Does Our Eucharist Help the Dead? Help Us Connect to the Dead?

 

DOES OUR EUCHARIST 

HELP THE DEAD? DO WE CONNECT TO THE DEAD THROUGH THE EUCHARIST?

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“Does our Eucharist Help the Dead?” - Important Passages of The Catechism of the Catholic Church to Consider:

• “In the intercessions, the Church indicates that the Eucharist is celebrated in communion with the whole Church in heaven and on earth, the living and the dead.” (CCC 1354)
• “To the offering of Christ are united not only the members still here on earth, but also those already in the glory of heaven.  In communion with and commemorating the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, the Church offers the Eucharistic sacrifice.” (CCC 1370)
• “The Eucharistic sacrifice is also offered for the faithfully departed who ‘have died in Christ but are not yet wholly purified,’ so that they may be able to enter into the light and peace of Christ” (CCC 1371)
• “We pray for the holy fathers and bishops who have fallen asleep, and in general for all who have fallen asleep before us,  in the belief that there is great benefit to the souls on whose behalf the supplication is offered” (CCC 1371)

Merriam-Webster’s Definitions to Consider:

Necromancy - the practice of talking to the spirits of dead people

Medium - a person through whom other persons try to communicate with the spirits of the dead

Prayer - an address (such as a petition) to God or a god in word or thought

“Does our Eucharist Help the Dead?” - Important Scriptures to Consider:

• Deuteronomy 18:10–12 “There shall not be found among you…a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you." (ESV)
• Leviticus 19:31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.” (ESV)
• Isaiah 8:19 "And when they say to you, ‘Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?’” (ESV)
• 1 Samuel 28:15 “Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” (ESV)
• 1 Chronicles 10:13–14 "So Saul died for his breach of faith. He broke faith with the LORD in that he did not keep the command of the LORD, and also consulted a medium, seeking guidance. [14] He did not seek guidance from the LORD. Therefore the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David the son of Jesse." (ESV)
• Hebrews 7:27 "He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.” (ESV) James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (ESV)
• Luke 16:30–31 “And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ [31] He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’” (ESV)

“Does our Eucharist Help the Dead?” - Important Questions to Consider:

• How does one celebrate the Eucharist with the “living and the dead”? Where is that concept in the Bible?
• What does the Bible say about interactions with the dead?  Sacrifices for the dead?  Conversations with the dead?  Is it possible? It is permitted? Is it forbidden?  
• What is necromancy in the Bible? How are these descriptions of the Eucharist different or similar?
• Why does God forbid interactions with the dead?  What is the danger?
• In the story of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) why are the dead not allowed to communicate to the living?  
• Why is the Bible (“Moses and the Prophets”) described as the way for salvation to be communicated and not Penance, Eucharist, or Baptism?

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What Does the Bible Say About Salvation by Faith Alone? - Helpful and Important Scriptures (Part 3)

  HELPFUL AND IMPORTANT SCRIPTURES (Part 3)

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What are the “Five Solas”

The “five solas” describe a summary of some of the major concerns and focuses of those who sought reform in the church in the 1500s.  “Sola” means alone.  They saw many things being added to the pure teachings of the Bible.  Their corrective focus was not to add to 1) Scripture 2) Christ 3) Faith 4) Grace & 5) God’s Glory when understanding God’s plans for salvation in the Gospel.  Here are verses explaining each of these areas:

FAITH ALONE

• Galatians 1:9 “As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” (ESV)
• Galatians 2:16 “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (ESV)
• Ephesians 2:8–9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, [9] not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (ESV)
• NOTE FROM ESV Study Bible: The verb form for “have been saved” (Gk. sesōsmenoi, perfect tense) communicates that the Christian’s salvation is fully secured.
• James 2:17–18 “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. [18] But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” (ESV)
• James 2:24 “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (ESV)
• Romans 3:28 “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (ESV)
• NOTE: “Paul is using the word justified to mean “declared righteous by God.” Paul is speaking of God’s legal declaration of us as righteous as Christ’s righteousness is applied to our account. James is using the word justified to mean “being demonstrated and proved.” 
• Ephesians 2:10 “ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (ESV)
• John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (ESV)
• Romans 3:27 “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith.” (ESV)
• Romans 4:4–5 "Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. [5] And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (ESV)
• Romans 5:19 “For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous” (ESV)

See Also:

www.catholic.blog/scripture-alone

www.catholic.blog/christ-alone

www.catholic.blog/grace-alone

www.catholic.blog/gods-glory-alone

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Is the Catholic Eucharist Necessary for Salvation? Does the Wine & Bread Literally Change into the Blood & Body of Christ?

 

IS CATHOLIC EUCHARIST 

NECESSARY FOR SALVATION?

DOES THE WINE AND BREAD LITERALLY TRANSFORM TO THE BLOOD AND FLESH OF JESUS?

The Catholic Blog - Helping people find answers to the most common questions about Catholicism with answers from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Bible. (www.catholic.blog )

“Is Catholic Eucharist Necessary for Salvation?” - Important Passages of The Catechism of the Catholic Church to Consider:

• “Our Savior instituted the Eucharistic sacrifice of his Body and Blood.  This he did in order to perpetuate the sacrifice of the cross throughout the ages until he should come again” (CCC 1323)
• “The Eucharist is ‘the source and summit of the Christian life.’” (CCC 1324)
• “The other sacraments, and indeed all ecclesiastical ministries and works of the apostolate, are bound up with the Eucharist and are oriented toward it.” (CCC 1324)
• “in the Blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.” (CCC 1324) [NOTE: ‘Pasch’ means Passover or Easter]
• “The Eucharist is the efficacious sign and sublime cause of that communion in the divine life and that unity of the People of God by which the Church is kept in being.” (CCC 1325)
• “Holy Sacrifice because it makes present the one sacrifice of Christ the Savior and includes the Church’s offering.” (CCC 1330)
• “Holy Communion because by this sacrifice we unite ourselves to Christ.” (CCC 1331)
• “Holy Mass (Missa) because the liturgy in which the mystery of salvation is accomplished concludes with the sending forth (missio) of the faithful.” (CCC 1332)
• “At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ’s Body and Blood.” (CCC 1333)
• “The bread and wine are brought to the altar; they will be offered by the priest in the name of Christ in the Eucharistic sacrifice in which they will become his body and blood” (CCC 1350)
• “The Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator” (CCC 1350)
• “no one may take part in it unless he believes that what we teach is true, has received baptism for the forgiveness of sins and new birth, and lives in keeping with what Christ taught.” (CCC 1355)
• “bread and wine which, by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the words of Christ, have become the body and blood of Christ.  Christ is thus really and mysteriously made present.” (CCC 1357)
• “It is by conversion of the bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament” (CCC 1375)
• “the making present and the sacramental offering of his unique sacrifice” (CCC 1362)
• “Because it is the memorial of Christ’s Passover, the Eucharist is also a sacrifice… in the Eucharist Christ gives us the very body which he gave up for us on the cross, the very blood which he ‘poured our for man for the forgiveness of sins.’” (CCC 1365)
• “The Eucharist is thus a sacrifice because it re-presents (makes present) the sacrifice of the cross, because it is its memorial and because it applies its fruit” (CCC 1366)
• “its salutary power be applied to the forgiveness of sins we daily commit” (CCC 1366)
• “Christ’s sacrifice present on the altar makes it possible for all generations of Christians to be united with his offering” (CCC 1368)’
• “The Church continues to reproduce this sacrifice” (CCC 1372)
• “the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained” (CCC 1374)
• “it has always been the conviction of the Church of God…that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a 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.  This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation” (CCC 1376)

“Is Catholic Eucharist Necessary for Salvation?” - Important Scriptures to Consider:

• John 6:35 “Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.’” (ESV)
• John 6:40 "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (ESV)
• John 6:47–51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever 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 that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. [51] I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (ESV)
• John 6:56 “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.” (ESV)
• John 6:68–69 “Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, [69] and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (ESV)
• John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.” (ESV)
• 1 John 4:13 “By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” (ESV)
• 1 Corinthians 11:25–29 “In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. [27] Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. [28] Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. [29] For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (ESV)
• John 19:30 “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (ESV)
• Matthew 28:20 "I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)
• 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” (ESV)

“Is Catholic Eucharist Necessary for Salvation?” - Important Questions to Consider:

• Why does Jesus compare the manna in the desert with himself as “the bread of life” in John 6:35?  What does He mean by never hunger and never thirst?  Does He mean the Eucharist elements will satisfy a literal hunger and thirst?  Or is He describing spiritual salvation, peace, and life through belief and trust in Jesus as the Son of God?
• What does Jesus describe in John 6:40 & John 6:47 as bringing eternal life?
• Why does someone literally eat and drink something?  What is the purpose of food and drink?  Why is trust important in the process of eating?  What does the eater believe about the food?
• Does John 6:56 mean Jesus’ literal flesh and blood?  Why does He reference the word “abide”?
• What does John 15:4 mean by “abide”? What does that look like in a plant?  What does that look like in the Christian life?
• Why does Peter tie Jesus’ words to “eternal life” in John 6:68-69?
• What does it mean to be “in Christ”? What unites us to Christ?  When are we united to Christ?
• What does it mean for Christ to be “in us”? When does that happen?
• What does 1 John 4:13 say is the evidence of union with Christ?  How does this counter the Catholic concept that union with God can only happen through the Eucharist (CCC 1331)?
• Here are some more helpful Bible passages on our union with Christ: 2 Corinthians 5:17, 12:2, 13:5; John 15:4, 5, 7; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Galatians 2:20, 3:28; Ephesians 1:4, 2:10, 3:17; Philippians 3:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 John 4:13; Colossians 1:27; Romans 8:10
• When tasting the Eucharist, does the texture or taste change with the substance?  If the wine and the bread is literally transforming into the blood and flesh of Christ, then why does the texture and taste remain as wine and bread?
• Why is the Eucharist limited to the Catholic Church alone for those in good standing?  Is that what the Bible teaches in 1 Corinthians 11:17-34?
• Does 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 describe the elements actually transforming in substance?  Does it describe Jesus actually being present with them during that remembrance?
• Does it describe the Church bringing judgment or the Lord bringing judgment?  Does it describe individual discernment and accountability or the Church exercising oversight on who is allowed to take communion?
• Why does 1 Corinthians 11:25–29 say eat and drink the “bread and cup” but then switch to “guilty concerning the body and blood” and then back to “bread and cup” again?  
• Is it more about “proclamation” and “remembrance” (1 Cor 11) as the purpose or an “efficacious” and “present..sacramental offering” (CCC)? Why the stark contrast in terms?
• Does the Bible say Jesus’ sacrifice needs to be reproduced repeatedly? What did Jesus mean on the cross when He said “it is finished” (John 19:30)? 
• What does Jesus mean when He says “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20) and that “Jesus Christ is in you” (2 Cor 13:5)?  Is that only when the Eucharist is offered?  Or is He always present with believers through His Spirit?

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