The Eucharist in the Early Church
Part III: Transubstantiation
This is the third in a seven-part series on the Eucharist in the Early Church.
Last week, I wrote about the doctrine of the Real Presence, that Jesus Christ is present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity beneath the appearances of bread and wine. This Presence of Christ in the Eucharist cannot be detected by the senses or unaided reason, but by faith seeking understanding that rests on God’s divine authority. The Church teaches that the material elements of bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ through the process of transubstantiation that happens at the Consecration. This process, though elaborated over the centuries, has been believed from the early witnesses onwards; Irenaeus (2nd c.) observes, “When the mingled cup [wine/water] and the man-made bread receive the Word of God, they become the Eucharist … consisting of two realities, earthly and heavenly.” The combination of specific material elements and the pronunciation of certain words given by God effect this mysterious change. St. Ambrose (4th c.) explains how Christ brings this about: “All that is said before are the words of the priest … But when the moment comes for bringing the most holy sacrament into being, the priest does not use his own words any longer: he uses the words of Christ. Therefore, it is Christ’s word that brings this sacrament into being.” During the rest of the Mass, the priest speaks in his name or the people’s, but in the words of institution (‘This is my Body…’/ ‘This is the chalice of my Blood…’), the priest speaks as Christ himself. St. John Chrysostom (4th c.) further clarifies, “The priest is the representative when he pronounces these words, but the power and the grace are those of the Lord.”
The conversion from bread/wine to Christ’s Body and Blood occurs by means of a change of substance (trans-substance). Unlike superficial changes which only alter a part (a chair loses a leg) or total changes which alter a thing entirely (a chair turned into sawdust), the Eucharist retains all the features of the bread and wine while becoming Christ on the level of substance. St. Ambrose (4th c.) asks us not to doubt this possibility: “Could not Christ’s word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.” So while transubstantiation occurs in no other place in nature besides the Eucharist, it is not against reason but above reason. Though the change is “beyond description and understanding” (St. John Damascene, 7th c.), we can ask for greater faith to believe and greater understanding to know how this supernatural event occurs every day. Exploring the Old Testament context of the Last Supper next week will help us understand how Christ’s Jewish disciples could so quickly believe in this great sacrament.
