Expert: Edward Bode - 8/14/2008

Question
Any explanatory comments about transsubstantiation would be appreciated.
WIKI Encyclopedia contains the following:  "When at his Last Supper, Jesus said: "This is my body",[1] what he held in his hands still had all the appearances of bread: these "accidents" remained unchanged. However, the Roman Catholic Church believes that, when Jesus made that declaration,[2] the underlying reality (the "substance") of the bread was converted to that of his body. In other words, it actually was his body,"
I don't know if this is accurate.  Please advise.

Answer
Sounds OK to me.
The Council of Trent [16th century] explained transsubstantiation in these words:  By the consecration of the bread and the 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.
Trent also declared that Jesus' body, blood, soul, and divinity are present in the Euchasrist and so the whole Christ is truly, really and substantially present.
You can find more in The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1373-1381, 1413.  On line at: usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm.
Hope these thoughts help, Don.  If not, let me know.
Best wishes.