CATHOLIC DIALOG #3

(This scene takes place at lunchtime. It is Friday afternoon. The place is a construction site. Two of the workers are having lunch together. They have worked together for a long time, but there is quite a bit that they don't know about each other)

Marty: That sure was hard work this morning. I'm starved.

Ricky: Me too. Hard work sure does give me an appetite.

Marty: Oh great! An Italian sub! My girlfriend sure can cook. Do you want half?

Ricky: No thanks. In my religion we don't eat meat on Friday during Lent.

Marty: Lent? What are you, a Catholic or something?

Ricky: Yes. I am a Catholic, and that is something.

Marty: Hold on now, don't get mad. I'm a Catholic too.

Ricky: You're a Catholic Marty? I mean, I've, never seen you at Mass.

Marty: That's because I haven't been to Mass in a few years.

Ricky: I'm sorry to hear that.

Marty: Well I still read the Bible and try to be a good person. I think that's enough. Anyway, I think that organized religion is unnecessary. I saw too many inconsistencies.

Ricky: Inconsistencies? Like what?

Marty: Well to start with, I think that the Communion host is just a symbol. I don't know who dreamed up that stuff about the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Ricky: Jesus did, and He was no dreamer.

Marty: What?

Ricky: Yes, Jesus. The same Jesus who said, "Let there be light" said, "This is my Body" when He instituted this sacrament at the last supper.

Marty: But Jesus didn't say, "Real Presence" or "Transubstantiation." That's what Catholics call it right?

Ricky: Jesus never said the word "Christian, Bible, or Trinity" either, but they still exist. These are the names that the Church uses to label the things that Jesus described in the Gospels.

Marty: When did Jesus describe the "Real Presence"?

Ricky: You say that you read the Bible? Do you recall the sixth chapter in the Gospel of John?

Marty: Sure, but it's been a while since I've read it. What does it say? Ricky: Well, in the sixth chapter, John tells the story of the multiplication of the loaves. You know, the feeding of the five thousand.

Marty: Yeah, I remember that.

Ricky: That story is followed by Jesus telling the people that He will give them bread that will give them eternal life.

Marty: Ok.

Ricky: The people ask Him about this bread and He says, "I am the bread that came down from Heaven." Some that heard this got very uneasy because He said that He had come down from Heaven, but He continued. He told them that His flesh was real food and His blood was real drink. This got them even more upset. Finally, He said, "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in Me and I in him" This made them so mad that they left Him immediately. They knew He wasn't talking about a symbol or else they wouldn't have been so upset. You see, they heard it right from His own mouth and there was no misunderstanding. They left because He meant that they would eat His body and drink His blood literally, not symbolically.

Marty: That makes sense. I think I'll read that part over again when I get home tonight. Are there any other references that I might have missed?

Ricky: Well how about what is not in that same passage?

Marty: What do you mean?

Ricky: When all of those people decided to leave Him, He did not take back what He had just said. It stands to reason that if He were speaking symbolically, then He would have called the people back and told them so. The mere fact that they left and He did not call them back tells me that they understood what He meant and He meant what He said literally.

Marty: I'm definitely going to have to read that story again. Is that it? I mean, is there any more?

Ricky: What about at the last supper? This is when Jesus instituted the sacrament. He was celebrating the Jewish Passover meal with the Apostles. At that time He broke the bread and said, "This is my body...." Then He took wine and said, "This is my blood...." He referred to this as the new Covenant. It was the only time that Jesus used the word Covenant. This was because to the Jews that word had such a profound meaning. He used the word Covenant to describe what was taking place at that meal because it was so significant. Then He ordained the Apostles when He said "Do this in memory of Me".

Marty: Isn't there any chance that they might have misunderstood His intent?

Ricky: No. I think that if they had misunderstood, He (as God) would have perceived it and would have corrected them immediately. Remember, He was giving them the sacrament of the Eucharist. For something so important he would have left no doubt in their mind.

Marty: Well then why is it that I never felt any change after receiving Communion?

Ricky: That depends on what you expected to feel. The Eucharist is not some sort of magic potion. It is food for the soul.

Marty: I still can't understand how the bread and wine can possibly become the Body and Blood. I mean I can't see...

Ricky: You can't see electricity either, but still you know it exists, don't you? the Eucharist is called a mystery because the human mind is incapable of proving it. We can not limit God's abilities to what we can understand. If He could only do what we could explain then He wouldn't be infinite, He would be limited.

Marty: But it still looks like bread! Why can't it look more realistic?

Ricky: Would you really want it to look like what it is? Think of it this way. The qualities of smell, taste, and texture are combined to make the substance known as bread. After being consecrated by a Priest, the qualities remain the same, but the substance is no longer bread.

Marty: That's tough to understand.

Ricky: Suppose we took a loaf of bread and exposed it to atomic radiation? You can't see radiation, right? After the bread has been exposed it is no longer bread, it is a radioactive substance. It still looks like bread, but it's appearance and it's substance are not the same thing.

Marty: That's an interesting way to look at it. Do you think the early Christians understood it that way?

Ricky: Well, St. Paul said, "Is not the cup... the blood of Christ? And the bread... the body of the Lord?" He also warned that people who eat and drink unworthily were eating and drinking to their own condemnation. This is how serious he took this sacrament. I don't think he would have made such a big deal out of a symbol. Do you?

Marty: Alright. I admit it. You have made your point, but what about...

Ricky: Wait a minute! I don't have time to go through Catholicism point by point. I think I know what your real problem is.

Marty: Problem? What do you mean?

Ricky: Didn't you mention that you have a girlfriend who made your lunch today?

Marty: Yes. Why?

Ricky: Does that mean that you two are living together?

Marty: Yes. We have been for a long time.

Ricky: How long is that exactly?

Marty: I don't know. A few years I guess.

Ricky: Is that the same few years since you've been to Mass? the same few years in which you've developed doubts about the teachings of the Church?

Marty: I don't see your point.

Ricky: Well I'm no psychologist, but I have noticed that people who are not living according to the commandments sometimes will try to justify their actions by denying the authority of the Church. It's kind of a defense that our mind produces to protect us from our consciences.

Marty: Do you really believe that?

Ricky: Yes. I've seen this happen with teenagers who become sexually active or get involved with drugs. Suddenly they stop taking the benefits of the sacraments. usually it is not long after this that they leave the Church altogether.

Marty: Well what do you suggest that I do about it?

Ricky: That would have to be between you and God. The only thing I can do is to pray for you. When you're ready, you will find God and His Church waiting for you in the sacrament of Reconciliation. Then when you receive Communion for the first time you will really have something to be thankful for. By the way, that's why we call it the Eucharist. Hey, maybe you can get that girlfriend of yours to make us a couple of sandwiches for next Monday.