Why, then, does Christ call the bread his body and the cup his blood, or the new covenant in his blood, and why does Paul speak of a participation in the body and blood of Christ?

Question

Accepted Answer

Christ does not speak in this way without good reason. He wants to teach us by it that just as bread and wine sustain us in this temporal life, so his crucified body and shed blood are the true food and drink of our souls for eternal life. But even more, by this visible sign and pledge he wants to assure us that we share in his true body and blood through the working of the Holy Spirit as surely as our mouths receive these holy signs in his remembrance, and that all his sufferings and his death are our own as certainly as if we had ourselves suffered and rendered satisfaction in our own persons.

79. Why, then, does Christ call the bread his body and the cup his blood, or the new covenant in his blood, and why does Paul speak of a participation in the body and blood of Christ?

Answer

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