Sign of Contradiction - The Eucharist As A Sign of Contradiction

The Eucharist As A Sign of Contradiction

Catholic theologians also say that the Jesus Christ in the Eucharist is another sign of contradiction. Catholics believe that during the Last Supper, when Christ said, "This is my body," he was referring to the bread that he was holding, and that the bread became his Body in substance and in essence, retaining the "accidental" appearance of bread. Catholics call this "transubstantiation" (from the Latin trans, "to change, to become, to transfer" and substantia, "substance, that which stands (stans) underneath (sub)". Substance refers to the core of each entity, e.g. the substance of a man is the same when he is a little baby and when he becomes an old man, even if the appearances are much different. In the case of transubstantiation, it is the substance that changed (from real bread to Jesus Christ) while the appearances (white, crunchy and smelling like bread) remained the same.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, for ten centuries this doctrine was unopposed, until Berengarius of Tours who taught in 1047 that "the body and blood of Christ are really present in the Holy Eucharist; but this presence is an intellectual or spiritual presence. The substance of the bread and the substance of the wine remain unchanged." Controversy was opened by the Reformation in the 16th century. Martin Luther was the only one among the Reformers who still clung to the old Catholic doctrine. He was diametrically opposed by Zwingli who said the Eucharist is a symbolic memorial of Christ's redemptive death. John Calvin's view lay somewhere in between: instead of the substantial presence or the merely symbolic presence, he saw the presence as "dynamic": according to this view, at the moment of reception, the efficacy of Christ's Body and Blood is communicated from heaven to the souls of the predestined and spiritually nourishes them. Later Lutheranism adopted a version of this viewpoint.

Towards the end of the 20th century, some Catholic priests put forth the doctrine of "trans-signification": a change of meaning on the part of those receiving it. The bread does not change, it is the meaning for the recipient that changes. "Trans-signification" is not in accordance with Catholic doctrine.

The opposition to transubstantiation, a doctrine considered by many to be holy, makes the Eucharist a sign of contradiction according to Catholic doctrine.

According to Catholic theologians, the double-movement is shown in (1) the breakup of the Protestants into thousands of denominations, with different views on the Eucharist, which for Catholic doctrine is the source of Church unity. According to the World Christian Encyclopedia (2001) by David B. Barrett, et al., there are "over 33,000 denominations in 238 countries." Every year there is a net increase of around 270 to 300 denominations, (2) the increase in devotion to the Eucharist all over the Catholic world.