Why is it so Incredible?

But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. (Psalm 115:3)

Christianity, like its Jewish root, was formed in the womb of the supernatural: The creation of all that is seen and unseen from nothing; the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah; the confounding of language at Babel; the ten plagues of Egypt; crossing the Red Sea; the Manna which fed Israel throughout their 40 years in the wilderness; the Ten Commandments written by the finger of God; the walls of Jericho; the Virgin’s conception of Jesus; feeding the five thousand with a few fish and loaves; the physical resurrection of Jesus from death.

From front cover to back, our Christian faith is inseparably woven within the supernatural. To unravel it would be like trying to separate the colors of a multi-colored candle.

So why is it so incredible to believe the bread and the wine consecrated during a Mass actually become the Body and Blood of Jesus, especially since He – and also the apostle Paul – said it was so?

Here is Jesus on the subject: “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh.”

"Then the Jews began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?”

"So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me.. . . ” (John 6:51-58)

Again, He said:

“. . . and after a blessing He broke [the bread], and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them . . . [and said], “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. (Mark 14:22-24)

And here is St. Paul: “Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16)

As everyone reading this essay knows, many who attend church dismiss the miracles of Scripture as symbolism, fable, or allegory – despite the clear sense of the Biblical contexts. So it ought not be surprising that many who attend church also dismiss the miraculous changing of the Eucharist into the Body and Blood of Jesus. Instead of interpreting the words of Jesus and the Apostle literally, according to the clear sense of the Biblical context, they call those passages symbolism, fable, or allegory.

Oh, how I long for the time when Christians who believe in a supernatural God would be charitable to those who interpret Jesus and Paul literally. After all, we serve a supernatural God. He has done, and will continue to do, whatever He pleases.

Why is that so incredible to believe?

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You can find more of my essays at www.thecontemplativecatholicconvert.blogspot.com