and. His real Blood to drink, 1 and because, at the Last Supper, He expressly declared that that which He then gave them as food and drink was really His Body and His Blood; 2 and
2. Because the Apostles and the Catholic Church have at all times believed and taught so. 3
1 'The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the "world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying: How can this Man give us His flesh to eat? Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed' (John vi. 52, etc.),
2 'Christ foresaw that the Church would understand His most clear and distinct words in their proper and literal meaning. Had He wished to be understood in a different manner, He would also have spoken differently, that He might not in such most important matter give occasion to misunderstanding and error.
3 'The teaching of the Apostles, especially of St. Paul, is evident from 1 Cor, x. 16, and xi. 23-29; the teaching of the whole Church, from her prayers and rites relating to the Divine Service; from the decrees of her Councils; from the numerous testimonies of the holy Fathers and ecclesiastical writers. For instance, St. Justin Martyr says: 'As Jesus Christ took flesh and blood, so also is the food consecrated by His words flesh and blood of the incarnate Jesus. ' St. Cyril, Bishop of Jerusalem, gives this evidence: * As Christ Himself declared and said, "This is my Body," who would dare to doubt it? As He openly protested, saying, "This is my Blood," who would hesitate, and think that it is not His Blood? Once He changed water into wine; and should we question whether He could change wine into blood?' No less plain and precise are the testimonies of St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose, St. Augustine, and of many other Fathers, even of the first centuries. We have also a strong proof of the antiquity of the Catholic doctrine in this, that the Schismatic Greek Church, and the other older Oriental Churches, believe and teach precisely the same.
9. Did Christ give also to His Apostles power to change bread and wine into His Sacred Flesh and Blood?
Yes; He gave them that power with these words: 'Do this for a commemoration of me' (Luke xxii. 19).
