Overview
Transubstantiation: the change by which the substance (though not the appearance) of the bread and wine in the Eucharist becomes Christ's real presence - that is, his body and blood. [ref]
As Catholics, we believe that during the Eucharistic celebration, the bread truly becomes the body of Christ, and the substance truly becomes the blood of Christ; not symbolically, but the real body and blood of Christ.
Bible origin
To truly understand whether the bread and wine are tran-substantiated into the body and blood, we have to look into the origin of the sacrament. And it is from the Lord's last supper.
Luke 22:19-20
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."
Matthew 26:26-28
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."
Jesus' words are to be taken literally here: the bread becomes his body, and the wine becomes his blood.
This is difficult to understand. In fact, many disciples too found this to be difficult to take: many left Jesus because of this saying
Note that, this part of the bible is to be taken literally. While there are some parts of the bible are to be taken figuratively, that is when Jesus was speaking of a parable. And of course, a parable is not meant to be taken literally. However, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, it is not meant to be a parable.
Saint's testimonies
Evidence from the early church fathers tells us that all early Christians believe in the real presence of Christ. In fact, the theory against transubstantiation only came about during the Protestant Reformation.
St Ignatius of Antioch, in the Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, chapter 7, has warned us against denying the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and that it is important that we receive the gift of the Eucharist. [ref]
They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again. Those, therefore, who speak against this gift of God, incur death in the midst of their disputes. But it were better for them to treat it with respect, that they also might rise again.
As we will see in Jesus' emphasis on the importance of the Eucharist, the Eucharist is essential for eternal life, and that we as Christians should believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and receive the Eucharist.
And in fact, the Eucharist can only be carried out be a properly ordained priest, as explained in the same letter by St Ignatius of Antioch, chapter 8:
Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is [administered] either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it.
This is one of the reasons why the Protestants do not have the Eucharist: pastors are not properly ordained priests, and hence cannot carry out the Eucharist.
St Justin Martyr, in his first apology, wrote: [ref]
For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Saviour, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.
The Eucharist is not simply bread and wine that are symbolic of Christ, but are actual flesh and blood of Christ. When a properly ordained priest recites the prayer, the bread and wine are turned into Christ's body and blood. This Eucharist is essential for the nourishment of the soul, and for eternal life.
Bible - is it important?
So, you might be wondering: does it make a difference whether it is truly the body and blood of Christ, or is it just symbolic? Does it matter which one I believe? Well, it does! Jesus have told us that for one to obtain eternal life, it is important to receive his body and blood. Furthermore, our belief in the true presence affects how we treat the Eucharist.
Jesus' declaration and emphasis of the Eucharist
Manna from heaven, during Moses' time
When talking about the bread from heaven, Jesus has declared that He is the bread of life.
John 6:35
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."
Arguably, it can be understood as, his words are to be taken as food for the soul. It is harder to believe that he meant his flesh are to be taken. However, it became clear that Jesus meant it literally, not figuratively, when the Jews were confused by what he said.
John 6:52
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
It is hard to accept the fact that Jesus actually gave his flesh for us to eat. And indeed, at that point of time, it is difficult for the Jews to understand what He said, given that the Eucharist has not been instituted. So instead of explaining what could not be explained, Jesus reiterated his point.
John 6:53-58
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; 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. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. 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."
We see that Jesus reiterated his point multiple times, that we are to eat His flesh and drink His blood. It is not optional to believe, nor optional to receive the Eucharist, it is necessary for eternal life.
So, you might be wondering, why can we be so sure that his word is to be taken literally, and not in any figurative meaning? Well, if we look at the original text in Greek, we see that, the word used for "flesh" is sarx, and the word used for "body" is soma. These two words are to be understood in their literal sense, as St Paul has used them interchangeably in many other instances in the Bible to mean the literal "flesh". [ref]
The word used for "eat" in this passage is trogon, which means literally "chewing" and "gnawing." Furthermore, there is a problem with interpreting this passage figuratively: when used figuratively among the Jews, it means to inflict serious injuries upon a person. [ref]
To interpret the phrase figuratively then would be to make our Lord promise life everlasting to the culprit for slandering and hating him, which would reduce the whole passage to utter nonsense.
This saying is hard
Yes, it is hard to believe that Jesus actually gave his flesh and blood in the Eucharist. And many of Jesus' disciples found it hard to believe too.
John 6:60-62
Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?"
He explained, it would be even harder to believe it when the apostles would see Him "ascending where he was before", which means to rise from the dead and ascend to heaven. So, if we are believe in Jesus' resurrection and ascension to heaven, it should be easier for us to believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Jesus then followed up with this statement:
John 6:63
It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
Did He invalidate what He had just taught? No! The word "flesh" here refers to the fallen human nature, not Jesus' flesh. In other words, it is the spirit that gives life, not the flesh of human. That is different from the flesh of Jesus which we must receive to gain eternal life.
John 6:66-67
After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him. Jesus said to the twelve, "Will you also go away?"
Many disciples stopped following Jesus because they could not believe that Jesus could give his flesh and blood for us to consume. If you do not believe and do not want the Eucharist, you can leave. But Jesus will not change this teaching.
Preparation for the Eucharist
Since the Eucharist is not merely a symbol in remembrance of Christ, but the actual presence of Christ, we must prepare ourselves properly to receive the holy communion. Two conditions must be met before one can receive the Eucharist:
- He must abstain from food before taking the Eucharist
- He must not have unrepentant mortal sins
To see why this is the case, let's look at the letters of St Paul.
1 Cor 11:27-29
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 any one who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself.
"Unworthy manner" here means that one is in the state of unrepentant mortal sins. Since mortal sins are not in alignment with Christ, we are to be free from mortal sins before receiving Christ from the Eucharist. This is especially important, as the Eucharist is not merely a symbol, it is the actual body and blood of Christ. In 1983 Code of Canon Law, it is explicitly specified that a person with unconfessed mortal sins is not to receive the Eucharist. [ref]
A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to celebrate Mass or receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.
It remains as the final step for one to recognise his own mortal sins, and go to confession to confess his mortal sins before receiving the holy communion.
1 Cor 11:20-22
When you meet together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal, and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
At the point of writing, there was a tradition where the people ate and drank before receiving the Eucharist, which St Paul was warning against. While from the Bible it is not a strict requirement, one should refrain from feasting before mass, to prepare oneself to receive Christ's body and blood that nourishes the soul. [ref]
In the early days of the church, there was no recommendation as to how much to fast. In 1917, the fasting was mandated to being from the midnight before the mass. In 1957, the fasting was reduced to 3 hours. In 1964, the fasting was reduced to one hour. [ref] As of current day, Catholics are required to fast at least one hour before the Eucharist, as specified in the 1983 Code of Canon Law. [ref]
A person who is to receive the Most Holy Eucharist is to abstain for at least one hour before holy communion from any food and drink, except for only water and medicine.
Final notes
Most of the content from this page, on the arguments for transubstantiation, is copied from these two Youtube videos. If you wish to watch the original content, here they are: