Christ in the Eucharist

    Catholics believe that Jesus is present in the Most Holy Eucharist. Protestants and former followers of Christ left Christ because of this issue. It was hard for them to accept. Luther and other Protestants believed in Consubstantiation. It holds that during the sacrament, the fundamental "substance" of the body and blood of Christ are present alongside the substance of the bread and wine, which remain present. The doctrine of consubstantiation is often held in contrast to the doctrine of transubstantiation. However, this belief are not what the Apostles and the early Christians believed.  In Paul's Epistles we hear Paul reminding the Church that it is not bread and wine they receive, but the Body and Blood of Christ, we see this in the Early Church Father's writings. The denial of Christ's presence in the Eucharist is not a new doctrine. This belief has been in existence since Christ's ministry.
        We Catholics, including Orthodox, believe that Christ is really present in the Eucharist. Throughout History we see Christ revealing His presence in the Eucharist. There are many miracles centered around the Eucharist, the most famous one is in Lanciano. Here are where we base this belief and support it using the both the Scriptures and the Early Church Fathers. 

 † The Early Church Fathers †

"I desire the bread of GOD, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ."- St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans(A.D. 106)

"Let no one eat or drink of the Eucharist with you except those who have been baptized in the Name of the Lord,"-Didache or The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles 

"they abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they confess not the Eucharist to be the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of His goodness, raised up again."- St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrna (A.D. 106)

"Not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh." -St. Justin Martyr (A.D. 150)

"Now it is evident, that in this prophecy to the bread which our Christ gave us to eat, in remembrance of His being made flesh for the sake of His believers, for whom also He suffered; and to the cup which He gave us to drink, in remembrance of His own blood, with giving of thanks."-St. Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho

"Taking bread and distributing it to his disciples he made it his own body by saying, 'This is my body,' that is a 'figure of my body.' On the other hand, there would not have been a figure unless there was a true body."- Tertullian, Against Marcion IV. 40 (A.D. 200)

"Let the bishop give the oblation, saying, The body of Christ; and let him that receiveth say, Amen. And let the deacon take the cup; and when he gives it, say, The blood of Christ, the cup of life; and let him that drinketh say, Amen."- Apostolic Constitution (A.D. 375-380)

"For as Christ says 'I am the true vine,' it follows that the blood of Christ is wine, not water; and the cup cannot appear to contain His blood by which we are redeemed and quickened, if the wine be absent; for by the wine is the blood of Christ typified, ..."- St. Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus (A.D. 200)

† Where is it in the Bible? †

"Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?" -1 Corinthians 10:16

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." -Matthew 26:26

"Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." -Matthew 26:27-28

"And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." -Luke 22:19

"In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." -Luke 22:20

For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. -1 Corinthians 11:23-26

"Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord." -1 Corinthians 11:27

 

"For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself." -1 Corinthians 11:29

"How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?"-Hebrews 10:29