Wrestling with faith, symbolism, and spiritual gatekeeping in the Catholic Church could lead to reclaiming rituals that still bring us together. We can start by asking, “Is it really Jesus… or just a cracker?”
Do you really believe that’s Jesus? Like, in the bread? On the plate? Do you picture him just chilling in the tabernacle all week, waiting to be eaten again?
It’s one of those questions that lives in the back of the mind for a lot of Catholics, but you’re not supposed to ask it out loud. It sounds disrespectful, which is exactly why we should ask it.
The Catholic Church teaches that during Mass, the bread and wine don’t just represent Jesus—they actually become his body and blood. It’s what they call transubstantiation. But if you ask most Catholics, they’ll likely say, “Yeah, no… it’s symbolic. Obviously.”
Why is that such a problem? If a huge percentage of Catholics don’t buy the official explanation, and they still show up, receive Communion, and try to be decent people… why does the Church get so bent out of shape about how they believe? Why does it matter so much that we all agree on this very specific, very supernatural point of doctrine? That’s what we’re going to explore in this episode of Afterthoughts. Because maybe this isn’t really about bread at all. Maybe—it’s about control.
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