The Heavenly Host

At Mass this morning, the priest touched upon the Catholic view of the eucharist in his homily. He referred to Aquinas and Augustine, and ultimately argued that if Jesus had meant that the bread and wine at the Last Supper were merely symbolic he would have said so.

In my view, Jesus was actually referring back to a prior miracle, where he multiplied loaves to feed his people.

Think about it:

If Jesus had not made the eucharist a continuing, physical link back to his earthly life, the argument could be made that Christ's sacrifice only applied to his disciples living on Earth when he died. By insisting that his physical presence remains on Earth in the form of the host long after his death, Christ is making it possible for Christians today to have the same physical connection with him that his original disciples did.

In short, he has multiplied his physical essence to feed many more people than would be possible absent this miracle.

If he could turn water to wine, and feed a multitude with a loaf of bread, surely he could transform the host and communal wine into his body and blood. That he said he did so certainly tips the scales for me toward the Catholic view.