Why do we believe that the Eucharistic bread and wine are Jesus’ body and blood?

Why do we believe that the Eucharistic bread and wine are Jesus’ body and blood?

We believe because we are followers and disciples of Jesus! He himself demanded our belief and participation in the Eucharistic meal of his Body and Blood. (see John 6:22-71)

The life of Jesus ­– from his Incarnation and Nativity in Bethlehem, to his miracles and preaching in Galilee, to his Passion, Death and Resurrection in Jerusalem ­– do us absolutely no good apart from the Eucharist. Why? Because it is in the Eucharist that we are joined with Jesus to his Cross and that we receive a share of his glory in Heaven. Saint Paul asks us to remember: “are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?” (1 Corinthians 10:18)

Therefore, those who refuse to believe and do not partake of the Eucharist in faith, are not partners of Jesus. They are left dead in their sins, like the “many of his disciples [who] drew back and no longer walked with him.” (John 6:66)

If this seems like a hard teaching for you, do not be discouraged! Saint Peter also struggled at one time. But follow his example! When at first he did not understand Jesus, he did not draw back like the faithless disciples. Instead, he drew even closer to Jesus by affirming his faith in the “Holy One of God.” (John 6:68-69)

Are Mary and Joseph part of the Trinity?

Is Mary part of the Trinity?

The Church teaches the doctrine of only one God (monotheism). This is very clear in the book of Genesis where we read that God created everything — meaning that before God spoke and called the world into being there was literally nothing that existed besides God himself. It was so important that God’s people understood this that Moses commanded them to recite 3 times a day “The Lord is one God…”

When Jesus came to Earth, he revealed that although God is one, he is also a Trinity of 3 divine persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus is the only member of the Trinity who became a human being (Incarnation).

Some people are confused why we call Mary the “Mother of God,” thinking that she must be a divine being, too! But the Church gives Mary this title to emphasize the divinity of Jesus Christ. She is the mother of God because Jesus is God.

When we say Joseph is the father of Jesus, does that mean he’s God?

Again, no. Jesus is the only person who is both God and man. Joseph is Jesus’ foster father, not his literal father from birth.

Check out this post for more info about St. Joseph.

What is the “sacrifice” of the Mass?

What is the sacrifice when the priest is doing communion?

Every Mass is a re-presentation of the Last Supper when Jesus took bread and wine and, after saying the blessing, gave them to the disciples saying, “Take and eat, this is my Body…Take and drink, this is my blood.” Just like the Jewish Passover feast made present the events of the first passover in Egypt, the Christian Passover feast (the Lord’s Supper) makes present the sacrificed victim (Jesus) who died for us on the Cross.

When we partake of the Body and Blood of the Lamb, we receive the saving protection that Christ offers those who believe in him: forgiveness of our sins and freedom from the Evil One. The ancient Jews ate the flesh of the lamb and marked their doorposts with its blood so that the destroying angel had to pass over their houses. When we eat the flesh of the Lamb and wear his blood on our lips, God makes the Evil One pass over us and pledges to us the gift of eternal life.

Why is Joseph not very important in the Church?

Why is Joseph not very important in the Church?

Poor Saint Joseph, he is always getting overlooked! It’s easy to think that Joseph is not a big deal when we compare him to the other two members of the Holy Family. First there’s Jesus, the eternal Word of God who came down from Heaven and became man so that he could die on the Cross, rise from the dead, free us from our sins, and lead us all to Heaven. And then there’s Mary, who was conceived without Original Sin, remained ever-Virgin, and at the end of her earthly life was Assumed body and soul into Heaven where she was crowned Queen of Heaven and Earth. And after them…. there’s Joseph.

Actually, the Catholic Church holds Saint Joseph in very high regard. It is through him that the thousands-year-old prophecy was fulfilled that said the Messiah would come through David’s line (Joseph was a descendant of King David). When he agreed to marry the Virgin Mary and adopt Jesus as his own, he gave them a safe place to live and prosper. The scriptures tell us that Joseph was a just man. We know that he was God-fearing and brave, too. We Catholics talk a lot about how Mary was specially chosen to be God’s mother. Do we really believe that God would allow just anybody to be his foster father? Of course not!

For centuries, Catholics have prayed to St. Joseph for the grace of a happy death. But in recent years, Joseph has received considerable official recognition from the Church. In 1870, Pope Pius IX made Joseph the patron saint of the Universal Church. In 1955, Pope Pius XII proclaimed May 1 to be St. Joseph the Worker day, and made him the patron saint of all workers. In 1962, Pope St. John XXIII inserted Joseph’s name in the Roman Canon (eucharistic prayer 1), and in 2013 Pope Francis ordered that St. Joseph’s name be included in every Mass by putting him in all the other eucharistic prayers. It may take a while for the average Catholic to catch on, but the popes from the last 150 years have been urging us to pray to St. Joseph and to imitate his example in our daily lives.

Did the Virgin Mary have other children?

Did the Virgin Mary have other children beside Jesus? How do we know?

The Church teaches that Mary is ever-Virgin, meaning that she never had sexual relations with a man either before or after conceiving and giving birth to the Son of God. Therefore, she never bore any children beside Jesus.

Some today dispute this ancient teaching of the Church by referring, for example, to Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-56 where mention is made of Jesus’ “brothers and sisters.” In the time of Jesus, “brothers” and “sisters” could mean any relation, not just siblings who share the same mother. It has always been understood by the Christian community that the “brothers and sisters” of Jesus mentioned in the scriptures refer to relatives in this broader sense. They are perhaps his cousins, or possibly even the children of Joseph from his first marriage, but certainly not the birth children of Mary. We can be sure of this because the Blessed Mother continued to be present and play an important role in the life of the early Christian community. Her virginal state was well-known and universally accepted within the Church. Any who came along later and disputed this were condemned for teaching false doctrine.

This question is a perfect example of why the Church’s oral tradition is needed – to maintain the authentic interpretation of certain texts that could otherwise be unclear.

What does the Youcat say about homosexuality?

 

Here’s what the Youcat (Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church) has to say about the topic of homosexuality:

“The Church believes that, in the order of creation, man and woman are designed to need each other’s complementary traits and to enter into a mutual relationship so as to give life to children. That is why homosexual practices cannot be approved by the Church. Christians owe all persons respect and love, however, regardless of their sexual orientation, because all people are respected and loved by God.

“There is no man on earth who is not descended from a union of a mother and a father. Therefore it is a painful experience for many homosexually oriented people that they do not feel erotically attracted to the opposite sex and necessarily miss out on the physical fruitfulness of the union between man and woman according to human nature and the divine order of creation. Nevertheless, God often leads souls to himself along unusual paths: a lack, a loss, or a wound – if accepted and affirmed ­– can become a springboard for throwing oneself into the arms of God: the God who brings good out of everything and whose greatness can be discovered in redemption even more than in creation.“ (Youcat, 65)

“God created man as male and female and destined them for each other in a bodily way as well. The Church accepts without reservation those who experience homosexual feelings. They (persons who experience homosexual feelings) should not be unjustly discriminated against because of that. At the same time, the Church declares that all homosexual relations in any form are contrary to the order of creation.“ (Youcat, 415)

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Check out the official Youcat website for more info about what the Church teaches.

Why are Catholics prejudiced against homosexuals?

Why are Catholics prejudiced against homosexuals?

The short answer to this question is: We aren’t. The Catholic Church clearly teaches that people who experience homosexual tendencies “must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” (CCC 2358)

The Church teaches that all people are called by God to live holy lives, with Christ, his Blessed Mother, and the saints as models for us to follow. With the help of God’s grace, homosexual persons “can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.” (CCC 2359) In other words, while the Church acknowledges the challenges that persons with same-sex attractions face, she does not hold them to a different standard than anybody else.

How do we know that Genesis is reliable?

How did the people write the book of Genesis when Earth was created before men were created?

Genesis is the first of the five books of Moses (the others being Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) from the Bible. Its main purpose is to tell us about the genesis or origin of the world. That’s why its first words are “In the beginning…”

Modern science tells us that the universe began with a Big Bang over 13 billion years ago. Think Catholics have a problem with Big Bang Theory? Think again ­– it was a Catholic priest (Father Georges Lemaître) who came up with the theory in the first place!

So how did Moses know how the events of Creation unfolded if he wasn’t there to witness them? The short answer is: God revealed it to him. Genesis really is a story written by Moses, but it’s also really written by God. For Catholics, scriptures are inspired or “God-breathed,” which means they have both a human author (Moses) and a divine author (God). In other words, when Moses speaks, God speaks with him. We believe that Moses crafted the story of Genesis in a way that would make sense to the people of his day, but that when he picked up his pen he wrote God’s Word.

Via Crucis

The Way of the Cross

Have you ever taken a vacation to visit historical sites? Places where your ancestors came from, the nation’s capitol in Washington, D.C., Civil War sites? Every year millions of people in this country visit important places to our country’s history so that they can grow in appreciation for the sacrifices of their ancestors, to renew their patriotism and concern for their fellow citizens, and to feel a part of the American destiny.

Human beings from all ages and from every culture in the world have asked the questions, “Who am I? Where did I come from? What’s my purpose in life?” Visiting our American historical sites give us some insight to these questions, but still we find ourselves longing for more.

From the very beginning of the Church, Christians have fulfilled that longing by making pilgrimages. A pilgrimage is usually a visit to a holy places where the saints lived, the Blessed Mother has appeared, or miracles are known to take place. Every few years millions of young Catholics from around the world gather in a different place to be near the Pope and to pray with him at World Youth Day. But the greatest, most important pilgrimage that any follower of Jesus can make is to travel to the Holy Land and walk where our Savior walked, see where he performed his miracles, visit the Upper Room of the Last Supper, and to follow him on his journey with the Cross to Calvary where he died for our sins.

The Via Crucis–the Way (or Stations) of the Cross–was a way that medieval Christians, who could not afford to travel to the Holy Land, would go on “pilgrimage” and follow Jesus on his journey to Calvary.

By walking, kneeling, praying, singing, and meditating on the Passion, we grow closer to the suffering Christ and find answers to those burning questions, “Who am I? Where did I come from? What’s my purpose in life?”

Let Jesus speak to your heart. Invite him in. Let him love you. Let him carry your burdens. That’s the meaning of the Cross. Jesus is carrying it for you! Discover what it means to be a follower of Jesus as we journey with him on the Way to Calvary.

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Resources:
Scriptural Way of the Cross (Pope Benedict, 2007)
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2007/documents/ns_lit_doc_20070406_via-crucis_en.html

Traditional Way of the Cross (Pope Francis, 2014)
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/2013/documents/ns_lit_doc_20130329_via-crucis_en.html