Transubstantiation
Transubstantiation is the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church which states that during the consecration of the sacrificial offerings of bread and wine at the Mass, that the bread and wine are literally changed into the body and blood of Christ. Transubstantiation holds that while the outward, sensible characteristics of the bread and wine remain, the actual substance or reality is transformed into the substance of Christ. It should be noted that Christ, united in Heaven, cannot separated, and so according to transubstantiation, not only the body and blood, but the soul and divinity- in short, the whole substance of Christ- is made present.
This is a view in contrast with the beliefs of some Protestant (mostly Evangelical, Fundamentalist, and Pentecostal) groups which also celebrate rites recalling Christ's Last Supper, but who believe that the wine and bread are symbolically, rather than actually, the body and blood of Jesus. Most Reformers and Reformation churches believe in some form of real presence in the Eucharist, instead of a purely symbolic view.
Transubstantiation was sometimes a contentious issue during the Protestant Reformation, a historical period of conflict and warfare among Christians over a number of issues of scriptural interpretation, doctrine, philosophy, and both ecclesiastical and secular politics.
Biblical Support for Transubstantiation
Catholics believe the doctrine of transubstantiation can be validated by Scripture.
In John 6, Jesus promises to His followers the Bread of Life, His flesh. (John 6:51) When the Jews began to argue over how Jesus could give them His flesh, He responded by repeating the necessity of doing so: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life within you” (John 6:53). When His disciples said “This is a hard teaching; who can follow it?” (John 6:60), Jesus allowed them to go and even asked His 12 apostles if they too would leave. Catholics note that Jesus did not claim to be speaking symbolically or metaphorically when His disciples left, even though they seemed to take Him literally. Thus, it is concluded, Jesus was speaking literally.
Then, at the Last Supper when He said “This is my body” and “This is my blood,” He was fulfilling His literal promise made in John 6:51, to give His followers His body and blood.
