This third in a series on Understanding the Mass focuses on the way the Lord Jesus is really present in his body, the church, as well as his real presence in the priest.[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='65' color='' background_color='' border_color='']W[/dropcaps]hether they’re Catholic or not, whether they understand...
This fourth installment in a five part series on Understanding the Mass explains Christ's real presence in the Word of God and in the sacrament of his body and blood.[dropcaps type='normal' font_size='100' color='' background_color='' border_color='']A[/dropcaps]s we have seen, the Lord Jesus is really and truly...
Bonaventure reflects on the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the meaning of the blood and water flowing from the side of Christ crucified (John 19:34), the living water of sacramental grace coming from the loving heart of the Savior. He reflects especially on several lines...
In Part 1 of Understanding the Mass, we examined how the Mass relates to the Sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. In this, part 2 of the series, we ask in what way the Eucharist can be said to be our sacrifice, the sacrifice...
The Feast of Corpus Christi, the body and blood of Christ, was instituted during the lifetime of Thomas Aquinas as a proclamation of faith in the real presence (aka transubstantiation) of Christ's body and blood in the sacrament. This selection, read annually on...
While the word "transubstantiation" is not employed here, the substance of this doctrine of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist is evident in this passage from St. Ambrose's treatise On the Mysteries, dating to AD 380. This excerpt explains the power of the words of...
This first post of a 5 part series on understanding the mass focuses on what way the Eucharist is a sacrifice, how it is a re-presentation of the once and for all sacrifice of Christ on the Cross as well as an experience of the...
Hilary of Poitiers, describes how new Christians in 4th Century France typically felt innundated by the gifts of the Holy Spirit upon their baptism, Confirmation, & first Eucharist: a sense of joy and the release of the 7 gifts and charisms....
Peter Chrysologus, a 5th century Church Father, on the priesthood of all Christian believers conferred in baptism and confirmation. He elaborates his teaching in the course of commenting on the apostle Paul's words in Romans 12:2 where we are called to offer our bodies as...
Written by St. Irenaeus about 185 AD, this excerpt makes clear the Church's realistic interpretation of the eucharist as the risen body of Christ which serves as the medicine of immortality, the pledge of our own future resurrection. The real presence of the body...