Article #4 on Roman Catholicism
There are reports of a Eucharistic Revival taking place among Catholics. Fervent speeches are being given by famous Priests who are trying to inspire people to have their own personal encounter with the Eucharist. The following confession is an accurate description of Eucharistic Adoration.
“I fall down in worship and adoration before something that looks just like a piece of bread and a cup of wine. I say Hosanna to it. I adore it as the very God of the universe! The Eucharist is my Lord and my God, my salvation, my life, the very source of my being!” – a devout Catholic
Catholics call a piece of bread “the Eucharistic Lord”. Parishioners regularly assemble to gaze upon the bread in worship, while thinking to themselves, “I look at Him, and He looks at me”. They truly believe that they are looking at the face of Jesus Christ. They even fall down before the bread and worship it as God! Meanwhile, the bread never changes in appearance. It doesn’t look like the flesh of a person. When it is eaten, it doesn’t taste like the flesh of a person. Evidently, the substance of the bread has not changed! But Catholics believe that it is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ in real time.
What do the Prophets of the Bible have to say about this scene? You need to read it for yourself! It is alarming how similar this practice is to the idolatry of paganism. The Prophets often spoke against idolatry. They denounced it as strange, senseless, unreasonable, and blasphemous. Sometimes, under inspiration, the Prophets would survey the whole process of paganism in the making and worshipping of an idol just to prove the point.
What do the Prophets of the Bible have to say about this scene? You need to read it for yourself! It is alarming how similar this practice is to the idolatry of paganism. The Prophets often spoke against idolatry. They denounced it as strange, senseless, unreasonable, and blasphemous. Sometimes, under inspiration, the Prophets would survey the whole process of paganism in the making and worshipping of an idol just to prove the point.
“He heweth him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. Then shall it be for a man to burn: for he will take thereof, and warm himself; yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread; yea, he maketh a god, and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image, and falleth down thereto.” – Isa. 44:14-15
“And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and eaten it: and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree?” – Isa. 44:19
A striking emphasis is put upon how the idolaters bake bread while practicing paganism. Is this a coincidence? Catholics bake bread and they call it God. They fall down before it and worship it! Literally, someone makes dough for the bread. A fire is kindled to heat an oven. Someone bakes the bread until it is cooked. Catholics then bow down and worship the food as God! In context, Isaiah the Prophet’s argument against paganism is very powerful. I’m sure you will find it persuasive if you read Isaiah 44:9-20. To put things in perspective, in modern terms, nothing in the kitchen that is used for cooking should be worshipped as a god. Shall I fall down before a piece of bread? No one should ever worship anything that is made with human hands (Ps. 115:4, 135:15; Ex. 20:4-6).
Granted, Catholics believe that when the Priests “say Mass”, the bread is substantially transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ at the words of consecration, but the Hindu Priests of paganism do the same rituals for the consecration of newly made idols. During the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, the Priests invoke a god’s presence into an idol. This process is believed to transform the idol into a sacred thing that can then receive worship from believers in Hinduism.
Granted, Catholics believe that when the Priests “say Mass”, the bread is substantially transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ at the words of consecration, but the Hindu Priests of paganism do the same rituals for the consecration of newly made idols. During the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, the Priests invoke a god’s presence into an idol. This process is believed to transform the idol into a sacred thing that can then receive worship from believers in Hinduism.
Before the words of consecration, the idol cannot be worshipped as a god in Hinduism. After the words of consecration, the idol can be worshipped as a god because the idol is infused with life by the presence of a deity, and therefore it is capable of responding to prayers from the people. In other words, the idol is then believed to be possessed by the soul and divinity of a god, like Catholics believe the host of bread becomes the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. Roman Catholicism has adopted the methods and employed the practices of paganism in an attempt to worship Jesus Christ.
Catholics put “the Eucharistic Lord” into a golden frame called a monstrance. A wooden stand overlaid with gold exalts the presence of the bread as God in a disturbing presentation of idolatry. Catholics even retrofit a part of the Church to serve as a permanent Tabernacle for “the Eucharistic Lord”. This allows for Catholics to come and “visit” Jesus in the Tabernacle. Naturally, they feel obliged to come and spend time with the Eucharist because they believe they are coming face to face with God. Holy hours are set apart for Eucharistic Adoration where worshippers take great pleasure in gazing upon a piece of bread. However, eventually, someone goes ahead and eats the bread as a part of the Mass.
“Are ye also yet without understanding? Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?” – Matt. 15:16-17
Catholics believe that they become one with Jesus Christ through eating the Eucharist. Technically, according to Roman Catholicism, they are eating the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. But how does this work? Apparently, “the Eucharistic Lord” enters into the mouth and goes into the belly, and then it is absorbed into the body through the nutrients of bread and wine. Finally, according to Matthew 15:16-17, “the Eucharistic Lord” is excreted from the body in a vile form of waste. Maybe this is why Catholics need to keep eating “the Eucharistic Lord” daily and weekly? The Eucharist of yesterday isn’t enough. “Whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught” (Matt. 15:17).
Do Catholics also believe that they are eating the soul and divinity of Jesus Christ? I don’t suppose any clergymen of Roman Catholicism can explain this part to the people. Blasphemies are usually incomprehensible and downright unbelievable! Nevertheless, many strange religious traditions have arisen that fixate people on eating and drinking as a form of worship to God.
Do Catholics also believe that they are eating the soul and divinity of Jesus Christ? I don’t suppose any clergymen of Roman Catholicism can explain this part to the people. Blasphemies are usually incomprehensible and downright unbelievable! Nevertheless, many strange religious traditions have arisen that fixate people on eating and drinking as a form of worship to God.
“Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” – Matt. 15:7-9
These traditions seriously undermine the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Catholics are so focused on the bread that they don’t care to read the Bible! Their faith is in the ritual rather than the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:26, 4:5-6, 22). While obsessing over the physical presence of the sacraments, the people are blinded to the omnipresence of God (Isa. 66:1-2). They seek oneness with Christ through the bread while disregarding the invisible presence of Jesus Christ who inhabits all true Christians (Gal. 2:20, Php. 1:21, Col. 3:1-3). While choosing to honor the Tabernacle of the Eucharist, they end up rejecting “the Temple of God” that Jesus Christ has built and consecrated for Himself (Jn. 14:21, 23; 1 Cor. 3:16, 6:19-20).
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