Catholic Church Safeguards True Eucharist – Apr 20 – Homily – Fr Terrance

Fr. Terrance's homily on John 6, the Bread of Life discourse, stresses that life's "something more" is Jesus Himself, encountered truly in the Eucharist. True belief is not mere intellectual assent but living the Gospel faithfully, even its "hard sayings" like the Real Presence: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). Jesus uses "trogon" (gnaw/chew) and "sarx" (flesh), insisting on literal, sacramental reality, not cannibalism, affirmed at the Last Supper. Many disciples abandoned Him (John 6:66). Protestants rejected this: Luther held consubstantiation, Zwingli symbolism, Calvin a dynamic force— all contrary to transubstantiation, where substance changes but accidents remain. The Catholic Church alone safeguards the Eucharist via apostolic succession, ministerial priesthood, and Mass. Without it, there is no eternal food. Echoing St. Anselm, "believe to understand," and Matthew 16:25-26, he urges fidelity amid mysteries like the Trinity. Invoke Mary, Mother of the Eucharist, to cherish this pilgrimage sustenance (John 20:31; John 6:54-58).

John 6:53 – Eucharist flesh and blood, necessity – https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?53
John 6:66 – Disciples reject hard saying – https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/6?66
Matthew 16:25 – Lose life for Christ – https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/16?25
CCC 1374 – Christ's Real Presence explained – http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1374.htm
CCC 1324 – Eucharist eternal life source – http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1324.htm
CCC 1365 – Mass re-presents sacrifice – http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/para/1365.htm
Catholic Answers – Christ in Eucharist – https://www.catholic.com/tract/christ-in-the-eucharist
New Advent – Eucharist doctrine history – http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05572c.htm

00:00 - Introduction to the Bread of Life
00:45 - The Meaning of True Belief
01:48 - Faith and Understanding
03:14 - The Hard Sayings of Jesus
04:12 - The Real Presence in the Eucharist
06:14 - Historical Rejections of the Eucharist
08:37 - The Necessity of the Catholic Church