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The Catholic Faith begins and ends with Jesus Christ, culminating in the Eucharist as its Source and Summit. "Behold, it is I," Jesus says, and the faithful believe. Examining these words of Jesus, Fr. George Elliott and Dr. Stacy Trasancos provide some of the most convincing proofs for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist from Scripture, Tradition, and the scientific investigation of Eucharistic miracles. In three sections, they walk readers through: A holistic and contextual reading of the Bible which points to the words of Christ at the Last Supper: "This is my body," and "This is my blood," How the Church Fathers handed on the teachings of the Apostles to the early Church in the centuries following Christ's earthly ministry, How the data from the investigation of Eucharistic miracles begs the ultimate question of the certainty of faith. Do we need Eucharistic miracles to prove that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist? Should our certainty of faith be contingent upon Eucharistic miracles?The reader may be joyfully surprised at where the journey of this book will lead you, from the burning faith of the saints all the way back to Christ in the Gospels. It plainly sets forth the reality that the Eucharist is the Body of Christ. Just as in Biblical times, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is not a ghost and not a myth, but flesh and bone, hands and feet. "Behold," He said, "It is I."

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Christian Church

Philosophie et théologie

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Publié par	TAN Books
Date de parution	19 octobre 2021
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781505117264
Langue	English

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B EHOLD , I T I S I
B EHOLD , I T I S I
SCRIPTURE, TRADITION, AND SCIENCE ON THE REAL PRESENCE
STACY TRASANCOS, PHD FR. GEORGE ELLIOTT
TAN Books Gastonia, North Carolina
Behold, It Is I: Scripture, Tradition, and Science on the Real Presence © 2021 George Elliott and Stacy Trasancos.
All rights reserved. With the exception of short excerpts used in critical review, no part of this work may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in any form whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Creation, exploitation and distribution of any unauthorized editions of this work, in any format in existence now or in the future—including but not limited to text, audio, and video—is prohibited without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible—Second Catholic Edition (Ignatius Edition), © 2006 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
All excerpts from papal homilies, messages, and encyclicals © Libreria Editrice Vaticana. All rights reserved.
Excerpts from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America © 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.
Excerpts from the English translation of the Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America © 2006, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.
Cover design by Caroline Green
Cover image: Holy Eucharist, photo by Prachaya Roekdeethaweesab/Shutterstock
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021941499 ISBN: 978-1-5051-1724-0 Kindle ISBN: 978-1-5051-1725-7 ePUB ISBN: 978-1-5051-1726-4
Published in the United States by TAN Books PO Box 269 Gastonia, NC 28053
www.TANBooks.com
To Annie Paniagua
Blessed Carlo Acutis, pray for us.
On the night of that Last Supper, seated with His chosen band, He the Pascal victim eating, first fulfills the Law’s command; then as Food to His Apostles gives Himself with His own hand.
Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature by His word to Flesh He turns; wine into His Blood He changes;- what though sense no change discerns? Only be the heart in earnest, faith her lesson quickly learns.
Down in adoration falling, Lo! the sacred Host we hail; Lo! o’er ancient forms departing, newer rites of grace prevail; faith for all defects supplying, where the feeble sense fail . 1
—St. Thomas Aquinas
_______________
1 St. Thomas Aquinas, “Pange Lingua Sing, My Tongue,” https://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Hymni/Pange.html .
CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Logic of Behold, It Is I
Part I: What Does the Bible Say?
   1 The Whole Story: The Old Testament Passages
   2 The Institution Narratives
   3 The Gospel of John
   4 After the Crucifixion
Part II: What Do the Fathers Say?
   5 St. Ignatius of Antioch
   6 St. Justin Martyr
   7 St. Irenaeus of Lyons
   8 St. Cyril of Jerusalem
Part III: What Does Science Say?
   9 Miracles and Transubstantiation
10 The Feast of Corpus Christi
11 The Buenos Aires Miracles
12 The Lanciano Report
Conclusion: Don’t Put Your Faith on Trial
Bibliography
FOREWORD
I am pleased to offer some brief comments regarding the book Behold, It Is I , which Father George Elliott and Doctor Stacy Trasancos have collaboratively offered to all who believe in the Real Presence. An initial thought is that the title is exactly expressive of the reality they explore. Many of us lament that we live in times where too many in the Catholic Church express ambiguity and even outright disbelief regarding the Eucharist. In this context, the title these good authors have chosen gets to the heart of the matter. The title, Behold, It is I , offers a Person speaking in the first person. As one man who has been blessed to continue to grow in his Eucharistic faith, I can say that much of that growth comes down to a deeper understanding that from the altar or from the tabernacle, an actual Person speaks to us. We all need to rekindle this kind of faith in our own hearts. This faith transformed the lives of the saints of old and gave many of them the strength to die rather than to deny their Eucharistic Lord. This is the kind of faith that I believe this book can nurture for those who take the time to read it. We must move from an abstract approach to the Eucharistic presence of the Lord to a more concrete and realistic approach. I believe this book can help us to focus more deeply on our faith, which says that the consecrated bread and wine that have become the body and blood of Jesus Christ are not an abstract idea. The Eucharistic presence of our savior and Lord is the opposite of abstract; He is really, concretely, and dynamically with us. Let us hope the reader will grow in a deeper encounter with Jesus Christ who promised that He is “with us until the end of the age.” May this faith resonate through the Church and strengthen us in Him.
Turning to the subtitle of this book, Scripture, Tradition, and Science on the Real Presence , the authors have once again given the reader an important focus. As we embrace the truth proclaimed by the Catholic Church that the Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our Faith, this subtitle encompasses the entirety of this faith. One of the great strengths and blessings of the Church through the ages is the reality that we embrace both Scripture and Tradition. This highlights the important reality that in many ways the Church is a “both and” community. Since the beginning of Christianity, there has been a tendency to focus on one or the other and abandon “both and.” This is most dramatically significant in the person of Jesus Christ Himself. The early Church saw centuries of struggle with the question that Jesus raised as He walked this earth. One can say that Jesus of Nazareth was ultimately crucified because He claimed to be both God and man. Certainly, even for His disciples who believed Him to be truly the Son of God, the clarity of how this could be as expressed in the technical language of the hypostatic union would take centuries to develop. Even now we must admit that how Jesus Christ can be fully God and fully man is beyond our understanding.
Our struggles with coming to a deeper understanding of Jesus of Nazareth is naturally highlighted in our struggles to understand the Eucharistic presence He has left us. We look to Scripture and Tradition to understand the God-Man, Jesus Christ, and we look to Scripture and Tradition to understand His Real Presence with us in the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Holy Eucharist. The great mystery that Jesus is the Incarnate Word can only be more deeply developed when we understand that Sacred Scripture is Jesus Christ. Through the two thousand years of Tradition, the faithful have constantly turned to Jesus present in the written word in order to more fully understand Him present in His incarnation and in His Eucharistic presence, which mysteriously continues His incarnate presence in the world.
Finally, turning to the additional term in the subtitle, science , I believe this volume broadens the focus of the reader in a significant way for this twenty-first century. We live in a time when for many, possibly most of humanity, science has become god. As we contemplate the beautiful meaning of the Blessed Sacrament and its essential role in the life of the Church, it is important that science be brought into the discussion. In a way, science is the third element that must be addressed, along with Scripture and Tradition, in our age. We must honestly bring our questions and our uncertainties to Jesus in Scripture and then to Jesus in Tradition, who then moves us in our day to address Jesus in science. And yet, this book will leave those who embrace science as their religion disappointed because their questions will not be answered in scientific terms. On the contrary, I pray this book will take believers into even deeper realms of mystery—mystery that is informed by reason and analysis but ultimately remains mystery.
Those who know their Lord and Savior present in the tabernacle and on the Eucharistic altar will find their faith nurtured and expanded as they read this book. And may their deepened faith inspire them to engage our too often faithless world with the joy and the hope that is Jesus Christ.
+M OST R EVEREND J OSEPH E. S TRICKLAND Bishop of Tyler
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
W E express many thanks to the people who helped us develop the ideas and texts of Behold, It Is I , including Hope Zubek, Kyle Sherling, Father Joshua Neu, Father Justin Braun, George and Andrea Elliott, and Maria Edens.
We are especially grateful to Dr. Oscar Paniagua, his wife, Kristina, and their family. One Sunday after Mass, Kristina asked their daughter, Annie, to research the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. During the Eucharistic prayer, Annie had been inattentive, as is so natural for children. Annie discovered a video about Eucharistic miracles in Buenos Aires and sent it to her parents. They sent the video to Bishop Joseph Strickland, and he sent it to Stacy Trasancos, urging the executive director of his St. Philip Institute to research the topic and consider giving a presentation to the people of the Diocese of Tyler. Those talks led Father George Elliott and Stacy to the idea of writing this book. It all started with the excitement of a child. Kristina later remarked, “It’s a good reminder to me that the little things have the potential to make a big impact.”
INTRODUCTION
THE LOGIC OF BEHOLD, IT IS I
On Faith
T HIS is a book about faith. When dealing with apologetic proofs, the theological virtue of faith can seem unnecessary. Some may argue that a proof should stand on its own legs top to bottom, that every logical step can be d