Follow-Ups to Answer from Expert Sal

---

Sarah wrote at 2007-11-25 09:03:36
you make many presumptions in your answer. First, the early church fathers never taught the Eucahrist was the real presnce. I say that from this point. The word eucahrist means THANKSGIVNG. It did not mean the body and blood of our Lord. Why do we refuse to accept the true meanings of words and lean to the modern day to ASSUME, it was the same.  Many of the writings of the apostolic fathers and early church fathers are consistent in that area. Eucharist did not mean body and vlood of Our Lord. Just as the Church has the fullness of truth, you people need to read everything in its FULLNESS. Not bits and peices

---

Sal wrote at 2007-12-04 14:34:00
Dear Sarah: You are badly mistaken the Church has always understood the Eucharist to be the Body & Blood of our Lord. Please read John 6 where the Apostle explains the Real Presence quite plainly.

---

Leilani wrote at 2010-03-27 03:04:37
The questioner is correct that the word Eucharist means gratefulness in Greek and is usually translated "thanksgiving" - seems the Catholics answering her do not want to admit what dictionaries reveal. The actual wording of the earliest church manual known as the Didache where the ceremony of the Lord's Supper is a simple prayer of thanks confirms that the original Eucharist was a ceremony of rememberance and thanksgiving for what Jesus had accomplished for our salvation-- contrary to the frequent claims by Catholic priests that the Didache somehow supports their claim to turn bread into the actual flesh of Jesus. Everyone can read what the Didache actually says.  Combine this with the Migiddo Prison Church Mosaic inscriptions dated to the 3rd century (oldest church found in Israel and possibly the world) which includes an inscription giving the name of the woman who donated the money for the table used in the communal meal (but no alter for mystery rites)  and you get a pretty clear view that the earliest Christian Eucharist had little in common with the ritual developed by those inclined to add pagan elements as time went on.  It is easy to understand how purity of doctrine would be challenged by the death of the apostles and the later martyrdom of those leaders they had directly taught resulting in recent pagan converts being put into bishop positions simply because they were the only ones with enough education to have the necessary leadership skills)  A negative falling away from the original apostalic Christianity prior to Constantine is pretty hard to dispute since even the Catholic Church acknowledges some incorrect teachings by several of its Church Fathers. By the council of Nicea called by Constantine to seek unity among the bishops in doctrine, there was no shortage of Bishops pointing out the errors and heresies that had already developed among the others. For his political agenda Constantine demanded unity and was willing to pay for it. That unity of church with state only accelerated the process of decline. These points are thoroughly documented by readily available historical and archeological documents!  So true were the words of Jesus "Know the truth and it will make you free!" And it also leads to a Eucharist done as Jesus asked "in remberance" of what He did for our salvation rather than making us dependant on a priest to add his magical, mysterious human ritual before the work of Jesus can bring salvation. Praise God for many scholars and protestant reformers who are members of the Catholic Church but are calling for honest full disclosure of all historical facts and other truth. They will acknowledge all that the original questioner stated including the quotes from church father's who do acknowledge the the bread and wine are symbolic.  Let's see if any of your Catholic contributors will do that.  

---