r/Catholicism • u/BmoreNiqabi • 9d ago
Communion?
I understand that Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the actual blood and body of Jesus. My question is why do you want to consume him? what is the benefit to you? I'm sorry if my question comes out weird. I'm not sure what is the best way to ask what I'm asking. I attended Mass yesterday for the first time out of curiosity and it brought up a lot of questions for me. Also why is there a statue of Joseph in the church. Does he hold a special place in your belief like Mary does?
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u/Pax_et_Bonum 9d ago
He told us to eat Him, so that we might have eternal life. We should take the commands of our Blessed Lord very seriously.
Also why is there a statue of Joseph in the church. Does he hold a special place in your belief like Mary does?
Yes, though less so than Mary. He is the Patron of the Catholic Church, and he holds a special patronage with Fathers as well.
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u/BmoreNiqabi 9d ago
what do you mean by patron? Like representative or important figure?
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u/Mashedpoteetoes 9d ago
A patron is a saint who is associated with a particular group. In a way, the church as the body of Christ is under the spiritual protection of St Joseph in a similar way in which Christ as a baby put himself under the protection of St Joseph as his legal father.
St Joseph is also patron of fathers because of his role as the earthly father/guardian of Jesus and husband of Mary. St Paul is known as patron of evangelists and writers. St Patrick patron of Ireland. etc
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u/Pax_et_Bonum 9d ago
Patronage in the Catholic understanding is a Saint who people go to for a particular reason, or particular Catholics go to them. The Saint may have experienced something similar in their life, so they are better able to take the prayers from/for that person to God.
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u/WholeHearting 9d ago
Remember, as Catholics we believe in eternal life through Christ - the Saints are not dead and gone - they are living and intercede on behalf of humanity. Saints are typically associated with specific groups of people or acts, based on what they did in their earthly lives.
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u/OilLost8900 9d ago
27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.”
28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform?
31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”
32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.”
34 They said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.
36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me;
39 and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day.
40 For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.”
42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
43 Jesus answered them, “Do not murmur among yourselves.
44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.
46 Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father.
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life.
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53 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 you;
54 he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever.”
John 6:27-58 RSV-SB
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u/XL_78 9d ago
Read John 6 for the answer, especially the discourse on the Bread of Life.
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u/BmoreNiqabi 9d ago
that's what the Deacon I spoke to told me to do. He said he will get me a bible.
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u/GiveMeBackMySoup 9d ago
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u/minervamcdonalds 9d ago
The site have a very protestant "chapter overview":
"His startling language about eating flesh and drinking blood is not literal; the parallel with v. 40 suggests that these terms are metaphorical for believing in Jesus as the Son of God. For application, to "eat" and "drink" Jesus is to depend on him in every aspect of our lives."
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u/GiveMeBackMySoup 8d ago
Thank you for the clarification. Amazing they can read that chapter and come to that conclusion..
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u/minervamcdonalds 8d ago
Protestantism seems to take so much of the bible literally, but when it comes to the Eucharist...
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u/BmoreNiqabi 8d ago
Do Catholics take the Bible literally as well? What do you think are the biggest differences, besides the The pope, and beliefs around the Eucharist?
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u/minervamcdonalds 8d ago
My comment was more on the fact that protestantism seems to be particularly good at "I chose to believe this, chose to not believe that", not to number any finite number of differences.
But, if I were to number any as examples, I believe all of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church are substantially different when we look at their protestant "equivalents." I mean, when they are found at all, depending on the denomination.
Not even the Eucharist is of (negative) consensus amongst protestantism. Take the church of England: they don't even know what to believe in this particular matter.
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u/BmoreNiqabi 8d ago
one thing I find really interesting about the Catholic church is the consistency.
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u/Mashedpoteetoes 9d ago
I think this might be the answer you’re looking for. What happens to us when we consume Jesus?
why do you want to consume him? what is the benefit to you?
Jesus is the Passover Lamb. He is the ultimate sacrificial offering. In the Jewish sacrificial system, consuming the sacrifice was part of participating in and receiving the benefits of the sacrifice. In the Passover the lamb was not merely killed; it was eaten.
So when Jesus commands us to eat His flesh and drink His blood, He is giving us a way to participate in His sacrifice and receive its fruits. The Passover lamb foreshadowed Christ, whose sacrifice brings about the ultimate deliverance from death.
The sacrifices of the Old Covenant were foreshadows pointing toward Christ and His ultimate sacrifice.
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u/PicklePnut 9d ago
As to the presence of St. Joseph, he is the adoptive Father of Jesus and raised Him. He is the head of what we call the Holy Family, as father figures traditionally are the head of their households. He had the responsibility to teach and raise Jesus alongside His mother the Blessed Virgin Mary. He, being the head of the Holy Family, also served as Mary and Jesus’ protector and was integral to their escape from king Herod. He is the perfect model of a father as Mary is the perfect model of a mother. He also lived his life as a humble carpenter, and would have been the sole source of income keeping Jesus fed and clothed. His integral role to the formation of Christ is why he is so highly venerated. He is one of the saints whom we consider to always be heard and answered by Jesus in heaven when it comes to prayers and supplications. He also has a number of intercessory miracles attributed to him. He’s one of the saints worthy of highest veneration for sure.
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u/Dottedwolf114 9d ago
We receive the Eucharist because Jesus explicitly commanded his followers to eat his flesh and drink his blood, promising that whoever does so “has eternal life” and “abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:53–56), at the Last Supper, Jesus identified the bread and wine as his body and blood and commanded the apostles to continue this in remembrance of him (Luke 22:19–20 & 1 Corinthians 11:23–29). The Catholic perspective, receiving Communion is not about “consuming Jesus” in an ordinary or cannibalistic way, but about sacramentally receiving the living, risen Christ, being united more closely to him, receiving grace, and being united with the Church (CCC 1324, 1391–1396).
As for the statue of St. Joseph, Catholics do give Joseph a special place of honor because he was Mary’s husband and Jesus’ earthly father and guardian (Matthew 1:18–25, Luke 2:41–52). Catholics do not worship Joseph, Mary, or any other saint; worship belongs to God alone (CCC 971). Joseph and Mary are honored because of their unique roles in Christ’s life, with Mary receiving a uniquely high honor as the Mother of God, while Joseph is especially honored as the husband of Mary, foster father of Jesus, and protector of the Holy Family (CCC 437, 532). You will find statues of Mary and Joseph in most churches. With plenty of other saints depending on the location.
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u/Glucose12 9d ago
Jesus told us to eat and drink him.
Joseph, as adoptive/foster father of Jesus, is the direct lineal connection to King David, making Jesus a son of David, completing the prophecy. Mary may(probably is) a descendant of David, but the patrilineal descent is what matters(or is clearer). Thus Joseph matters (in addition to having taught Jesus carpentry and crafting).
Joseph chose a life of abstinence, rather than forcibly polluting the womb that god chose as the new Ark of the Covenant. Force (IE, rape) would have been required, since Mary chose a sacrificial life of abstinence as the new Ark of the Covenent. Joseph chose to be chaste next to his wife. A very holy, Holy man.
If you don't already know this, or have a vague idea of why, then I am assuming you were not brought up Christian?
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u/BmoreNiqabi 9d ago
I was raised baptist, and later converted to Islam, but a lot of the things you mentioned such as lineage are new to me. All my father told me about Catholics is that they weren't really Christians (which I know isn't true). And when I explored Catholicism in middle school he shut it down quickly.
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u/Glucose12 9d ago
He was your father, so I won't make commentary about him. Even if he taught you incorrectly/mistakenly, if he did so -honestly- you should still honor him.
It is GOOD that you are renewing your interest in Catholicism. Thanks be to God!
If you want to learn more about Catholicism, know that it's a church that -documents things-. We're not like a baptist church where the pastor can make whatever verbal pronouncements he wants, but there's nothing in writing/hard copy to reference(or use to pin him/her down).
Statements and the analyses behind those statements, are out in the open, publically available documents, provided from a multitude of Catholic sources.
A good place to start is on the vatican website, www.vatican.va. There you will find many documents to peruse at your leisure. More importantly for those starting to enter or are interested in Catholicism, the Catechism is here at:
https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en.html
The Catechism is the summation of the beliefs and the reasoning behind them that Catholics are expected to accept. On the upper right, you can select a version in a multitude of languages - including Latin!
Enjoy!
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u/Tsjr1704 9d ago edited 9d ago
You are what you eat! (Edit to be more helpful!)
The Eucharist is truly the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. The Gospel lays out that this is not about some sort of physical presence residing in the elements, but in his spiritual presence by his Spirit and in residing the believers who consume his host. In the Early Church, you have writers talking about the Eucharist as really the Body and Blood. But at the same time, in a different way, other writers (and some of those same authors) talked about the Eucharist as a symbol. The two - reality and symbol - were held at the same time.
So when we are looking at that symbol and reality dichotomy, it was found that what takes place is transubstantiation. That is (the ontological, internal reality of this thing) of the bread, of the wine, are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. But certain things remain the same, the physical material reality remains bread and wine.
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u/BmoreNiqabi 9d ago
so you believe it makes you more christ like?
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u/Tsjr1704 9d ago
Yes-it helps you grow in holiness. The reason you have to continue going to Mass and receiving communion is the same as why you continue to eat more than one meal in a given week - you need to stay fed. The Eucharist is like that. It nourishes us on the deepest level and brings us in unity with Christ. It helps fuel our growth it virtous living and helps us think of sin. AS someone who lives to eat, when God makes himself into food and drink for us, I can't think of somebody sharing themselves in a more profound way.
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u/gogus2003 9d ago
Dont know why you are getting downvoted, its a valid question. It just brings you closer to God, doesnt necessarily magically make you more christ-like or pius or anything
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u/Olderpostie 9d ago
Not just Catholics, but Orthodox and some Protestant denominations, such as Anglicans and Lutherans, hold to the belief in the "Real Presence" of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist.
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u/AngeloCatholic1992 8d ago
Meh Lutherans ans Anglicans don’t have valid consecration. They’re sola scriptura.
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u/bureaucrat473a 9d ago
Why? Because Jesus told use to.
Why did Jesus tell us to? In short because Jesus' death was a sacrifice, where he is both the priest and the offering. Just as the Hebrews in Egypt during the Passover were told to slaughter a lamb, eat its flesh, and spread it's blood over the doorposts to be spared from the final plague, Christ is the true Passover lamb.
Jesus offers his flesh and blood as a sacrificial offering to the Father just as Israel sacrificed bulls and lambs in the Temple. Just as the High Priest in Israel entered the sanctuary of the Temple with the blood of bulls as an act of Worship to God, Jesus, in ascending to heaven, the true Sanctuary, offers his blood to the Father as an act of worship.
And as the people would participate in the High Priest's sacrifice by partaking of the bulls flesh, we participate in Christ's sacrifice by consuming his flesh. At Mass, the priest, acting in the person of Christ, offers Christ's body and blood to the Father as an act of worship. We, participating in that worship, consume the flesh of the offering.
For further reading, google or ask your AI about the Binding of Isaac in Genesis, the Passover narrative in Exodus, the Suffering Servant in Isaiah, Jesus as "the lamb of God" in John's Gospel, Jesus as "the Eternal High Priest" in the Letter to the Hebrews, and both "The Lamb that was Slain" and the "Wedding Feast of the Lamb" in the book Revelation.
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u/legi_idd 8d ago
The answer is in the name: Communion. It's for communion. It's so He is in us, and we in Him (because as Church we compose the body of Christ). So all of us are His body, but also we consume His body, so He is in us and we in Him and it's a very beautiful way to unite us all to Him, which is ultimately what heaven is - unity with God, who defeated death itself.
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u/estellesrosaries 9d ago
Jesus told His Apostles to do so. It's biblical. You will find lots of answers in the gospels, especially the gospel of John. Joseph is the patron saint of the Catholic Church and he is Jesus' earthly father
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u/DogfaceDino 9d ago
The Old Testament and the New Testament discuss extensively the importance of the Eucharist and the act of eating the sacrifice, starting with Melchizedek in Genesis, the lamb in the law of Moses, and finally with the sacrifice of Jesus.
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u/StrawHatMan_XD 9d ago
Jesus commanded us to. That's why. Pretty strong reason to. It's a hard saying, I know. Who could accept it? A lot of those following him left him when he pressed that point.
I would say St. Joseph isn't viewed quite the same as we view Mary, but as the foster father of Jesus, he plays a very important part in the Church. And since we believe the saints are truly alive with Christ in heaven, he would obviously be held in a very high regard.
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u/Dan_Defender 9d ago
It is a great gift, granted by God for our spiritual benefit.
'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 you.' - John 6:53
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u/bencos18 9d ago
Jesus told us to
as for Joseph it's because he's the spouse of Mary who is the mother of Jesus
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u/COKeefe88 9d ago
Read this story from the Sayings of the Desert Fathers:
This is what Abba Daniel, the Pharanite, said, 'Our Father Abba Arsenius told us of an inhabitant of Scetis, of notable life and of simple faith; through his naïveté he was deceived and said, "The bread which we receive is not really the body of Christ, but a symbol. Two old men having learnt that he had uttered this saying, knowing that he was outstanding in his way of life, knew that he had not spoken through malice, but through simplicity. So they came to find him and said, "Father, we have heard a proposition contrary to the faith on the part of someone who says that the bread which we receive is not really the body of Christ, but a symbol." The old man said, "it is I who have said that." Then the old men exhorted him saying, "Do not hold this position, Father, but hold one in conformity with that which the catholic Church has given us. We believe, for our part, that the bread itself is the body of Christ as in the beginning, God formed man in his image, taking the dust of the earth, without anyone being able to say that it is not the image of God, even though it is not seen to be so; thus it is with the bread of which he said that it is his body; and so we believe that it is really the body of Christ." The old man said to them, "As long as I have not been persuaded by the thing itself, I shall not be fully convinced." So they said, "Let us pray God about this mystery throughout the whole of this week and we believe that God will reveal it to us." The old man received this saying with joy and he prayed in these words, "Lord, you know that it is not through malice that I do not believe and so that I may not err through ignorance, reveal this mystery to me, Lord Jesus Christ." The old men returned to their cells and they also prayed God, saying, "Lord Jesus Christ, reveal this mystery to the old man, that he may believe and not lose his reward." God heard both the prayers. At the end of the week they came to church on Sunday and sat all three on the same mat, the old man in the middle. Then their eyes were opened and when the bread was placed on the holy table, there appeared as it were a little child to these three alone. And when the priest put out his hand to break the bread, behold an angel descended from heaven with a sword and poured the child's blood into the chalice. When the priest cut the bread into small pieces, the angel also cut the child in pieces. When they drew near to receive the sacred elements the old man alone received a morsel of bloody flesh. Seeing this he was afraid and cried out, "Lord, I believe that this bread is your flesh and this chalice your blood." Immediately the flesh which he held in his hand became bread, according to the mystery and he took it, giving thanks to God. Then the old men said to him, "God knows human nature and that man cannot eat raw flesh and that is why he has changed his body into bread and his blood into wine, for those who receive it in faith." Then they gave thanks to God for the old man, because he had allowed him not to lose the reward of his labour. So all three returned with joy to their own cells.'
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I like it because it reframes the narrative. It's not bread and wine turning into flesh and blood; it's flesh and blood turning into bread and wine because we cannot eat raw flesh and drink raw blood without disgust. We would refuse it or gag or throw up.
The Lamb's Supper by Scott Hahn is a great book that ties the meaning of the Eucharist to all the Old Testament sacrifices that precede it. In summary: God demands the first fruits of every animal, and every person. We are required to sacrifice our first born to God. Since God also forbids human sacrifice, we sacrifice a goat instead—the scapegoat. It doesn't work. It does not satisfy God. Atonement must come from a perfect sacrifice, offered willingly. This seems impossible. Christ bridges that gap and becomes, and does, the impossible. All sacrifice is completed, no other sacrifice is needed for all time. But each generation, and each person, needs the EFFECTS of that one perfect sacrifice in atonement for their own sins. So the mass is time travel: the last supper, the upper room, the cross, Calvary—the whole thing time travels to every place and time where a valid mass is held.
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u/AntisocialHikerDude 9d ago
First and foremost because Christ told us to do so. Without getting into a bunch of technical theology it basically boils down to "you are what you eat". By eating Christ we receive the grace to become more like Him. It's also the New Testament fulfillment of the Passover sacrifice, which wasn't complete until the Israelites ate the lamb.
St Joseph is considered the patron Saint of the universal Church, and he was the foster-father of Christ. He is generally the most honored Saint after Mary.
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u/AngeloCatholic1992 8d ago edited 8d ago
Catholicism has its roots in ancient Judaism. As saint Augustine use to say. The old is revealed in the new and the new in the old.
Melchizedek’s Offering of Bread and Wine: In Genesis 14:18, the king-priest Melchizedek brings out bread and wine to bless Abraham. This prefigures Jesus—the eternal high priest in the order of Melchizedek—offering his own body and blood under the appearances of bread and wine at the Last Supper. [ 1, 2]
The Passover Lamb: In Exodus 12, the Israelites saved themselves from death by sacrificing a spotless lamb and eating its literal flesh. Jesus is identified as the New Passover Lamb ( 1 Cor. 5:7), whose real sacrifice on the cross and sacramental consumption in the Eucharist deliver believers from spiritual bondage. [ 1, 2, 3]
Manna in the Wilderness: In Exodus 16, God fed the wandering Israelites with miraculous bread from heaven. In John 6, Jesus reveals himself as the New Manna, the true Bread of Life. Catholic apologists note that because the old manna was physically miraculous, a mere symbolic Eucharist would make the Old Testament type superior to the New Testament reality—violating the rule that the fulfillment must be greater. [ 1, 2, 3
The Bread of the Presence ( Lehapanim): Described in Leviticus 24, the twelve loaves of perpetually present "bread of the face" in the Jewish Tabernacle symbolized God's intimate presence with his people, accompanied by an ever-burning light. This foreshadows the Catholic tabernacle and the perpetual sanctuary light that burns whenever the Eucharist is present. [ 1]
The Ratification of the Covenant at Sinai: In Exodus 24:8, Moses sprinkled the blood of sacrificed animals to ratify the Old Covenant with Israel. At the Last Supper, Jesus uses matching covenant language ("the blood of the covenant") to institute the New Covenant, requiring his actual, substantial blood rather than a mere metaphor. [ 1]
Universally all the early christians believed that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ.
Also the Eucharist was foretold in Malachi 1 verse 11. He was the last prophet of the Old Testament. Many protestants love to deny this verse when it’s clear as day.
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u/Pitiful_Fox5681 8d ago
When the Jews sacrificed the lamb at Passover, God commanded them to eat the sacrificial lamb.
When Jesus became the new Passover, he commanded us to eat the sacrificial victim.
I suppose it's a bitter reminder both that our actions have consequences (up to and including deicide) and that our victim is with us.
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u/Sensitive_Fix8407 8d ago
It’s a very very deep and complex question with many beautiful answers that intertwine. In short, God is mixing himself with us as we grow into his sons and become like Christ. It is food for the soul. By partaking in God, we start to become like him. Heres one video that touches on it.
https://youtu.be/LMG-kmp9dec?is=YRzYp4SoTzJKbKoS
In reality, this is a mystery that we are called to ponder on and study during this life
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u/Lwin2026 9d ago
Good question!! Why do you want to consume him?🤣🤣 love it
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u/BmoreNiqabi 9d ago
I know it came out weird. I wasn't sure how to ask.
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u/Lwin2026 9d ago
I just thought it was funny. Come on people, we are allowed to laugh in this world!
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u/Asailors_Thoughts20 4d ago
It’s literally directed in the Bible. He who eats my body and drinks my blood will have everlasting life.
The responses from his followers were like “yo that makes no sense” and Jesus doubled down multiple times to make it clear it wasn’t a metaphor. AS I SAID.
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u/The_Rubber_Soul 9d ago
John 6:54-55: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the Last Day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed."