The Real Presence
Is it really Jesus, or a symbol?
Main teaching: De fide
The big question
At Mass, the priest holds up what looks like bread and says, “The Body of Christ.” Catholics answer “Amen” and believe it is Christ himself. Many other Christians believe the bread is a symbol or reminder of Christ. Which is it, and how could it possibly be Christ when it still looks, tastes and feels like bread?
What the Church teaches
In the Eucharist Christ is truly, really and substantially present: his body and blood, together with his soul and divinity (Trent, Session XIII, canon 1; DH 1651; CCC 1374).
The whole substance of the bread is changed into the substance of Christ’s body, and the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. Only the appearances of bread and wine remain. This change is fittingly called transubstantiation (Lateran IV, 1215, DH 802; Trent, Session XIII, ch. 4 and canon 2, DH 1642, 1652; CCC 1376).
The whole Christ is present under each species, and in every part of each (Trent, Session XIII, canon 3; DH 1653; CCC 1377).
Christ remains present as long as the appearances remain, and the Eucharist is to be adored (Trent, Session XIII, canons 4 and 6; DH 1654, 1656; CCC 1377–1378).
How sure is this? De fide. See CCC 1373–1381.
Where it comes from
Scripture. In John 6, after feeding the five thousand, Jesus says, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven… and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (John 6:51). When his hearers object, he does not soften it but repeats it more strongly: “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 you” (John 6:53). Many disciples say, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6:60), and walk away (John 6:66). Jesus lets them go rather than tell them he was speaking symbolically.
At the Last Supper he takes bread and says, “Take, eat; this is my body” (Matthew 26:26). St Paul asks, “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16), and warns that whoever receives “in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 11:27). You cannot profane the body of someone who is not there.
The early Church. About 110, St Ignatius of Antioch wrote that certain heretics stayed away from the Eucharist because they did not confess that it is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ (To the Smyrnaeans 7). About 155, St Justin Martyr explained to the Roman emperor that Christians do not receive the Eucharist as common bread and drink, but as the flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus (First Apology 66). St Cyril of Jerusalem told new Christians not to judge by taste, but to be fully assured by faith (Mystagogical Catechesis 4).
How theologians explain it
Substance and accidents. Philosophy distinguishes what a thing is (its substance) from its accidents: its size, shape, colour, taste, weight and chemistry. Normally a change of substance shows in the accidents: when wood burns, it no longer looks or feels like wood. In the Eucharist the opposite happens:
| Before consecration | After consecration | |
|---|---|---|
| Substance (what it is) | Bread and wine | The body and blood of Christ |
| Accidents (how it appears, tastes, weighs, reacts chemically) | Of bread and wine | Still those of bread and wine |
That is why the change cannot be detected by any experiment: everything science measures is an accident. Transubstantiation is a change at the level science does not reach.
The whole Christ. Christ is present not in pieces but whole: body, blood, soul and divinity, under the form of bread and under the form of wine, and in every fragment. Receiving under one kind, the host alone, is receiving the whole Christ. Breaking the host does not break Christ.
Not in the ordinary way. Christ is present not as a body is present in a place, taking up space, but “sacramentally”, in a unique way (Summa III, q. 76, a. 5). He does not leave heaven, and he is not multiplied; the one glorified Christ is present wherever the Eucharist is.
Why the word “transubstantiation”? It was used officially at the Fourth Lateran Council (1215), after a controversy in which Berengar of Tours taught that the presence was only spiritual. The word does not explain the mystery; it names exactly what changes and what does not.
Adoration. Because Christ is truly present and remains present, the Eucharist is reserved in the tabernacle and adored. This is why Catholics genuflect before the tabernacle, and why Eucharistic adoration and processions exist.
Philosophy bridge
This is the strongest philosophy bridge in the course. The distinction between substance and accidents, taught in the philosophy course’s metaphysics, is what makes it possible to say precisely what changes in the Eucharist and what does not. Without it, the doctrine sounds either magical or merely symbolic.
What the Church does not claim
- Not that the Eucharist is only a symbol. It is a sign, but a sign that contains what it signifies.
- Not that it is cannibalism. We receive the living, glorified Christ in a sacramental way, not flesh torn from a body.
- Not that the bread chemically changes. The accidents, including the chemistry, remain.
- Not that Christ is both bread and body together. Luther taught Christ is present “with” the bread (sometimes called consubstantiation). The Church teaches the bread is no longer there; only its appearances remain.
Check your understanding
- What did the Council of Trent teach about Christ’s presence in the Eucharist?
Show answer
That Christ is truly, really and substantially present, body and blood, soul and divinity; that the whole substance of bread and wine is changed into his body and blood (transubstantiation); and that only the appearances remain.
- How does John 6:53–66 support a literal reading of Jesus’ words?
Show answer
When his hearers objected, Jesus repeated his words more strongly, and when many disciples left, he let them go rather than say he was speaking symbolically.
- Explain transubstantiation using substance and accidents.
Show answer
The substance, what the thing is, changes from bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood. The accidents, its appearance, taste, weight and chemistry, remain those of bread and wine.
- Why can’t a scientific test detect the change?
Show answer
Because science measures accidents, such as chemistry, weight and appearance, and these do not change. The change is at the level of substance.
- If someone receives only the host, do they receive the whole Christ? Explain.
Show answer
Yes. The whole Christ, body, blood, soul and divinity, is present under each form and in every part of each.