Question: I have a friend who identifies as Christian, but not Catholic, and holds a view of the Eucharist as symbolic rather than as the actual body and blood of Our Lord. She inquires about how we are able to consume the genuine body and blood of Christ, questioning whether that wouldn’t be considered cannibalism. I’m unsure how to respond to that. Could you clarify?
— Name, location withheld
Answer: In cannibalism, specific individuals murder another person and subsequently consume the deceased’s flesh. This act is both lethal and detestable. However, the Eucharist bears no resemblance to this. To begin with, we are not partaking of the deceased flesh of a lifeless individual. We are accepting the living Christ, fully present—body, blood, soul, and divinity. Moreover, this living and exalted Lord voluntarily presents himself to us. He proclaimed: “No one takes my life from me. I have power to lay it down, and power to take it up again” (Jn 10:18). Our reception of him does not cause him any harm. Therefore, there is absolutely no connection to cannibalism. It is accurate that we share in the body and blood of the Lord, but we must remember that he is exalted. He cannot be killed, dismembered, roasted, or consumed.