Did Jesus intend the Last Supper to be repeated literally or just as a memory?
At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and wine and declared: 'This is my body' and 'This is my blood.' He commanded his apostles: 'Do this in memory of me.'
In biblical language, a memorial (in Hebrew, zikkaron) is not merely a mental recollection of a past event. It is an active sacramental making-present of God's saving deed here and now. When the Catholic priest repeats Christ's words and actions in the Holy Mass, the saving sacrifice of the Cross becomes truly present on the altar in an unbloody manner.
Furthermore, in Saint John's Gospel, Jesus emphasised that his flesh is real food and his blood is real drink, insisting on the literal reality of eating his flesh for eternal life. The early Church took him at his word, consistently teaching that in the Eucharist, Christ is truly, substantially, and bodily present.
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1374
- Luke 22:19
- John 6:53-56
Awaiting review by the chaplaincy. Written in our own words; the Church's own texts are the authority.