Mental gymnastics from the brain-eating religion

[HappySkeptic]

As a former Anglican, I was told that the communion, baptism, confirmation are sacraments of the faith, and that sacraments are "outer symbols of an inward grace".

That is, nothing magic is occurring, other than we are making an outward show and declaration that we have received the grace of God.

Yes, the Catholic Church still claims they are all magic. No-one else does

(Well, the evangelicals believe in the literal receiving of the holy spirit, and the Anglican church still has the same rules as the Catholics over not letting unbaptized have bread or wine, consuming everything rather than throwing it out, and burning flooring or carpeting that any substantial amount of spilled wine gets on)

[vulcanlogician]

Hmmm...this doctrine is called called a mystery but it really is not as mysterious as it seems. The sacrament changes the final cause but not the material cause. The result is a new substance in the Scholastic sense for using the word substance, i.e. as the manifestation of causes in a single unity. Catholic use the same wording when referring to their denomination as the body of Christ as they do the host, also referred to as body of Christ. My translation would be something like this is the people (food, texts, etc.) dedicated as a means for fulfilling Christ's redemtive purpose in the world.

Church-speak is kind of a pet peeve of mine. And yet this is a nomenclature refined over 2000 years to be as exact as possible so another pet peeve of mine is when people unfamiliar with the jargon go off on it.

I think that's about the most charitably as it can be put. Still, as someone who was raised Catholic, I wonder if it isn't put a bit too charitably.

We were taught that once the Eucharist is performed, the bread and wine that has been "transubstantiated" must be stored in the tabernacle and every last bit of it consumed. I know there's some nuance to it, but this sort of treatment of snacks and beverages smacks of superstition. 

According to the Church, it's the only thing in the building that is holy. The crucifix is a reminder, nothing holy about it. The alter is an instrument... nothing holy about it. But the wafers and wine (after the Eucharist)... those are treated as holy. THOSE are why the priest kneels and crosses himself as he approaches the alter... etc.

[Neo-Scholastic]

I agree that within Catholic traditions the distinction between sacred and mundane is much more scrupilously maintained. IMHO, it can off putting and excessive. As an outside admirer of the Church of Rome, I try to stay cognizant of the difference between its doctrines and the cultural baggage that has accumulated around those doctrines.

[Frank Apisa]

The Catholics are saying that Jesus said that the bread was his body.; the wine his blood; and that he asked them to do it (have his body and blood) in remembrance of him.

Meh!

Sounds a bit cannibalistic to me now that I no longer am in the Church, but back when I was, it made sense to me. That is the way with "belief." When it gets hold of you, it feels as though it is steadying rather than binding you.

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I agree that within Catholic traditions the distinction between sacred and mundane is much more scrupilously maintained. IMHO, it can off putting and excessive. As an outside admirer of the Church of Rome, I  try to stay cognizant of the difference between its doctrines and the cultural baggage that has accumulated around those doctrines.

One of my fondest memories is the time I serve Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. I was in service at the time...stationed in England and visiting Rome on a religious retreat.

Hell of a memory...even for a heathen agnostic type like me.