What is transubstantiation?

What is transubstantiation?

• A. In the sacrament of the Eucharist, the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
• B. The bread and wine remain bread and wine.
• C. The bread becomes wine but the wine does not change.
• D. It refers to a ritual blessing.

Answer: (A)

Transubstantiation means that during the Eucharist the bread and wine are believed to become the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. The change is understood to be real on the level of what the bread and wine truly are, even though they still look and taste like bread and wine. This explains why the best description is that the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood, not merely kept as bread and wine or altered in only one part. The outward signs—appearance, taste, weight—remain the same, while the essential substance is transformed through the prayers spoken at the Eucharist.

Transubstantiation means that during the Eucharist the bread and wine are believed to become the actual body and blood of Jesus Christ. The change is understood to be real on the level of what the bread and wine truly are, even though they still look and taste like bread and wine. This explains why the best description is that the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood, not merely kept as bread and wine or altered in only one part. The outward signs—appearance, taste, weight—remain the same, while the essential substance is transformed through the prayers spoken at the Eucharist.