The following excerpts have been taken from the booklet "The
Truth About the Eucharist" by Rev. John Dowling printed by
Liguori Publications (1996): From the beginning, Catholic Christians
have spoken of the transformation of the bread and wine into the
"bread of heaven" and "the cup of salvation."
Reflecting on the words of Jesus and the apostles, the early Church
considered belief in Christ's Real Presence as one of the requisites
for worthy reception of the Eucharist, along with authentic Christian
living. Around AD 155, Saint Justin Martyr wrote: "We call
this food Eucharist.... For not as common bread nor common Drink
do we receive these.... [The] food which has been made into the
Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him...is both
the Flesh and the Blood of that incarnated Jesus."
Catholics United for the Faith's (CUF) publication "Christ's
Real Presence in the Eucharist" ( for a complete text call
1-800-693-2484 ) states that St. Cyril of Alexandria (d. 218),
at the end of a sermon on the Christian Faith, taught: "[T]hat
which seems to be bread, is not bread, though it tastes like it,
but the Body of Christ, and that which seems to be wine, is not
wine, though it too tastes as such, but the Blood of Christ. .
. .[D]raw inner strength by receiving this bread as spiritual
food and your soul will rejoice." CUF further states that
"Christ's presence is clearly the work of God. In the words
of St. John Chrysostom (d. 407): 'The priest standing there in
the place of Christ says these words but their power and grace
are from God. "This is My Body," he says, and these
words transform what lies before him.'"
What Does the Bible Teach? Jesus says in John 6:48-51:
"I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the
wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down
from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. I am the living
bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread,
he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the
life of the world is my flesh."
Jesus goes on to say in John 6:53-54, "Very truly, I tell
you, unless you eat the flesh of the
Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you. Those
who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will
raise them up on the last day." This passage cannot be understood
in a figurative way. In the biblical world, when the words "to
eat the flesh and drink the blood" were used metaphorically,
they meant to destroy someone, either by slander or by doing physical
harm. (See Isaiah 49-26; Psalm 27:2.) This is precisely why the
Jews murmured at Jesus' words and why his disciples were shocked.
They knew the phrase could only be taken literally. Jesus did
not correct any misunderstanding on the part of the crowd or his
disciples who walked away after He said these Words. He simply
reminded them that it is necessary to have God's Spirit to be
able to accept such a teaching. (See John 6:63.)
And in John 6:51-58, Jesus says "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.".... "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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has
eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh
is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh
and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. 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. This is
the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who
ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live Forever."
About Holy Communion. HOLY COMMUNION is the receiving
of Jesus Christ in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. At the
Last Supper Our Lord gave His Body and Blood to His apostles,
saying: "Take and eat, this is my body... All of you drink
of this: for this is My blood..." His Body and Blood are
food and drink, for He also said: "My flesh is food indeed'
and My blood is drink indeed." It is the nourishment of souls
in Holy Communion.
HOLY COMMUNION unites you more closely with our Lord and gives you greater love of God and your neighbor; Gives you more sanctifying grace; Protects you from mortal sin and takes away venial sin; Lessens your inclination (to be drawn) to evil and helps you practice good works.
HOLY COMMUNION unites you with our Lord so closely that you live in Him and He lives in you, for He said, "He who eats My flesh, and drinks my blood, abides in Me and I in him."
HOLY COMMUNION makes you more and more like Our Lord by giving you greater love for Him and by making you think, desire, and act as He does. He makes you more like Him through actual graces. Since Holy Communion helps you to become more like Jesus, it also helps you to love God and your neighbor as He did.
SANCTIFYING GRACE from Holy Communion gives life to your soul. Our Lord is the Bread of Life in Holy Communion. He received this Life from His Father. At Holy Communion He comes to give you a share in it through sanctifying grace. Just as your body needs foods in order to grow and keep healthy, so your soul needs the heavenly food of Holy Communion.
THE SOUL is like the open waters of a lake into which snowflakes fall and disappear. As the snowflake melts in the water and disappears, so Jesus comes to your soul and remains as God and as Man until the Host disappears. But He leaves His grace in your soul (the water of the melted snowflake) and lives in you by His grace.
SANCTIFYING GRACE makes man holy and pleasing to God. It is like a beautiful white garment and makes you more like God, who is holiness itself. At Holy Communion Jesus gives you more sanctifying grace. One mortal sin drives out of your soul the divine life of sanctifying grace; but Our Lord protects your soul from mortal sin by giving you more sanctifying grace in Holy Communion. God gives us the Body of His Son, in Holy Communion, that It may nourish souls on the journey through life. It gives strength to bear sufferings patiently and to overcome the temptations of the devil. In this way It prepares souls for heaven, the Promised Land.
YOU MAY GO to Holy Communion if you are in the state of sanctifying grace. This means you must be free from every mortal sin and must have made up your mind never to commit a mortal sin again. A right and good intention is also necessary to receive Holy Communion. This means that you should not go to Holy Communion out of habit, or because others are going, or because you want to be seen by people. You should go to please God, to be united with Him by love, and to receive Holy Communion as a divine medicine for your sins and faults.
A PERSON WHO receives Holy Communion in mortal sin, receives the Body and Blood of Our Lord, but they do not receive His graces. They commit a very great sin of sacrilege.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST is your greatest treasure, for it unites you with God on earth and prepares you for heaven, where your union with Him will be continued forever. You must prepare well for the visit of Jesus in your heart, and the best preparation for Communion is to receive Communion often. Confession makes you ready for Communion, but Communion-after-Communion keeps you "fit" to receive again. The best immediate preparation for Communion is to offer Mass devoutly. (Rev. Lawrence G. Lovasik, "What Catholics Believe", TAN Books and Publishers, Rockford, IL, 1977)