Refutation of Anti-Catholic Calumny — The Sacrament of The Supper
Introduction
The purpose of this refutation is to counter the calumniating claims made in Dr. Michael Ross’ article The Sacrament of the Supper. Within this exposition of communion, Dr. Ross made several statements about the Catholic Church and her teachings that are inaccurate and misleading. In this response I will address the following erroneous points:
1. That the once and for all sacrifice of Christ is separate from the Eucharist for Catholics, or that Christ is re-sacrificed in the Catholic mass.
2. That the Eucharist is idolatry.
3. That Scripture precedes the sacraments (and by extension the church).
4. That there exists a dichotomy between the sacerdotal and evangelical aspects of the church.
5. That the Eucharist is for the forgiveness of sins.
6. That Christ has been replaced by the ecclesial structure.
The original article is available to read here: The Sacrament of the Supper — Christian Research Institute (equip.org)
Answer to assertion 1
While Dr. Ross did quote The Catechism of The Catholic Church in very broad strokes, he curtailed the references that make most clear what the Eucharist represents for the Catholic faith. The most important distinction being that the Eucharist is not a different sacrifice from Christ’s once and for all sacrifice at Calvary. 1367 of the Catechism makes it clear that “the sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice…” This sacrifice is offered to the Catholic faithful, not only by the Church as a whole, in a way offering the Head to the body of Christ in the Communion of Saints, but also by the Priest. In this moment the priest also acts in the person of Christ, in persona Christi, meaning that Christ is offering himself up to us in a sacrifice that occurs outside of time.
This recalls the words of Saint Thomas Aquinas’ hauntingly beautiful hymn Pange Lingua, wherein it says the following:
In supremae nocte coenae,
Recumbens cum fratribus,
Observata lege plene
Cibis in legalibus,
Cibum turbae duodenae
Se dat suis manibus.
Or in english:
On the night of that Last Supper,
Seated with His chosen band,
He the Paschal victim eating,
First fulfils the Law’s command;
Then, as Food to His Apostles
Gives Himself with His own hand.
The mass itself is the Pasch, and Christ is our paschal lamb “For in the blessed Eucharist is contained the whole spiritual good of the Church, namely Christ himself, our Pasch.” (CCC 1324). Just like the Jewish Pesach, which is the Seder meal that Christ elevated to fulfillment, this meal transcends time altogether; just as the Jews are truly back in Egypt during the Seder, we Catholics are on Calvary with our Precious Lord. This is not a separate sacrifice, rather, this is the participation of the once and for all sacrifice in a bloodless fashion.
The Eucharistic sacrifice becomes present to us as an anamnesis (Greek for calling to mind, recollection), a recalling of the past in such a way that it becomes present to us now. It is the pinnacle of the mass, and is a memorial (remembrance) of what Christ did for us all during His time here on Earth, and what He continues to do invisibly through the Eucharist. This is how the Church fulfills Christ’s command, and, as put in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (no. 79), “celebrates the memorial of Christ, recalling especially his blessed Passion, glorious Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven.”
Answer to Assertion 2
As Dr. Ross so astutely quoted, the sacrifice of Christ on the cross is indeed the source and summit of the Christian life, the sum and summary of the Christian faith, and as a result of the miracle of Transubstantiation, the articles of communion are truly Christ in body and blood, soul and divinity. As Christ is really, truly present in a physical and sacramental way, Christ in the Eucharist is indeed worthy of our Adoration and worship. If the Eucharist is truly Christ, how could one claim that the worship of our Lord could be considered idolatry? It would only be idolatry if the church were in error, and this would be the longest-standing error in the history of Christendom at 2,000 years in the making, and by extension would render Christ’s promises in Matthew 16:18 and 28:20 lies.
Matthew 26:26–30, Mark 14:22–26, Luke 22:14–20, John 6:22–59, and 1 Corinthians 11:26–27, and Acts 2:42–34 reveal the true nature of the Eucharist, and there is no ambiguity that there is indeed a real presence.
Answer to Assertion 3
The institution of the Eucharist in the upper room precedes the writings of the gospels, or the letters of Paul by decades, and was practiced by the church body for that time, and the hundreds of years prior to the formalization of the canon of scripture. The 73 books of the Bible were accepted as canon in the Council of Rome in 382, and affirmed in the Synod of Hippo in 393, and the Council of Carthage in 397. Pope Innocent listed the Catholic canon in a letter to Exsuperus in 405. Subsequently, this list was approved by Pope Damascus I and another Council of Carthage in 419. This canon was once more affirmed in the Second Council of Nicea in 787, and again at the Council of Florence in 1442. The idea that scripture precedes the sacraments that were founded by Christ prior to their authorship is absurd. Christ did not come to build the Bible, rather He came to build His Church, the bride of Christ, and for nearly four centuries the church thrived without a settled canon of scripture, holding fast to the traditions (2 Thessalonians 2:15) shared by the apostles and their successors (Titus 1:5, 1 Timothy 5:22).
The true word of God is Christ, who is the Logos, not the scriptures, which while they are theopneustos, “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16), they do not unseat Christ as the Word of God (John 1:1). The Bible itself is not equal to Christ, who is the second person of the trinity; sacred scripture is not God, nor a god. Scripture is incredibly important and alongside sacred tradition it is served devoutly by the Magisterium as an integral part of the deposit of faith. The error that Dr. Ross treads dangerously close to is bibliolatry, that being worship of the Bible itself as a replacement for Christ.
Answer to Assertion 4
Dr. Ross claimed the following:
“The Roman Catholic Church is sacerdotal — relying on a system of priestly rites for salvation and sanctification. The Protestant church is evangelical — dependent on the gospel and the preaching of God’s Word. The sacraments augment the preached message, but they never replace it as the “sum and summary” of the Christian faith.”
This creates a false dichotomy between the sacerdotal priesthood and the Gospel, creating a non-functioning either/or proposition. Rather, the Church is both sacerdotal AND evangelical. The true Gospel is shared; Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again, and that it is baptism that saves us (1 Peter 3:21), as the rebirth of water and spirit (John 3:3–5), which is our salvation of grace through faith (2 Ephesians 8–10) and is the new circumcision, that of Christ (Colossians 2:11–14), and of our hearts (Romans 2:29). We Catholics still have a sacerdotal priesthood as we participate in the one true sacrifice, the true latria, Christ’s death on the cross. This is how He abides in us, and we in Him (John 15:4–11).
Answer to Assertion 5
Dr. Ross makes another bold claim about the Eucharist, without providing citation:
“Herein lies the danger of transubstantiation and the sacramental system of Rome. It creates the expectation that salvation is found in a continual resacrificing of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.”
It is true that the Eucharist forgives venial sins per The Catechism, “As bodily nourishment restores lost strength, so the Eucharist strengthens our charity, which tends to be weakened in daily life; and this living charity wipes away venial sins” (CCC 1394). However, the Eucharist does not forgive mortal sins, “The Eucharist is not ordered to the forgiveness of mortal sins — that is proper to the sacrament of reconciliation” (CCC 1395).
One must not approach to receive Him in this sacrament if they are knowingly in the state of mortal sin, per the Code of Canon Law: “A person who is conscious of grave sin is not to . . . receive the body of the Lord without previous sacramental confession unless there is a grave reason and there is no opportunity to confess; in this case the person is to remember the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition which includes the resolution of confessing as soon as possible.” (CIC 916). To partake of Him in this state of separation will enact the judgement outlined in 1 Corinthians 11:27. This would be considered sacrilege.
“Sacrilege consists in profaning or treating unworthily the sacraments and other liturgical actions, as well as persons, things, or places consecrated to God. Sacrilege is a grave sin especially when committed against the Eucharist, for in this sacrament the true Body of Christ is made substantially present for us.” (CCC 2120)
Answer to Assertion 6
Dr. Ross makes the last polemical claim against the Church:
“Christ is replaced by the church, the gospel is replaced by the Eucharist, and the Holy Spirit is replaced by a sacerdotal (priestly) system. God atones for sin in Jesus Christ and His once-for-all sacrifice on Calvary. People are saved when the Holy Spirit brings them to repentance and faith, and applies Christ’s finished work to their souls.”
Unfortunately for Dr. Ross this is incorrect; as for Catholics, Christ is the inexorable head of the church, who shall not replace His bride, nor can she set aside her bridegroom. The church’s existence hinges upon Christ’s kingship; the authority of the magisterium depends on Christ’s authority and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to function, and the mass itself would be fruitless if Christ were not truly present within the consecrated gifts of bread and wine. The Gospel is taught and lived out by Catholics across the world in every mass, in every church and chapel. This sacrifice, this mass, is the worship in Spirit and in Truth practiced everywhere (John 4:21–24). The Holy Spirit works through the priesthood, through Christ’s church that He founded, and He has certainly not been replaced. Christ hears our confessions and absolves our sins Himself in the sacrament of confession. As mentioned above, we are saved by grace through faith (2 Ephesians 8–10), meaning that we receive the call of the Holy Spirit to baptism, respond in faith, and receive the saving grace meant for us as described in John 3:3–5, and prefigured for us in Matthew 3:13–17.
Conclusion
Although there were several other errors in Dr. Ross’ presentation of Catholic theology, ecclesiology, soteriology, and Christology, the most crucial errors were addressed within the confines of this rebuttal. We Catholics are partaking in the New Covenant, with the new Pasch, the once and for all sacrifice that Christ instituted for us to do in remembrance of Him, which is not only a memorial but also His true body and blood, soul and divinity, so that we may commune with Him fully, and partake in His divinity, as He condescended to share in our humanity. The true christocentrism of the Catholic Church rings true, as the entire purpose of the mass is indeed beyond the liturgy of the word, where we hear the Old Testament, Psalms, Epistles, and Gospel of our Precious Lord, but is also our way of truly and substantially communing and sharing out Thanksgiving with the Word of God, the Logos, Jesus Christ.
References
Catechism of the Catholic Church. (n.d.). https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM
Code of Canon Law. Code of Canon Law: Title III THE MOST HOLY EUCHARIST (Cann. 897–958). (n.d.). https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/cic_index_en.html
General instruction of the roman missal. Vatican. (n.d.). https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20030317_ordinamento-messale_en.html#III._THE_INDIVIDUAL_PARTS_OF_THE_MASS
NASB bible. (2007). . Hendrickson Publishers Inc.
Ross, M. (2023, April 12). The sacrament of the supper. Christian Research Institute. https://www.equip.org/articles/sacrament-supper/
