First of all, E-U-C-H-A-R-I-S-T, see what the Eucharist means to me. Check it:
So much Marimba, so much legit Catholic doctrine.
If I may be so bold and jump right in, I would just like to say that I think I'm bad at communion. Not that it matters all that much anyway, since it quite frankly is not about me, but about the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Mass. I want to be a good communion-er, ya know? Allow me to fully elaborate.
As Catholic Christians we believe that:
Jesus is Lord of our lives.
Jesus died for us.
Jesus rose from the dead.
Jesus ascended into heaven.
Jesus is with us always.
The Eucharist is the BODY BLOOD SOUL AND DIVINITY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
NOTE: This is class I, y'all (see below). Catholicize yourselves!
Now, I know that this is a bit confusing, but take heart. The first thought that any reasonable person would naturally conclude while showering, eating cereal, walking on the beach, waiting for the bus, sitting on the toilet, or any other good thinkin' situation is that the Eucharist is made body and blood because by the consecration of bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of wine into the substance of his blood. (CCC, 1376). It's basic knowledge. Real child's stuff, that Transubstantiation!
So if you're a practicing Catholic who has the marvelous and miraculous privilege of receiving Jesus in the Eucharist and you're anything like me, consecration happens and your mind is far from blown. What? How? Why? Oh DUH, transubstantiation, obviously... And then you spend the better portion of those precious moments kneeling in front of the King in the Universe trying to reason with yourself that the King of the FREAKING Universe is actually there, and before you know it you're walking towards him like a bride walking down the aisle to her beloved, but you're face looks like this:
and you're all like, Are you there? Is it you? But then your puffed up I'm-such-a-good-Catholic-because-I-know-my-Catechism side is all like Transubstantiation. So you sigh. Body of Christ, Amen, sign of the Cross, take your seat, kneel, fold your hands, whew. And you can breathe....Story of my life.
The small tragedy hidden in the beautiful truth of the Eucharist is this. It's me, and it's you if you can identify with the above narrative. We've reduced the greatest miracle known to man to a doctrine. (Again, I speak for myself and any individuals who can identify, and not the entire Church). We have taken a beautiful mystery and pinned it down, trying to wrestle dominion over it with our puny intellects. As if.
Conclusion: The doctrine of transubstantiation is not a bad thing. Faith and reason go hand in hand. What may be a bad thing is wasting precious moments with our beloved, striving to prove to ourselves that he's really there instead of simply being still and knowing that he is God. The world embraces concrete answers, we as Christians embrace mysteries. Let us all proclaim; Take the world and give us Christ, give us a mystery.
and you're all like, Are you there? Is it you? But then your puffed up I'm-such-a-good-Catholic-because-I-know-my-Catechism side is all like Transubstantiation. So you sigh. Body of Christ, Amen, sign of the Cross, take your seat, kneel, fold your hands, whew. And you can breathe....Story of my life.
The small tragedy hidden in the beautiful truth of the Eucharist is this. It's me, and it's you if you can identify with the above narrative. We've reduced the greatest miracle known to man to a doctrine. (Again, I speak for myself and any individuals who can identify, and not the entire Church). We have taken a beautiful mystery and pinned it down, trying to wrestle dominion over it with our puny intellects. As if.
Conclusion: The doctrine of transubstantiation is not a bad thing. Faith and reason go hand in hand. What may be a bad thing is wasting precious moments with our beloved, striving to prove to ourselves that he's really there instead of simply being still and knowing that he is God. The world embraces concrete answers, we as Christians embrace mysteries. Let us all proclaim; Take the world and give us Christ, give us a mystery.