the Eucharist.

"The fact that our fathers of old offered sacrifices with beasts for victims, which the present-day people of God read about but do not do, is to be understood in no way but this: that those things signified the things that we do in order to draw near to God and to recommend to our neighbor the same purpose. A visible sacrifice, therefore, is the sacrament, that is to say, the sacred sign, of an invisible sacrifice… . Christ is both the Priest, offering Himself, and Himself the Victim. He willed that the sacramental sign of this should be the daily sacrifice of the Church, who, since the Church is His body and He the Head, learns to offer herself through Him.

Source: St. Augustine, The City of God, 10, 5; 10,20, c. 426:

"You ought to know what you have received, what you are going to receive, and what you ought to receive daily. That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. The chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ."

-"Sermons", [227, 21]

Are there other saints who wrote on this? Of course. Check the resources below because otherwise we will be here forever. The moral of the story. Some pretty radical faithful men of the early church believed Jesus was really present in the Eucharist and it wasn't just a symbol. They viewed this as non-negotiable.

I would encourage you to read the saints and grow from what they share. Of course the writers of the bible were saints...but we will cover that next in the scripture that supports the Eucharist.
I encourage you to pray about this as if you are anything like me- hearing Jesus was present in the Eucharist was such  foreign concept. It sounded ridiculous. Truly, I've met with lots of people and talked with them about this and they have a hard time wrapping their mind around it and when they finally get it they something akin to "you mean like ...eating Jesus !?" Keep in mind this is a miracle of the Holy Spirit. You aren't tasting blood when your drink it and you aren't tasting skin when you eat it. It's a miracle- but more on that later

What have you heard about the Eucharist? Have you ever heard of it?

Good books to read on the topic:
The Mass of the Early Christians - Aquilina
Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist - Brant Pitre
Consuming the Word- Scott Hahn

Good resources:
http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/father/a5.html (some of the above quotes taken from there but verified that they are really quoted correctly through various online websites.


Have any good books for me? Please comment below. I would love to find more to read! ( I love books).