Tiber River Cafe, TRCx2-- Eucharist

Hello, and welcome to the Tiber River Café.  My name is Dean Humphreys.  Today’s two minute topic is the Eucharist.   Catholics believe that Jesus, our Lord and Savior, the second person in the Holy Trinity—God himself come down from Heaven in human form—that Jesus is truly and 100% present in the consecrated bread and wine we receive each and every time we attend Mass; that the bread and wine, although it still looks, feels, smells, and tastes like regular bread and wine, have actually and truly become his Body and Blood

Besides the ultimate miracle, which we know is the Resurrection of Jesus, the only other miracle that is recorded in all four Gospels is the multiplication of the bread, the feeding of the multitudes.  All four Gospels record how Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave the bread.

In the Gospel of John, chapter 6 verses 53-56, we read, “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. 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.”

So this is what Catholic Christians believe, and the Catholic Church has believed this truth for the past 2000 years.  The Eucharist is not only a symbol, but we also believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist, the bread and wine.  Sure it still looks, and it still smells, and it still tastes like simple bread and wine, but the reality is that the bread and wine have become the real body of Jesus and real blood of Jesus our Lord and Savior, the Real Presence . . . just like Jesus promised.

So there you have it, a two minute overview of the Eucharist, the body and blood of Jesus. Thanks for stopping by the Tiber River Café, where there is always plenty of room at the banquet table.  I hope to see you next time. Peace be with you.