And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after supper, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

— Luke 22:19–20

Either before you arrive or as you wait for class to begin, find this short passage from Sacred Scripture in your Bible or through an online search. Reading it will prepare you for this week’s material.

— John 6:47–68

Almighty Father, open our minds and hearts like those of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, that we may come to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Grant us the grace of faith in his real presence in the Holy Eucharist—body, blood, soul, and divinity—that we might be consoled by his presence and strengthened perpetually by the bread of heaven. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

As you watch the video lesson, refer to these key highlights. Feel free to use the space provided to take notes.

• The New Testament contains four distinct accounts of the Last Supper narrative in which Christ instituted the Most Holy Eucharist.

• From the earliest centuries, the Church taught consistently that Christ’s body and blood are truly present in the Eucharist.

• The Church uses the term “transubstantiation” to refer to the change of substance from bread into the Body of Christ and from wine into the Blood of Christ.

• The truth of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist can neither be proven nor disproven by natural reason. It is a revealed truth accessible only by the grace of faith, which gives us insight into this mystery.

• The Church is sustained in her earthly pilgrimage by the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Wisdom of the Saints

If we but paused for a moment to consider attentively what takes place in this Sacrament, I am sure that the thought of Christ’s love for us would transform the coldness of our hearts into a fire of love and gratitude.

— St. Angela of Foligno

Take a moment to go through these questions with the group. For larger classes, divide them up into partners. Answers are provided to assist you in leading discussion.

1. Are there firm foundations in Scripture for the Church’s belief in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist? If so, what are they?

   Yes, there are four narratives that detail the institution of the Eucharist by Christ himself (Mk 14:18–25, Mt 26:26–29, Lk 22:14–19, and 1 Cor 11:33–36), and there is also the Eucharistic discourse of John 6 where Christ describes the grace of the Eucharist and its effects in some detail. The Church has consistently taught from the first centuries that these passages reveal the mystery of Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist.

2. How is God able to change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ?

   Because he is omnipotent, and so just as God can create the world and sustain it in being, or become incarnate as man, or raise the dead, so too he can change bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ and he does so each time a Mass is said validly by an ordained priest or bishop of the Church.

3. Why does God change the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ but leave the accidental properties of bread and wine present on the altar?

   The accidents (or properties) of bread and wine—for example, the size of the host, its color, taste, shape, and even its chemical composition—remain in the Eucharist as signs of the unique Eucharistic presence of Christ. They teach us, for instance, that Christ’s Body and Blood are the true food and drink of our spiritual life, that they nourish charity within us, and sustain the Church in her earthly pilgrimage.

4. What is transubstantiation? Why does the Church use terms like this:

Transubstantiation is the term given to the change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of the whole substance of the wine into the Blood of Christ. Terms such as these do not falsify our interpretation of Scripture but safeguard true interpretation. They allow us to clarify what the Scriptures truly teach and allow us to grasp more precisely what the mystery of faith consists in.

Catechism Connection

The Eucharistic presence of Christ begins at the moment of the consecration and endures as long as the Eucharistic species subsist. Christ is present whole and entire in each of the species and whole and entire in each of their parts, in such a way that the breaking of the bread does not divide Christ.

— CCC 1377

Discuss these questions with the group, pair them with a partner, or ask them to meditate on their own.

1. Have you sought to discover the real presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in your own life? How so? What can you do to help your belief in this reality?

   Yes. I have sought the real presence through regular Mass attendance, time in Eucharistic adoration, and prayerful reflection on the words of institution and John 6. To deepen belief I can prepare more intentionally before Communion (examination of conscience, Scripture reading on the Eucharist), spend more time in silent adoration, learn the Church’s teaching (e.g., the Catechism), and participate in communal devotions that focus on reverence for the Blessed Sacrament.

2. Do elements of Catholic prayer and devotion appeal to you? How does the worship of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament help us discover God?

   Yes. Catholic prayer and devotion use signs, symbols, and ritual to direct the heart and mind to God. The Blessed Sacrament makes Christ’s presence tangible and invites contemplative adoration, which helps us encounter and know God more intimately through silent worship, meditation on Christ’s mystery, and the Church’s sacramental life.

3. How can you best prepare yourself spiritually to receive Christ in the Blessed Sacrament?

   By examining conscience and seeking the sacrament of reconciliation when needed, praying and meditating on Scripture, fasting or observing Eucharistic fasts, cultivating interior silence and reverence, and approaching Communion with faith and active participation in the Mass.

After concluding your group discussion, return to watch the second video where converts to the Catholic faith discuss their conversion and how they live today as Catholics.

Rome to Home

Taking part in the Eucharistic sacrifice, which is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life, [the faithful] offer the Divine Victim to God, and offer themselves along with It. Thus, both by reason of the offering and through Holy Communion all take part in this liturgical service, not indeed, all in the same way but each in that way which is proper to himself. Strengthened in Holy Communion by the Body of Christ, they then manifest in a concrete way that unity of the people of God which is suitably signified and wondrously brought about by this most august sacrament.

— Pope Paul VI, Lumen Gentium, no. 11

Transubstantiation: The change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the Body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his Blood.

God’s Word

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?

— 1 Corinthians 10:16

Eternal Father, we offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your Dearly Beloved Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world. Amen.

This serves as a review of the material that your students can read after each class, but it may be helpful for you to read as well. Consider reading it before each class to better prepare you for group discussion.

The night before he died, Christ instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist. Four accounts of this event occur in the New Testament: one in Mark (14:18–25) and Matthew (26:26–29), the other in Luke (22:14–19), and the fourth in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (11:33–34). These four versions of the institution narrative resemble one another and are identical in many respects. They tell us that during the Passover meal, Christ took bread and wine, blessed them, and said of them respectively “this is my body,” and “this is my blood,” before distributing them to the disciples. He commanded that they perform this rite after his death: “Do this in memory of me,” and characterized the Eucharist in sacrificial terms as “the blood of the covenant” poured out for “the many.”

From earliest times, the apostolic community celebrated the Eucharist as the center of Christian life (see Lk 24:35; Acts 2:42). We see this in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians where he notes that our participation in the Eucharist is a true communion in the Body and Blood of Christ and is the source of the visible unity of the Church (see 1 Cor 10:16–17). Consequently, he adds: “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself” (1 Cor 11:27–29).
The Gospel of John does not contain an institution narrative but does contain a prophetic discourse of Christ in chapter 6 where Jesus foretells the institution of the Eucharist and speaks of it as his true body and blood.

“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; 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. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

— John 6:53–56

The fathers of the Church consistently taught that the Eucharist is the true presence of Christ’s Body and Blood. Indeed, the Church has always held that in the celebration of the Eucharist, the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. This occurs only when a validly ordained bishop or priest celebrates the Eucharist. Writing in AD 110, St. Ignatius of Antioch noted that the Eucharist is the center of the visible communion of the Church:

Take heed, then, to have but one Eucharist. For there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ, and one cup to [show forth] the unity of His blood; one altar; as there is one bishop, along with the presbyters and deacons, my fellow-servants: that so, whatsoever you do, you may do it according to [the will of] God.

— Letter to the Philippians, chap. 4; Ante‑Nicene Fathers Translation

The Jerusalem Catechesis written in the fourth century are traditionally attributed to St. Cyril of Jerusalem. They were used to instruct adults entering the Church. Regarding the Eucharist, they state the following:

Since then He Himself declared and said of the Bread, This is My Body, who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has Himself affirmed and said, This is My Blood, who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood? Wherefore with full assurance let us partake as of the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to you His Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that you by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, may be made of the same body and the sameblood with Him. For thus we come to bear Christ in us, because His Body and Blood are distributed through our members; thus it is that, according to the blessed Peter, we become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). (Catechetical Lecture 22, nos. 1, 3; Nicene Fathers Translation)

The Catholic Church gradually developed a precise language for this mystery by speaking of “transubstantiation,” first at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1213 and again at the thirteenth session of the Council of Trent in 1551. Transubstantiation denotes the change of the whole substance of bread into the Body of Christ and the change of the whole substance of wine into the Blood of Christ. In short, before the words of consecration, there are bread and wine on the altar. After these words, though they still have the appearance of bread and wine, they are now the Body and Blood of Christ. It is possible for God to accomplish this change because God is omnipotent and because the mystery contains in itself no intrinsically contradictory idea or notion. God can change bread into the Body of Christ, while leaving the properties of bread present as signs of Christ’s real presence. The mystery of transubstantiation is something that natural human reason can never prove or disprove. It is a mystery we can know only through the judgment of faith. But it is realistic and we can experience the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist mystically by attending to his presence in faith.

By effectuating the change known as transubstantiation, God renders Christ’s glorified body present substantially under the appearances of bread, and his blood present substantially under the appearances of wine. Christ in glory is not changed in any way, but rather he is rendered present to us sacramentally in what we call the “sacramental species” present on the altar. The properties of bread and wine (such as the quantity and qualities like taste, color, and even chemical composition) remain, but now they both “signify” and “contain” the real presence of Christ’s Body and Blood as true food and drink. We can consume the Body and Blood of Christ that are truly present under the appearances of bread and wine. Where the body and blood of the living Christ are truly present, so too are presenthis spiritual soul and his deity. Consequently, we rightly say that Christ is present in the Eucharist “body, blood, soul and divinity.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church notes that it is highly fitting that Christ should remain present to the Church down through the ages in this sacramental and mysterious way. It allows us to commune with Christ in accord with our nature, which approaches spiritual realities through the body and through experiences of the senses. The Church is sustained down through time in her earthly pilgrimage especially by her communion with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.

“Since Christ was about to take his departure from his own in his visible form, he wanted to give us his sacramental presence; since he was about to offer himself on the cross to save us, he wanted us to have the memorial of the love with which he loved us ‘to the end’ (John 13:1), even to the giving of his life. In his Eucharistic presence he remains mysteriously in our midst as the one who loved us and gave himself up for us, and he remains under signs that express and communicate this love” (CCC 1380).

Pope Paul VI, Encyclical Mysterium Fidei (1965).