Since then, many shrines, cathedrals and basilicas [4] were built and Masses continue to be celebrated with words similar to what were written in the Gospels of Luke [5] and Matthew [6]. See also the Gospel of John [7].
Despite all the hypocrisies within the walls of many Catholic churches, what is central within every one is the Holy Eucharist [8]. No matter how controversial transubstantiation ("the change of substance by which the bread and the wine offered in the sacrifice of the sacrament of the Eucharist during Mass, become, in reality, the Body and Blood of Jesus the Christ" [9]) is, it is real. [10]
Despite all the hypocrisies within the walls of many Catholic churches, what is central within every one is the Holy Eucharist [8]. No matter how controversial transubstantiation ("the change of substance by which the bread and the wine offered in the sacrifice of the sacrament of the Eucharist during Mass, become, in reality, the Body and Blood of Jesus the Christ" [9]) is, it is real. [10]
While listening to gospel music and attending bible study may bring one closer to God, it is in the receiving of Holy Communion that the union of Christ with man takes place within every fiber of man's body and in the core of man's soul. It is therefore painful to see some [11] who seem to treat this momentous occasion as an obligatory action, doing it just to go through the motion.
[2] Ibid.
[3] http://www.rc.net/wcc/israel/cenacle.htm
[4] http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/common-misconceptions/cathedrals-basilicas-and-shrines.html
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+22-19&version=NIV
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+26%3A26-28&version=NIV
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A35-59&version=NIV
[8] https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/eucha1a.htm
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transubstantiation
[10] Even though this blogger is Catholic, for the longest time he had difficulty seeing the Body of Christ in the Eucharist until one day at his first adoration of the Blessed Sacrament he asked for a sign, any sign (except one that's bloody), to confirm to him that the round piece of bread in the monstrance is indeed the Body of Christ. Well, he received not one sign, but three. It was only after the third sign that he was given that he was fully convinced.
[11] This includes the one dispensing the Host and the one receiving It. Just as painful is seeing a priest who has reduced the Liturgy of the Eucharist to performance art that is repeated several times a day, seven days a week, dressed in a costume making simple movements timed with the mindless utterance of certain words. Hopefully, such irreverence is the exception and not the norm.
[3] http://www.rc.net/wcc/israel/cenacle.htm
[4] http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/controversy/common-misconceptions/cathedrals-basilicas-and-shrines.html
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+22-19&version=NIV
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+26%3A26-28&version=NIV
[7] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+6%3A35-59&version=NIV
[8] https://www.ewtn.com/faith/teachings/eucha1a.htm
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transubstantiation
[10] Even though this blogger is Catholic, for the longest time he had difficulty seeing the Body of Christ in the Eucharist until one day at his first adoration of the Blessed Sacrament he asked for a sign, any sign (except one that's bloody), to confirm to him that the round piece of bread in the monstrance is indeed the Body of Christ. Well, he received not one sign, but three. It was only after the third sign that he was given that he was fully convinced.
[11] This includes the one dispensing the Host and the one receiving It. Just as painful is seeing a priest who has reduced the Liturgy of the Eucharist to performance art that is repeated several times a day, seven days a week, dressed in a costume making simple movements timed with the mindless utterance of certain words. Hopefully, such irreverence is the exception and not the norm.
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