Transubstantiation And The Sacrifice Of The Mass
A "miracle" for which there is no evidence.

Look at me!   I hold the magical cookie! I have the power to call God out of heaven and into my cookie! I say: "There is no salvation without my cookie!" You must be a Catholic and eat this cookie to be assured of Heaven!... and such are the claims and teachings of all the popes

INTRODUCTION

Some Catholics may not be familiar with the word 'transubstantiation' but they may know it as 'the consecration of the host' or 'the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist'. It is also called the 'Holy Eucharist' and the 'communion wafer'.  Unlike the bread that the Lord would have used at the "last supper", the Catholic communion wafer is not really bread. It is really just a round disk or cracker made with a taste and texture similar to the wafers used in sugar wafer cookies. This is probably done to add to the aura and mystery surrounding the doctrine of transubstantiation. The wafer is about the size of a half dollar although for some reason, the priest uses a much bigger wafer for himself (about twice the diameter of the ones he doles out to the congregation). He breaks this big one in half during the ritual that is supposed to cause transubstantiation to occur.

What does the Catholic church officially teach regarding transubstantiation? According to the Catholic church, as declared in Canon 1 of the Council of Trent:

"If anyone denies that in the sacrament of the most Holy Eucharist [i.e. the wafer] is contained truly, really and substantially the body and blood together with the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, but says that He is in it only as in a sign or figure or force, let him be anathema", where anathema means damned and put to death.

In other words, transubstantiation is a supposed miracle that a Catholic priest performs during the 'mass' whereby he calls Jesus out of heaven and turns him into a cup full of wafers, with each wafer being an exact duplicate of the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ even though each one still looks like a wafer and tastes like a wafer. If anyone says the wafer is still a wafer, he is damned and should be put to death, according the Catholic church. The Catholic church has NEVER reversed Canon 1 of the Council of Trent. It still stands to this day. They just don't put people to death anymore for denying transubstantiation - as far as I know - at least not in America.

Since Catholics don't like to think of transubstantiation in the terminology I have used above, they have a more palatable way of describing what happens to the communion wafers:

The Catholic church says, essentially, that after the words of consecration the wafer no longer exists, it only appears to exist. The problem with this thinking is that God is not the author of confusion. This idea is the height of confusion. Just because the Catholic church makes such a claim and ties it to a Bible verse, does not validate the claim either.  If someone put rat poison on a communion wafer and then had a priest "consecrate" it, do you think even the most devout Catholic would eat that wafer?

According to the Church, Christ is substantially (though invisibly) present under this appearance of the wafer.

One BIG difference between what Christ taught and what Catholicism teaches: Christ was visibly present whenever He broke bread and when He said "this is my body". He also spoke figuratively and parabolically constantly, so that not everyone would understand Him...

Luke 8:10  "And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they  might not see, and hearing they might not understand."

Typically, those who did not understand that Christ was speaking figuratively were those who were not saved.

Because of the way the Catholic church describes the phenomenon of transubstantiation,  Catholics believe that when they engage in eucharistic adoration, they are not worshiping a man-made object. But they REALLY ARE worshipping a man made object, only they say it no longer is one. If I tried to sell you a Yuyo and told you it was a Rolls Royce, you would call me a liar, would you not?

Catholics actually believe they are worshipping the One whom they believe to be substantially present where the wafer appears to be present. But in reality they are worshipping a thing, an object that they wish to believe is something else.  Christ is in glory in Heaven. He is to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth...

John 4:22  "Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.  23  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  24  God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

AN INVISIBLE UNVERIFIABLE MIRACLE

This miracle that nobody can see or verify is not a teaching of the Bible. When Jesus healed someone they were visibly healed. When he walked on water you could see him walk on water. When he raised the dead, people literally came back to life. When he changed water to wine it visibly changed. When he fed thousands of people there was a lot of food left over for all to see. Even when he saved a soul, you could see the fruits of repentance in the person's life.

DELIBERATE DECEPTION?

Do priests deliberately deceive people about this supposed miracle of transubstantiation? Probably not in most cases. They are just doing what they were taught by the Catholic church. Likewise, I blindly believed that the communion wafer was 'the body of Christ', even though the Bible clearly states that the term 'body of Christ' refers to the world-wide collective group of true born-again Bible-believing Christians and not to a round piece of unleavened bread:

1 Corinthians 12:25-27 - "That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular."

WHERE DOES THIS IDEA COME FROM?

The idea of transubstantiation comes from the following verse and a few related verses in the Bible:

John 6:53 - "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you."

Most Catholic teachers who quote John 6:53 above to justify the teaching of transubstantiation, fail to quote or explain John 6:63:

John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."

THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF SCRIPTURE

Jesus said what he said in verse 63 specifically to clarify the fact that he was speaking in spiritual terms because "the flesh profiteth nothing", meaning that what really matters to God is our spiritual condition, not our physical condition. If the doctrine of eating Christ's flesh and drinking his blood is interpreted literally, it profits nothing. Very often the reason why people did not like Christ's sayings is because they usually misunderstood them. They interpreted them literally when he was speaking figuratively. Or stated in another way, they interpreted Christ's words in a physical/earthly sense, when he was speaking of spiritual things using earthly terms and analogies. Jesus point this out here:

Matthew 13:34-35 - "All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."

EXAMPLES OF SYMBOLISM

Here are some of the many cases of symbolism that Jesus used in referring to himself:

John 6:35 - "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst."

Was Jesus really a loaf of bread? No. But he is the provider of spiritual food. Applying a literal interpretation to John 6:35, we should be able to eat a communion wafer and never get hungry again.

And another example:

John 8:12 - "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Was Jesus a light or a candle or the sun that our earth revolves around? No. But he provides spiritual light to the world through the holy scriptures:

Psalm 119:130 - "The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."

And still another example:

John 10:7 - "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep."

Was Jesus a physical door? No. But following him, and only him, gains us entrance into heaven:

John 14:6 - "Jesus saith unto him, I am , the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."

And yet another example:

John 10:11 - "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."

Was Jesus a sheep herder? No. He was a carpenter's son. But he watches over his spiritual flock. Is his flock made up of literal sheep. I don't think so.

One last example:

John 15:1 - "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman."

Was Jesus an actual grapevine? No. But we get our spiritual nourishment from him just as a cluster of grapes gets its nourishment from the vine it is attached to.

AND JUST WHAT IS THE SPIRITUAL FOOD FOR TRUE BELIEVERS?

Christians are nourished by diligently studying the Bible, not by eating a wafer or by literally eating Jesus Christ, as confirmed here:

Matthew 4:4 - "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

John 6:68 - "Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life."

In referring to eating his body and drinking his blood, Jesus was simply saying that we must have an appetite for Him and for the things of God if we are to be fit for heaven. We can draw this conclusion from Matthew 5, verse 6:

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled".

Is righteousness a literal food or a drink that we should hunger or thirst for it? The obvious answer is no. But we see in the Bible that God Himself is often spoken of as spiritual food and drink:

Psalm 42:2 - "My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?"

Psalm 63:1 - "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is"

Christ said that His food was to do the will of God the Father:

John 4:34 "Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work."

We also see in the Bible that God's Word is spoken of as spiritual food:

Amos 8:11 - "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD"

Luke 4:4 - "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."

Only God can give us an appetite for Him and for the spiritual food found in His Word by putting His Spirit in us as mentioned many places in the Bible including here:

Ezekiel 36:26-27 - "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."

Psalm 40:8 - "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law."

DRINKING BLOOD IS ALWAYS FORBIDDEN

No scriptural reason can be found for anyone to drink Jesus' blood, but there are some very clear scriptural commands AGAINST such things, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament:

Leviticus 19:26 - "Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye use enchantment, nor observe times." (OT)

Acts 15:20 - "But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood." (NT)

COMMUNION WAS MEANT TO BE A REMINDER

Christ instituted the communion ordinance at the last supper that it might be a reminder of his death on our behalf and that it would also remind us of the coming wedding feast of the Lamb, in heaven:

Matthew 26:29 - "But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

Revelation 19:9 - "And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God."

Paul clearly stated that the bread and the cup was to be a reminder and not a literal sacrifice:

1 Corinthians 11:24-25 - "And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."

Jesus had to be speaking in symbolic terms in the quote mentioned by Paul above, because:

A. He was still standing there amidst his disciples and he was not changed into bread or wine after he spoke these two verses AND

B. He said "do this in remembrance of me" AND

C. There is no scriptural reason to eat the literal body and blood of Christ. Salvation was purchased by Christ at Calvary and is granted to a person as a free gift when God converts them

NO NEED TO RE-PRESENT CHRIST

According to the Bible, there is absolutely no need for the sacrifice of the mass. The death of Christ at Calvary was a one-time event, never to be repeated or re-presented again:

Hebrews 9:28 - "So Christ was to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation."

Christ only needed to be offered up once to pay for the sins of those He came to save. The Catholic Church is actually mocking the finished work of Christ to even have an ordinance referred to as 'the sacrifice of the mass'. Hebrews 10:10-14 is quite clear about the fact that there is no need at all for any more sacrifices, including replays of what happened at Calvary:

Hebrews 10:10-14 - "... we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

CHRIST DWELLS IN BELIEVERS THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, NOT THE EUCHARIST

Christ chooses to dwell in the believer through the Holy Spirit. He does not want to or need to dwell in pieces of bread:

Romans 5:5 - "And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us." - not in our stomachs by the 'holy' eucharist!

Catholics often get upset when you say that their wafer is not God. It is interesting to note that Paul ran into people with the same attitude:

Acts 19:25-27 - "Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. 26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth."

The eucharist is certainly made with hands. It is certainly a manufactured god. Therefore, just as Paul said: "they be no gods which are made with hands", there can be no true wafer god. Also, the Catholic church would be in the same financial predicament as the people of Ephesus, if their followers were persuaded that their wafer is not God. The priest-craft (turning bread into deity) would be in danger of being "set at nought" (put out of business) and the temple in Rome (the Vatican) would be despised and her magnificence (the wafer god) would be destroyed whom all Catholics worship.

THE MASS IS NOT THE SAME SACRIFICE AS CALVARY

Catholics who say that the sacrifice of the mass is the same sacrifice at Calvary are ignorant of what God says in the Bible. If the mass was the same sacrifice, there would be a literal body, a literal wooden cross, literal nails AND LITERAL BLOOD - because God is quite clear about the need for blood atonement:

Leviticus 17:11- "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul."

A USELESS SACRIFICE

A bloodless sacrifice, like that of the re-presented Christ in the mass, is a useless sacrifice. It has no blood and therefore no power to cleanse a person of sin:

1John 1:7 - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Hebrews 9:22 - "And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. [forgiveness]."

THE EUCHARIST IS AN IDOL

As a true Christian, saved by the grace of God, through the blood of the Lamb, I now know I was guilty of idolatry (in ignorance, but guilty all the same) when I looked at the eucharist as the literal body and blood of Jesus because the Bible says that the Lord is a jealous God who will not have any other gods before Him (Exodus 20:3-5). And take heed dear reader: the apostle Paul said that behind every idol there is a demon (see 1 Corinthians 10:19-20). God hates idolatry. It is a terrible insult to God to say that some physical object represents Him or that something created by human hands is actually God Himself! And to say that a human priest has the ability to turn a wafer into God is the utter blasphemy. That would make God subject to the commands of a mortal priest.

GOD'S WAY OF RECEIVING CHRIST

The claim of Catholic writers like Alan Schreck, that "we receive him [Jesus] into our bodies and spirits through a very basic human act, eating" is based on a lack of knowledge about what it means to receive Jesus. True Christians receive Jesus into their hearts and lives through a ONE-TIME process, at the point of being converted to Christ, by being born from above (see John 3:3), when they become sealed by the Holy Spirit:

Ephesians 1:13 - "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise"

Note the scriptural process for conversion to Christ that everyone who becomes saved must undergo:

1. you heard the word of truth - the gospel of salvation

2. after you heard it - you believed

3. then you were sealed by the Holy Spirit

In the verse above (Ephesians 1:13) the salvation process is briefly outlined. Yet no mention is made of the need to eat or drink anything, in fact the Bible says:

Romans 14:17 - "For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost."

WHY WOULDN'T THE CATHOLIC CLERGY LET CATHOLICS KNOW THESE THINGS ABOUT THE EUCHARIST?

The main reason why the Catholic church leadership will never admit that they are wrong about transubstantiation is because they have been using the eucharist for centuries as a device to keep people, both kings and common folk, thinking that they need this special 'consecrated' wafer for salvation and that they need the Catholic church in order to get the wafer. Like your typical Catholic, I believed almost everything the Catholic church told me when I was growing up because I assumed, like most Catholics, that the church leadership knew the truth and whenever they were questioned about it, they came up with what appeared on the surface to be reasonable sounding explanations for things, especially when they said things like 'it is a mystery' or 'we just believe by faith' which are statements that are difficult to argue with unless you know the Bible and you are enlightened by the Holy Spirit.

SUMMARY

By looking to the Holy Bible, taking verses in context and comparing verses with similar passages in other parts of the Bible, we can know the truth about God's salvation plan. It is crucial to realize that if a person is involved in preaching and practicing things that are contrary to the Gospel of the finished work of Jesus Christ at Calvary, they are under the curse of God for preaching what the apostle Paul calls another gospel:

"But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." [Galatians 1:8].

SEE ALSO: The Cracker God Of Catholicism