Bible Verses About The Eucharist
No Catholic doctrine is more central — or more scripturally contested — than the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Catholic Church teaches, following the Council of Trent and the Catechism (§1374), that in the Eucharist the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ are truly, really, and substantially present under the appearances of bread and wine. This teaching rests on a convergence of scriptural texts: the Bread of Life discourse in John 6, the four accounts of the Last Supper, and Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 10-11.
John 6 is the pivotal text. When Jesus says "My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink," and many disciples leave because they cannot accept it, he does not call them back and explain he was speaking metaphorically. The Fathers of the Church, virtually without exception, read this passage as referring to the Eucharist.
Note: 1 verse on this page is from the deuterocanonical books — books included in the Catholic Bible but absent from most Protestant translations (Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1–2 Maccabees).
8 verses — Douay-Rheims Bible (1899 Challoner revision) — Public domain
I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and 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. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.John 6:51-55 — Douay-Rheims
The Bread of Life discourse — the foundational Eucharistic text of John's Gospel.
And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.Matthew 26:26-28 — Douay-Rheims
The Institution Narrative at the Last Supper in Matthew — the words over which the Church has celebrated the Eucharist since apostolic times.
For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink, for the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord, until he come.1 Corinthians 11:23-26 — Douay-Rheims
Paul transmits the Last Supper tradition as received from the Lord — the earliest written account of the Eucharist.
The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? And the bread, which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord?1 Corinthians 10:16 — Douay-Rheims
Paul argues from Eucharistic participation that one cannot also participate in idol worship — the Eucharist creates real union with Christ.
For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation.Malachi 1:11 — Douay-Rheims
Malachi's prophecy of a universal pure sacrifice — read by the Fathers and the Council of Trent as a prophecy of the Eucharist.
And he had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them the bread of heaven. Man ate the bread of angels: he sent them provisions in abundance.Psalm 78:24-25 — Douay-Rheims
The manna in the desert — the Old Testament type of the Eucharist, explicitly invoked by Jesus in John 6.
And they told what things were done in the way; and how they knew him in the breaking of bread.Luke 24:35 — Douay-Rheims
The disciples at Emmaus recognize the Risen Christ in the breaking of bread — an early Eucharistic narrative.
Instead of which things, thou didst feed thy people with the food of angels, and gavest them bread from heaven prepared without labour; having in it all that is delicious, and the sweetness of every taste.Wisdom 16:20Deuterocanonical — Douay-Rheims
Wisdom's meditation on the manna — a deuterocanonical text connecting heavenly bread to its fulfillment in the Eucharist.
Related Topics
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Source
All verse texts from the Douay-Rheims Bible (1899 Challoner revision), public domain. The Douay-Rheims is the traditional Catholic English Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate.