Help Of The Eucharist

[MrsFrozen]

Hello.. Just wondering if anyone might be able to help me. Frozencell and I are going to Ohio Saturday, and while we're there, we will speak to his mother who is very upset that he's becoming Catholic. She has a huge problem with our Eucharist because she says we crucify Jesus over and over. Can someone help me with an article I can print out and add to my book? A clear answer for her? My answer is, "That's absurd. Jesus is in heaven, not on the cross over and over!" but this may not suffice!

Thank you very much.

God bless. :)

[Laudate_Dominum]

She has a huge problem with our Eucharist because she says we crucify Jesus over and over.

This is a common protestant attack against the Church. It's basically saying the Church teaches something that it doesn't. The Church does not teach that Christ is crucified over and over at each Mass! The Church has NEVER taught that, and it never will.

The Church teaches that Christ's Sacrifice on Calvary was once and for all. Protestants believe this too. The Church also teaches that Christ's Sacrifice is transcendent (He's God for one thing) and extends through all time. At the Mass the bread and wine become the Eucharist, Christ's body and blood, and the Sacrifice of Calvary is made present. He's not crucified all over again, we are in a sense brought to the foot of the Cross during the consecration. Christ left the Eucharist as the memorial of His suffering and death and through the Eucharist we are incorporated more fully into His mystical body and drawn into His once and for all Sacrifice which reconciles us with the Father.

If this sounds like a Catholic invention to a protestant (it's not, it's always been the case, protestants just lost the Mass when they broke away from the Church), they should consider that the Eucharist fulfills the Passover, it's the new and ultimate Passover with Christ as the Paschal Lamb. Anyway, the Jews, when they celebrated the Passover liturgy, believed that they were in some sense participating in the original Passover long ago, that is was in some sense made present to them. So why would this not be true of the true Passover in Christ?

Also to fulfill the old passover you had to eat the sacrificial lamb, in the Mass we eat Jesus!

As far as something for you to print out, maybe you could find some short articles on Catholic Answer's website? http://www.catholic.com/

Peace

[Laudate_Dominum]

Actually here is a better link with stuff about the Eucharist that you can use:

http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ11.HTM

[Spiritual_Arsonist]

Since God goes beyound all aspects of our physical nature, such as time, space, matter, etc, he is not bound by these limitations. All events of history are ominipresent. This means that the Crucifixion of our Lord is still present to him, and his Ressurection, Ascension, etc. So the Mass makes present to us the act of Christ. He is not re-sacrficed, but the same Calvary way back 2,000 years ago is made present.

[Jake Huether]

I also like to think of it like this:

Christ suffered and died for our sins. That is, He suffered and died for the sins of Moses, for the sins of Peter, and for the sins of me. Past present and future. Therefore, I can without a doubt say that it was my sins that helped nail him to the cross. We perpetuate Christs suffering when we sin. The world continues to scurge him and beat him. Christ, though He suffered once, suffered because of us NOW. We, in effect, continue to make him suffer.

So, in order to counter this perpetual sin, this perpetual suffering, Christ gave us the Mass to perpetuate his salvific death and resurrection.

Christ, though He died and rose once, he died and rose for us NOW. The Mass, in effect, perpetuates his death and resurrection so as to exactly cancell out the perpetual suffering and passion that we cause Him.

In short: Although Christ suffered died and rose only once in history,...

in the angelic realm (the spiritual realm) humanity continues to cause him to suffer (that one time). Equally so, in a very real way, in the spiritual realm, Christ continues to die and rise for us (that one time), but we are brought there at Mass.

I hope that that makes sense.

[MrsFrozen]

Yes, all these posts make sense. Thank you so much. I love when things are explained in laymen's terms! I think I'll make a little article myself combining your answers and the link I was given. Thanks again, and God bless!! :)