Protestants maintain that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He left us bread and wine by which to remember Him. Catholics maintain that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He left us Himself under the species of bread and wine. Which one sounds like 'Holy Communion'? Why come all that way, from Heaven to Earth, only to leave us that which He had already given us in the first place? God, as understood by Catholic belief, loves us so much He wants to unite Himself to us, Body, Soul, Humanity and Divinity. God, as understood by Protestant belief, just wants to leave us alone as we remember Him.
'The God of the Catholics and the God of the Protestants.' If you imagine that using this phrase is somehow an expression of Catholic orthodoxy then I despair at the state of your knowledge of the Faith.
ReplyDeleteHave edited it a little.
ReplyDeleteThere are many heresies afflicting the Church in this post-Vatican II chaotic trough we have yet to climb out of.
ReplyDeleteTwo of the principle ones are the denial of the Real Presence and of the Ordained Priesthood. Both are of course classical Protestant heresies. We all know now of the recent poll in the USA which indicated that some 70/80% do not believe in the Real Presence. The situation is the same in UK with the Mass being treated as just another Protestant communion service with all and sundry filing past the unused confessionals to partake.
You do well to raise this matter. Sadly we seem to have moved to a stage where it is the informed laity who are preaching and maintaining the Faith, so many of the clergy having given up.
ReplyDeleteTWO
TRUTHS
To the Nuclear
Plant I went
With wafered host
I was hell-bent.
Exposed the wafered un-
Consecrated host
To radiation
Now, nuked toast.
Offered heretic
"Taste and see."
"Oh no!" He cried
"That's not for me!"
"But look, " I said,
"Nothings changed...
A still white wafered
Host arranged."
"Though looks the same,
Could do much harm!"
The heretic knew
Exclaimed with alarm.
As Catholics know
A spiritual radiation
Daily at Mass
The Transubstantiation!
You need to be a bit more specific than just Protestant.
ReplyDeleteLuther's argument was not that Jesus isn't present in the Eucharist (he slammed the table and said "this IS my body") but that the bread and wine are still there too.
I was a bit prickly. Sorry. I guess I just thought the tone was a bit triumphalist. I should think before I write!
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure lack of belief in the Real Presence among Catholics is a heresy so much as ignorance because of poor catechesis. Or maybe that's wishful thinking on my part. When a young man shuffles up to receive Holy Communion with his hands stuck in the pockets of his track suit bottoms you do wonder what it is he thinks he is doing. Or is this just me being middle class?
ReplyDeleteGood post as far as it goes but I think you haven't understood protestantism. God left us bread and wine but also the seed of an idea that alcohol is against his wishes so that eventually we would be able to correct the mistakes of his son and worship him with bread and ribena.
ReplyDelete