Chapter 5 The Mass (The Eucharist)
Catholic Answer
You believe Christ, in saying "This is my body", spoke figuratively, but the whole of John 6 precludes this figurative interpretation.The Bible plainly says "The man who eats my flesh and drinks my blood enjoys eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."
Biblical Response
(Do not feel that you have to argue about the correct text; even though the above is not just as you would find it in your KJV.) Jesus is saying that, whatever He meant by "eating the flesh and drinking the blood," (which He explains later in verse 63) whoever does this has (present tense) eternal (everlasting) life, and will be raised up in the last day (eternal security). No Catholic can participate in a Mass and claim eternal salvation because of that ceremony. We can turn to Matthew 26:29 where, after having said the "words of consecration" which are supposed to have changed the grape juice into blood, Jesus still refers to this liquid as "the fruit of the vine." This proves that it was figurative.
Catholic Answer
In John 6, you see the necessity of eating the flesh and drinking the blood.
Bilical Response
The promise is that whoever does this now has eternal life and eternal security, for Christ promised to raise him up at the last day. You cannot take Holy Communion and profess to be sure of Heaven. To clear up any confusion, Christ stated in Jn 6:63 that "the flesh profits nothing", but that the life-giving elements are "the words that I speak unto you", a promise repeated in John 5:24 and Romans 1:16.
Catholic Answer
Jesus made no attempt to correct misunderstandings. They all knew He meant literal flesh and blood.
Biblical Response
The disciples murmured in v. 61, and Jesus cleared the misunderstanding up (v. 63). It was AFTER this clarification that some left (v. 66).
Catholic Answer
The phrase `to eat the flesh and drink the blood,' when used figuratively among the Jews meant to inflict upon a person serious injury.
Biblical Response
Whether or not that is a true definition, it would fit with fundamentalist theology, for the only people in the world who fully realize that it was their sins that nailed Christ to the Cross are Bible Christians.
Catholic Answers
The writings of Paul and John reflect belief in a Presence that is Real. No writer tried to teach otherwise until the early Middle Ages.
Biblical Response
While a statement is made that Peter and Paul support the Real Presence in the Mass, they have no verses to quote. The Bible does not reflect belief in Christ's presence in the Mass. As to the charge that no one disputed this until the early Middle Ages, while there were sporadic references to sacrifice by early teachers, the central doctrine of the Mass is transubstantiation The first person to use this word, according to The Catholic Dictionary (page 971) was Hildebert of Tours (11th century), and the doctrine was promulgated in 1215. The word was not officially approved until the 16th century. The philosophy behind this concept was promoted by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.
From this time on we can see a steady stream of Christians denying the Real Presence in the Mass. Some of these as outlined by Priest Markoe in The Triumph Of The Church are Berengarians (11th century), Petrobrosians (12th), Lollards (14th), Bohemian Brethren (15th), and then the parade of Reformers starting in the 16th century.
Catholic Answer
Many of the Church Fathers, including Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Origen, Athanasius and Cyril of Jerusalem believed Jesus was talking about the literal bread and wine as used in the Mass.
Biblical Response
The Sacrifice of the Mass still does not help Catholics to know for sure if they are saved until the Judgment Day when they stand before God. Many Christians have testified in the Bible to the saving work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. Here are a few quotes:
Paul: "For by grace are ye saved through faith: and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph 2:8,9).
Peter: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Christ from the dead. To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you" (I Pe 1:3,4).
John: "And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (I Jn5:11,12).
James: "Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth" (James 1:18).
Catholic Answer
The Mass applies the fruits of Christ's death upon the Cross to individual human souls.
Biblical Response
If the Mass applies the fruits of Calvary to men, and sacrifice was infinite, then one Mass would accomplish eternal redemption. But it takes one every week, and still no one can be sure of Heaven.
Catholic Answer
The Old Testament predicted that Christ would offer a true sacrifice to God in bread and wine, that he would use those elements. In Gen 14:18 Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest, offered sacrifice under the form of bread and wine. Psalm 109 predicted Christ would be a priest "after the order of Melchizedek" that is, offering a sacrifice in bread and wine.
Biblical Response
Genesis 14:18 says that Melchizedek brought forth bread and wine. The verb "brought forth" is used hundreds of times in the Old Testament, but never is it linked with any ritual or sacrifice.
Catholic Answer
God, Who is omnipotent, can make the sacrifice of Calvary present to us at the Mass.
Biblical Response
If this is true, how many Masses do we need in order to be saved? We might attend 5,000 Masses, deliberately miss just one and die. The Mass we missed could send us to hell, and the 5000 we had attended could not save us.
Catholic Answer
Why do you fundamentalists reject spiritual reality (grace) being conveyed by means of matter?
Biblical Response
We accept or reject statements according to their faithfulness to the Word of God (Isaiah 8:20), including any suggestion that the Sacrifice of our Infinite Saviour was not sufficient to completely remove sins, without the need of any carnal additions in merits, works, sacraments, or sacramentals
To suggest that material things we can handle are a part of God's salvation is to disregard the truth that He alone is Saviour, and He is the perfect Saviour. The Apostle Peter said that no one was needed to help Christ with salvation (Acts 4:12), as the infinite nature of that sacrifice excludes any need for any help through any means. As "St." Patrick truly said, "Salvation is of Christ the Lord."
The Catholic Mass denies the truth of God's Word concerning the uniqueness of the one sacrifice on Calvary. Some have the Mass today, and tomorrow, and the next day, but we can praise God for the clear words of Scripture, "For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified" (Heb 10:14).
Catholic Answer
The Mass is not a sacrifice, but only a memorial.
Biblical Response
Jesuit priest John Hardin in The Catholic Catechism (1975) states, "The sacrifice on the altar is no mere commemoration of Calvary but a true and proper act of sacrifice whereby Christ the high priest by an unbloody immolation offers himself - as he did on the Cross." (page 465,6)
Hebrews 9:12 says, " . . . he entered once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." Note the completion of this redemption.
Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." The Greek word for sanctify means to be made holy, to purify, and scripture is unanimous in its sentence that this comes only through the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ and then, when it thus comes, eternal salvation is the only result.
The infinite sacrifice of Christ on Calvary completely demolishes any need for the Sacrifice of the Mass.