I have met many Catholics and Bible professing Christians who religiously observe the Roman Catholic Mass and believe it to be of divine instruction for salvation and/or worship. Is it Scriptural? Does history show it to be of Divine origin? What does the terms used really mean? Should true Christians observe the Mass? What is Transubstantiation? Are the elements, the bread & wine, literal or symbolic?

The Roman Catholic Church (RCC) applies the term, Mass, or Eucharist, to the religious observance of the Lord's Supper or breaking of bread. The term is Latin and means dismissal. This term or word is not found in either the Old or New Testaments. The elements, the bread & wine as described in the Bible are represented in the RCC by a round wafer, referred to as "host" and sometimes include both the bread and wine. The RCC proclaims Divine instruction and authority to perform a "mystery of God" called, Transubstantiation.  This is performed by a priest who utters "This is My Body" (The Latin is, hoc es corpus meum, which is where the term, hocus pocus came from). Transubstantiation means that something of substance is changed into another substance upon the words of consecration.

The Faith Of Millions - "The Mass: A Re-enactment of Calvary: Christ is sacrificed again." (page 305)

Devotions To The Holy Souls - "The Holy Mass, It's tremendous value during life and after death. At every Mass you can diminish the temporal punishment due to your sins." (page 34)

Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Council Of Trent -"By the consecration the Transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ Himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real and substantial manner." (Reaffirmed by Vatican II)

The Code Of Canon Law - "The faithful are to hold the Eucharist in highest honor, taking part in the celebration of the Most August SACRIFICE, receiving the sacrament devoutly and frequently, and worshipping it with supreme adoration." (Canon 904)

The Catholic Catechism 1975 - "The SACRIFICE on the alter is no mere commemoration of Calvary, but a true and proper act of sacrifice, whereby Christ the high priest, by an unbloody immolation offers Himself a most acceptable victim to the eternal Father, as He did upon the cross." (Page 466)

The Biblical basis for this is supposedly derived from Malachi, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, & I Corinthians. Let us examine these verses to reveal God's message for us.

Malachi 1:11 -  "For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts."

First, read Psalm 141:2 and you will see incense as a symbol of praise to God. It is stated here that in opposition to, or in contrast to the poor offerings in verses 7 & 8, a pure offering. What is the pure offering? Hebrews 10:10 - "By this will we have been sanctified through the OFFERING of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL." Hebrews 10:14 - " For by ONE offering He has perfected for ALL time those who are sanctified." What a contrast to the offerings of man! Man cannot produce, provide or perpetuate a pure offering! Acts 19:26 - "saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands."

Matthew 26:26 - "And while they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body,"

Matthew 26:27 - "And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you;"

Matthew 26:28 - "for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins."

Matthew 26:29 - "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."

Matthew 26:30 - "And after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

Here is where our Lord foretells of His death for the remission of sins. Many points are to be made here. Let us remember, the RCC declares a literal interpretation and adherence.
 

• Verse 26
1. It was during a meal the breaking of bread and drinking of wine was taught. Bread was the literal food of the day.
2. Jesus "gave thanks" for the food to the Father. Cf. Matthew 15v36.
3. He broke the bread. Is bread round? Does it break into round pieces?
4. Where is the mystical consecration? Does He speak in a known language to the disciples? Has the RCC adhered to speaking in a known language? It has changed you say? Then it isn't valid and true to the literal interpretation! Have the words of Christ changed?
5. Is not the death of our Lord yet future to this meal? So then, the literal body cannot be! It represents a future act. He is foretelling of His death and it's meaning by use of everyday elements, food and drink.
6. In Luke's account of this same event, Luke records in Luke 22:19, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." It clearly is stated that it is not a literal sacrifice, it is in memory of His death as Paul so states in 1 Corinthians 11 verses 24-26.
7. We can see clearly here that He has yet to die for sins, therefore it represents the future memory and all through this present discourse He is present; do they eat His literal flesh in His presence?
• Verse 27
1. Take notice here, He again gives thanks, not a mystical formula to alter the elements.
2. He tells them all to drink of the cup. This is a separate act from the partaking of the bread. The partaking of the bread & cup are two separate acts.
3. Is it LITERAL BLOOD? Remember, He has not yet died! Does our Lord contradict His Word? Leviticus 17:10 - "And any man from the house of Israel, or from the aliens who sojourn among them, eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats blood, and will cut him off from among his people." Acts 15:20 - "but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and blood."
• Verse 28
1. Notice verse 28 in the Douay version; the accepted translation by the council of Trent, "which will be shed" is different. If you accept this rendering of the verse then you have a serious problem. Where is the sacrifice or victim in these passages for it says, "WILL BE SHED"! The sacrifice is yet future. If you accept the "is shed or poured" translation, it PROVES it is symbolic for His blood hadn't been shed yet!
2. Is the blood of the Covenant literal? Think about this. How is the Covenant a literal entity? The blood symbolizes the new Covenant. The new Covenant is a spiritual reality upon His death & resurrection. Hebrews 9:20 - " saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you."
3. Jesus here represents the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31.
4. As Moses initiated the old covenant of the Lord in Exodus 24:8, here Jesus brings forth the new Covenant in contrast to the old with the remission of sins.
5. The forgiveness of sins through the singular sacrifice of Christ. 1 John 1:7 - "and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." Hebrews 10:18 - "Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is NO LONGER ANY OFFERING for sin." How clear can this be? Through Christ's broken body and shed blood we have a pure offering for sin, eternally!
• Verse 29
1. What does our Lord call the wine element here? Fruit of the vine and not literal blood! He has given thanks and shared the elements with the disciples and still recognizes it as fruit of the vine! Where is the RCC transubstantiation?
2. Our Lord also uses the element of wine to symbolize the representation of the great banquet in heaven. Isaiah 25:6 - "On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines." See also, Matthew 8:11.

John 6:33 - "For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world."

John 6:35  - "Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall NOT HUNGER, and he who believes in Me shall NEVER THIRST."

John 6:40 - "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."

John 6:41 - "The Jews therefore were grumbling about Him, because He said, "I am the bread that came down out of heaven."

John 6:42 - "And they were saying, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, I have come down out of heaven?"

John 6:47 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life."

John 6:48 - "I am the bread of life."

John 6:49 - " Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died."

John 6:50 - "This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die."

John 6:51 - "I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh."

John 6:52 - "The Jews therefore began to argue with one another, saying, "How can this man give us His flesh to eat?"

John 6:53 - "Jesus therefore said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves."

John 6:54 - "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."

John 6:55 - "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink."

John 6:56 - "He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him."

John 6:58 - "This is the bread came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever."

John 6:63 - "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."

John 6:64 - "But there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him."

John 6:65 - "And He was saying, For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father."

John 6:66 - "As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore."

John 6:67 - "Jesus said therefore to the twelve, You do not want to go away also, do you?"

John 6:68 - "Simon Peter answered Him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life."

John 6:69 - "And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God."

A great deal is contained within this chapter of John. Many aspects of God are brought out and written for our salvation, edification and growth.  Important points to be made here:
 

1. In verse 35 Christ declares He is the bread from heaven that will end their hunger and the water to end their thirst. This is also declared in John 4:13 & 14 & John 7:37. The food He offers is from Heaven, not earthly. Did Jesus' Body come from Heaven or God's Spirit?
2. Can we say without dissent that verse 35 is spiritual? Is it to be understood literally? Do you get hungry? Do you thirst? If you accept verse 53 as literal, so to must verse 35 be understood for it is the same message.
3. In verse 40 He declares we can go to Heaven based on believing in Him. Can this be? Not if you accept the RCC doctrine. Verse 53 taken literally contradicts verse 40. One cannot have eternal life based on verse 40 in the RCC view. It's contradictory unless you accept it as symbolic and belief in Him is the dominant object. How many verses are there that teach belief in Him for salvation in contrast to observing a Mass? Here is a very quoted one: John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." No mention of a Mass! It's foreign to the Bible!
4. In verses 41 & 42 the Jews were in turmoil. Why? They were thinking and seeking a PHYSICAL reality as was Nicodemus in John chapter 3. Do you see the similarities between the disbelieving Jews and Catholicism? Each looks for a literal entity. Jesus is speaking to them in a spiritual sense, which they cannot and/or will not accept.
5. Do we interpret verse 48 as literal? He uses physical realities to represent Himself. In John 4:10, He alludes to Himself as living water. In John 8:12, Jesus calls Himself a light. In John 10:7 He calls Himself a door. In John 15:1 He calls Himself a vine.  Paul calls Him a Rock in 1 Corinthians 10:4. Here and in verse 50 He explains to them that unlike their fathers, He offers food in a spiritual sense that provides eternal life in contrast to the literal food their fathers ate as described in verse 49! In 1 John 2:2 - "and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."
6. In verses 52 & 53 the message is reinforced. One should easily see that the Jews still do not comprehend anything apart from a literal meaning. Do you believe Jesus was commanding the people to literally eat Him in His presence? How do you make the connection here to the Lord's Supper? Where in these verses does Jesus say the bread (catholic wafer) will become His body? Where in these verses is the "consecration of elements"?  He as yet, had NOT been sacrificed! Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:8 rebukes the Jews (and catholic) literal interpretation, "But food will not present us to God; we are neither the worse if we do not eat, nor the better if we do eat." To eat and drink among the Jews meant sharing and partaking of friendship, Luke 14:15, "And when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"
7. From verse 53 can one then make the claim that eating and drinking the Son of Man produces life despite unbelief? Verse 35 clarifies the entire aspect, for without belief in Him, there is no salvation no matter what we do.
8. In verse 56 He presents a union with Him for all believers in Him. Is this a literal union? Is a marriage a literal union? It is a Spiritual union. We read in Ephesians 5:30 - "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones." See also John 15:4.
9. In verse 58 He states that anyone eating the bread (again not a wafer) shall not die. Do Catholics die?
10. In verse 60 the Jews again are unable to comprehend His teachings from a literal standpoint. In verses 62 and 63, Jesus states very clearly that what He is saying is of spiritual nature not physical. Christ also explains that  "flesh" is of NO value! Paul therefore in 2 Corinthians 3:6, states, "who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."
11. In verses 66 through 69 we read of the disbelief of the Jews and their subsequent leaving of our Lord. Peter affirms this by acknowledging that it is through the words of Christ that we have eternal life. Peter further attests to this in 1 Peter 1:23 - "for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God." Also note, nowhere in these passages is there even a hint of Baptism for eternal life.

The Catholic Encyclopedia - "In the absence of Scriptural proof, the Church finds a warrant for, and a propriety in, rendering Divine worship to the Blessed Sacrament in the most ancient and constant tradition." (Volume 5, page 581)

The Catholic Encyclopedia - "It may be stated as a general fact, that down to the twelfth century, in the West as well as in the East, public Communion in the churches was ordinarily administered and received under both kinds, a fact clearly beyond dispute." (Volume 4, page 176)

The Catholic Encyclopedia - "Mithraism had a Eucharist, but the idea of a sacred banquet is as old as the human race and existed at all ages and amongst all peoples." (Volume 10, page 404) Did our Lord institute a pagan ritual?

Transubstantiation as a term was not used until 1056 and was not accepted as official doctrine until Gregory VII in 1079. Transubstantiation  was not defined [as Church Dogma] until the 4th Lateran Council in 1215.

Pope Gelasius in the 5th Century wrote, "The substance or nature of the bread doth not cease to be."  (His Writings against Eutyches and Nestorius)

Augustine - "Now that this sacrifice has been revealed and has been offered in due time, sacrifice is no longer binding as an act of worship, while it retains its symbolical authority." (Faustus 6.5)

Changing the Mass? In 1570, Pope Pius decreed, "that nothing at any time may be added, subtracted or revised ... for if anyone shall presume to do so, let it be known to him that the wrath of Almighty God shall be upon him."

Catholic Apologist Karl Adams writes in The Spirit Of Catholicism, "We Catholics acknowledge readily without shame, yea with pride, that Catholicism cannot be identified simply and wholly with primitive Christianity."

Pope Leo I declared in 440 that to abstain from the chalice was heresy. Pope Urban II in 1095 and Pope Paschal in 1118 condemn partaking of bread only.

In The Externals Of The Catholic Church, Monsignor Sullivan admits that, "holy water, medals, repetitious prayer and other Catholic sacramentals were originally pagan but the Church baptized or Christianized these."

Roman Catholic Apologist Karl Keating of Catholic Answers stated, "most Catholics don't even know what transubstantiation means."

Roman Catholic Cardinal Bellarmine in the 17th Century, "It cannot be that bread should be the body of Christ."

1 Acts 1:3 - "To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

1 John 1:1 - "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life."

Notice here the testament to the physical senses? They saw Him, touched Him and heard Him. Do you see Him or feel Him in the wafer? Do you taste flesh? Is it a wafer? These two verses testify to the senses we possess and there application to His physical reality.

2 Second Corinthians 5:16 - "Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer."

How can you state otherwise? Paul says clearly here that we do not know Christ in the flesh any longer!

3 The RCC claims that the Mass is vital to salvation. Why is it omitted in Matthew 28:19 by our Lord's great commission?

Matthew 28:19 - "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit."

4 Matthew 18:20 - "For where two or three have gathered in My name, there I am in their midst."

Is this literal? If yes, then when two are gathered you are saying you see three. A camera would record this. You can see the folly of a literal interpretation. It is a Spiritual message as in John chapter 6.

5 Where in the recorded history of the early church, the Book of Acts, is a Mass?

6 Romans 6:9 - "knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him."

Hebrews 7:27 - "who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did ONCE FOR ALL when He offered up Himself."

Christ cannot be sacrificed again! The Mass does this every day! What a blasphemous act. How can you re-sacrifice Christ?

7 Galatians 3:1 - "O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?" Is this literal?

8 Where in Scripture does Christ elevate the bread and wine?

9 Jeremiah 15:16 - "Thy words were found and I ate them." Is this literal?

1 Peter 2:2 - "like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word." Is this literal?

10 Is bread used symbolically [in the Scriptures]?

Matthew 6:11 - "Give us this day our daily bread."

Psalm 80:5 - "Thou feedest them with the bread of tears."

Isaiah 30:20 - "And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction."

John 6:35 - "I am the bread of life."

Proverbs 31:27 - "She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness."

11 Is drinking wine used symbolically [in the Scriptures]?

Proverbs 4:17 - "For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence."

12 Is drinking blood symbolic [in the Scriptures]?

Deuteronomy 32:42 - "I will make My arrows drunk with blood, and My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the long-haired leaders of the enemy."

Isaiah 49:26 - "And I will feed your oppressors with their own flesh, and they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine."

Jeremiah 46:10 - "For that day belongs to the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes; and the sword will devour and be satiated and drink its fill of their blood."

13 Acts 7:56 - "and he said, Behold I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." Does Stephen see a wafer or Jesus Christ standing?

14 How are we commanded to worship God?

John 4:24 - "God is spirit, and those who worship Him MUST worship in SPIRIT and TRUTH."

15 Does Jesus speak in a figurative way?

 John 16:25 - "These things I have spoken to you in a figurative language."

16 Has our Lord returned? In 1 Corinthians 11:26 Paul tells us that - "For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes." If we accept the Catholic teaching on the Mass, the Lord HAS returned repeatedly!  The Catholic Church proclaims He is here every day in thousands of different places in LITERAL form! It is no wonder our Lord forewarned us in Matthew 24:23 not to believe in Christ's presence here on earth literally!

17 Is John 6:51 to be interpreted literally? If so you deny the virgin birth for in verse 51 Christ says His physical being came from Heaven!

18 Mark 4:11 - "And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parables." We are told that the Transubstantiation doctrine is a mystery, here Christ clearly says there is no mystery to believers in Him. Where is the authority by Rome for "special" communication with God?

19 Is the Mass a sacrifice or memorial? If it is a sacrifice, why must it be repeated in an attempt to remove sin? Hebrews 10:14 - "For by ONE offering He has perfected FOREVER them that are sanctified." If it is a memorial or an unbloody sacrifice, it cannot forgive sin for Hebrews 9:22 says, "And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding blood there is no forgiveness."

20 If during the Transubstantiation of the Mass, the LITERAL flesh and blood of Christ is IN the wafer, where does the physical body come from? 1 Corinthians 15:44 - "it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body." Does not Christ have now a Spiritual body?

21 The Catholic Church worships the wafer before and after the consecration. God commands us NOT to worship any image or gods! Exodus 20:4 & 5 - "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them." The Lord makes it all clear that worship of anything apart from Him directly is unacceptable. Worshipping a wafer as God is idolatry.

22 Matthew 28:20 - "I will be with you always." Which Real presence do you desire? A wafer once a week that is man made in an attempt to re-present Christ, or the eternal Christ in spirit?

23 How can anyone say that the elements are changed into the LITERAL flesh and blood of Christ yet maintaining there original form and taste? Does not the Bible give us a REAL transformation of elements in John 2:7 - 11? John 2:7 - 9" Jesus said to them, "Fill the jars with water." So they filled them to the brim.  Then he told them, "Draw some out now and take it to the headwaiter." So they took it.  And when the headwaiter tasted the water that had BECOME WINE, without knowing where it came from (although the servers who had drawn the water knew)." Do you see the reality contained here? Does the RCC transubstantiation duplicate this change in substance? The elements do NOT change in the Mass.

24 Where in the Bible are we instructed to re-present Christ's literal sacrifice? It is clear in Hebrews 7:27 His sacrifice is ETERNAL and NEVER TO BE REPEATED - " Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins ONCE for all when he offered himself."

Here is an analogy of what Jesus meant: If you and I are looking at a map together and I say to you, this is New York. Is it LITERALLY New York or a REPRESENTATION of New York? The answer is obvious.

The Biblical evidence is overwhelming against the Catholic doctrine of a perpetuating sacrifice/memorial in LITERAL form. Even Catholic leaders have spoken against it. Will you accept the truth of the Bible over personal preference and pride? The Roman Catholic Mass starts and finishes with Christ still on the Cross!