The Eucharist Explained
Catholic Reflections on the Eucharist for Protestants
- Theology
- Publisher: Resource Publications (Wipf and Stock)
- Published: 2023
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Publisher's Description
Perhaps the doctrine of the Catholic Church most baffling to Protestants and the hardest to accept is her teaching on the Eucharist as both a sacrament and (especially) as the actual Body and Blood of Christ as he offered it on the Cross. But what does the Catholic Church really mean by what she teaches about the Eucharist as opposed to what many have supposed her to mean by it? Does the Catholic teaching have any foundation in the Bible? Did Christ himself say anything about the Eucharist? Is the Eucharist only a symbol; or is it, in the Sacrifice of the Mass, the actual Body and Blood of Christ for our salvation? These questions and others are answered for the Protestant inquirer in this book, which the author hopes will at the very least help the reader to understand that what the Catholic Church believes about the Eucharist is not an invention but is rooted in a profound understanding of the Scriptures.
Endorsements (3)
“This is a highly readable, nuanced discussion of Catholic doctrines concerning the Eucharist. Protestants who reject these doctrines, find them incomprehensible, or regard them as unscriptural will find here thoroughly convincing demonstration of the scriptural basis of this Catholic teaching, its continuity with earliest Christian writings about the Eucharist, and the intimate relation between the incarnation and the Eucharist. Any Catholic who is unfamiliar with the Church’s Eucharist doctrine stands to learn much from Richard Divozzo’s cogent analysis. I highly recommend this book for all Christians.”
“Richard Divozzo here does many things well. As a former Protestant, he knows precisely which questions to ask, and as a thoughtful Catholic, how to convincingly answer them. It’s often this kind of sparkling dialectic that can inform and bolster the faith of cradle Catholics who otherwise finds themselves vague about this sacrament so central to the faith! The author has read and reflected deeply. He writes with wit. And tellingly—according to the standards of Holy Writ—he’s charitable!”
“Written with an ear attuned to the sensitivities and particularities of Protestant accounts of what the Eucharist is and means, this concise yet remarkably substantive exploration of Catholic doctrine regarding the Eucharist provides Protestants with a clear exposition that compares and contrasts Catholic and Protestant understandings of this key Christian belief. Richard Divozzo gives us a book that ably rehearses the historical, scriptural, and doctrinal development of eucharistic belief and practice. Highly recommended.”
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