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The Eucharist: Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion
The Mystery of Presence, Sacrifice, and Communion explores the three ends of the Sacrament of God's true presence, His redemptive sacrifice, and spiritual nourishment through communion with Him. In this follow-up to his groundbreaking work, Faith Comes From What Is Heard , Lawrence Feingold constructs a biblical vision of the Eucharist from its prefigurement in the Old Testament to its fulfillment in the New and presents the Eucharistic theology of the Church Fathers, St. Thomas Aquinas, and magisterial teaching from centuries past through today. The Eucharist is a masterful text, both challenging and spiritually rich, that comprehensively examines the unspeakable mystery that is the Eucharist.
720 pages, Hardcover
Published April 30, 2018
53 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Lawrence Feingold
24 books26 followersDr. Lawrence Feingold is a Hebew Catholic who entered the Church in 1989.
Dr. Feingold studied Philosophy and Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, and Biblical Hebrew and Greek at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem.
He taught Philosophy and Theology in the House of Formation of Miles Christi in Argentina. Until recently, Dr. Feingold was Assistant Professor of Theology for the Institute of Pastoral Theology of Ave Maria University.
Since 2011, he is Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Feingold is also Director of Theology for the Association of Hebrew Catholics.
B.A., 1981 Washington University
M.A., 1983 Columbia University
S.T.B., 1995 Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
S.T.L., 1998 Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
S.T.D., 1999 Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
Dr. Feingold studied Philosophy and Theology at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, and Biblical Hebrew and Greek at the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem.
He taught Philosophy and Theology in the House of Formation of Miles Christi in Argentina. Until recently, Dr. Feingold was Assistant Professor of Theology for the Institute of Pastoral Theology of Ave Maria University.
Since 2011, he is Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri. Dr. Feingold is also Director of Theology for the Association of Hebrew Catholics.
B.A., 1981 Washington University
M.A., 1983 Columbia University
S.T.B., 1995 Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
S.T.L., 1998 Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
S.T.D., 1999 Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 31, 2022
This book had me falling in love with Jesus all over again.
December 21, 2019
Very good and easy to read overview of the Eucharist in Catholicism. Feingold considers various arguements and returns to Church teaching and Thomistic thought in a very clear and concise style. The study questions at the end of each chapter are extremely helpful and I look forward to delving into his suggested reading lists.
November 6, 2024
We could not live without the Eucharist
This book is complete! It is a long read but interesting and insightful along the journey. Your love for the Eucharist will increase after reading this book.
This book is complete! It is a long read but interesting and insightful along the journey. Your love for the Eucharist will increase after reading this book.
November 20, 2025
A detailed exegesis on the Eucharist filled with theological reflections, historical insights and scriptural references explaining why this Sacrament is the source and summit of human life. Brings a lot more clarity on many questions that come up regarding the Eucharist.
May 29, 2025
Absolutely amazing book with a more than thorough analysis of the Eucharist, telling the story of this greatest sacrament from Genesis to present day. The majority of this 700-page beast builds the biblical, historical, and philosophical case for the Eucharist—specifically the dogma of transubstantiation—, followed by comprehensive replies to contemporary and common objections surrounding Christ’s true and substantial presence in the Eucharist.
Feingold helpfully summarizes the importance of the Eucharist in three points: presence, sacrifice, and communion:
Presence: Jesus is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist to abide with us for all time: “I will be with you always” (Mt 28:20)
Sacrifice: The Eucharist makes present the sacrifice of the cross. If Calvary is a fountain, the Eucharist is the stream flowing from that fountain, for us to be nourished by the benefits of Christ’s once and for all sacrifice. As early church fathers such as St John Chrysostom said, “when you approach the awesome chalice you may come as if you were about to drink from His very side” (p. 606).
Communion: to unite himself with us personally in an incarnational way. His body and blood is our nourishment so that we may become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). In receiving the Eucharist we grow in love with Jesus more and more.
Finally, here is a beautiful quote on the Eucharist from a letter of JRR Tolkien to his son:
“Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated. I put before you the one thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament…There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth…”
Feingold helpfully summarizes the importance of the Eucharist in three points: presence, sacrifice, and communion:
Presence: Jesus is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist to abide with us for all time: “I will be with you always” (Mt 28:20)
Sacrifice: The Eucharist makes present the sacrifice of the cross. If Calvary is a fountain, the Eucharist is the stream flowing from that fountain, for us to be nourished by the benefits of Christ’s once and for all sacrifice. As early church fathers such as St John Chrysostom said, “when you approach the awesome chalice you may come as if you were about to drink from His very side” (p. 606).
Communion: to unite himself with us personally in an incarnational way. His body and blood is our nourishment so that we may become partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). In receiving the Eucharist we grow in love with Jesus more and more.
Finally, here is a beautiful quote on the Eucharist from a letter of JRR Tolkien to his son:
“Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated. I put before you the one thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament…There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth…”
June 16, 2018
Amazing work and Magnum Opus. I have read it as a blockbuster. diafano and entertaining. Feingold’s prosa is really close, nothing redundant and without a word to waste. Now when I go to the mass service, I have the Eucharist in another level, of course thinking in its three ends, and more. Very fascinating the chapter about common priesthood. And the quotes and footnotes very useful and easy to use (learn Infinite jest). I can’t wait for a second reading. Just one but: I miss one chapter just to explain the different parts of the Eucharistic prayer, and why there are four Eucharist prayer. I’m in beginning level in this theological path. Love Jesus!!
January 5, 2021
Hard to ask for a better defense of the Catholic position than this book; any serious critic of Catholicism should read it. Hoping to read the Hodge/Nevin debates and Daniel Waterland's treatise soon as comparison.
November 7, 2023
The truly definitive book on Eucharistic Theology. Perfectly comprehensive, well-organized, and thorough. I went through 6 years of seminary, and this filled in a lot of holes that remained even after such extensive study.
Be warned, it is a textbook and it reads like a textbook.
Be warned, it is a textbook and it reads like a textbook.
May 28, 2025
This is a very in-depth dive into the Eucharist. I read it as a college level Bible study class over about a year and a half. It is an excellent book; very well thought out, organized, and written. If you’re looking for a really deep dive, I would definitely recommend!
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April 5, 2021Very readable and educational.
March 22, 2024
Lawrence Feingold (The Eucharist, 2018) repeats the notorious lie that Lutherans believe in consubstantiation (p. 310), implying that Jesus comes down from heaven and mixes his flesh and blood with the bread. Neither Luther nor any Lutheran has held such a vulgar view. It was ascribed to Luther by his enemies. Jeremiah Zimmerman says about this never-ending deceit:
In keeping with his materialism, the author uses Aristotelian materialist science to explain transubstantiation. A thing has a substance, equal to a neutral kind of matter (materia prima). This matter is clothed in 'accidents' (properties). Thus, the substance of the Eucharistic bread is converted to the body of Christ while the 'accidents' (flavour, etc.) remain the same. Jesus says "This is my body". Feingold explains that "[t]he meaning has to be: 'The substance present under these accidents—which was bread—is now my body'" (p. 311).
Today we know that this is false. There is no neutral matter dressed up with properties. Gold is gold on the lowest level and bread is bread on the lowest level. There exists no neutral matter to transubstantiate. Anyway, Catholics believe that the bread is converted to the material flesh of Jesus. What is left over is put in a box called the tabernacle. It means that a portion of his corpse is stored there. Accordingly, the ritual doesn't speak of the presence of the living Christ, but rather of the magical manifestation of a piece of flesh. It reminds me of materialist Pagan religion. But the body and blood of Christ cannot be separated from Christ himself. The saving benefit is from the fact that we are united to his whole person.
In keeping with his archaic view of Christian faith, the author insists that the Eucharist is a sacrificial ritual, in which the participators sacrifice themselves in togetherness (part III). I always thought that Christ sacrificed himself for us, so that we can wholly undeservedly go free. I have never heard of a sacrificial ritual where the celebrants are understood as the sacrifice offered to God. Comparatively, in the Old Testament, the lamb is sacrificed to take away sins. It is nowhere stated that this means that the celebrants are given as sacrifice. After all, considering that their burden is taken away, they are the benefactors of the sacrifice, not its victims.
This book attempts to destroy the ecumenical efforts of the Catholic and Lutheran churches by highlighting archaic and naive sides of Catholicism and by a nonsensical critique of Luther. There are much better Catholic books than this. The only plus is that the author has not been lazy but made a real effort. There is much information about the views of popes and theologians, such as John Paul II and Thomas Aquinas.
Yet, Feingold continues in this vein and argues against a strawman. He explains that what happens can only be transubstantiation, because we cannot expect that Jesus moves into the bread and wine:
We have a right to be judged in the light of the statements of our own theologians who have spoken ex-cathedra for us; and we have a right to protest against writers, who instead of consulting the recognized standards of the Lutheran Church, persist in misrepresenting us by deliberately quoting what our enemies have said about us. A conscientious scholar always examines the original sources as far as possible, in order to get authoritative testimony. We want to know the absolute truth respecting a man's belief; and hence we go to the man himself. If I want to know what the doctrine of transubstantiation is, as held by the Catholic Church, then I must go to the recognized authority, and hence I quoted from their able writer in the Catholic Encyclopedia. We do not want a caricature by perverting the facts, nor by substituting the views of an unsympathetic critic. It is because this principle of justice and fairness has been so commonly and persistently abused that the Lutheran Church has been greatly misunderstood concerning the doctrine of the Lord's Supper. (The Person of Christ, 1919, p. 187)
In his materialistic mindset the author thinks of heaven as a faraway place. It contradicts Jesus, who says that it is not a location in space but everywhere around us, always nearby (Luke 17:20-21; Matthew 4:17; Thomas 3). God is omnipresent.
First, if that were true, His Body would cease to be present in heaven, which is false. Second, His Body would have to pass through all the intervening places to get there, which would require some time. (p. 312)
In keeping with his materialism, the author uses Aristotelian materialist science to explain transubstantiation. A thing has a substance, equal to a neutral kind of matter (materia prima). This matter is clothed in 'accidents' (properties). Thus, the substance of the Eucharistic bread is converted to the body of Christ while the 'accidents' (flavour, etc.) remain the same. Jesus says "This is my body". Feingold explains that "[t]he meaning has to be: 'The substance present under these accidents—which was bread—is now my body'" (p. 311).
Today we know that this is false. There is no neutral matter dressed up with properties. Gold is gold on the lowest level and bread is bread on the lowest level. There exists no neutral matter to transubstantiate. Anyway, Catholics believe that the bread is converted to the material flesh of Jesus. What is left over is put in a box called the tabernacle. It means that a portion of his corpse is stored there. Accordingly, the ritual doesn't speak of the presence of the living Christ, but rather of the magical manifestation of a piece of flesh. It reminds me of materialist Pagan religion. But the body and blood of Christ cannot be separated from Christ himself. The saving benefit is from the fact that we are united to his whole person.
In keeping with his archaic view of Christian faith, the author insists that the Eucharist is a sacrificial ritual, in which the participators sacrifice themselves in togetherness (part III). I always thought that Christ sacrificed himself for us, so that we can wholly undeservedly go free. I have never heard of a sacrificial ritual where the celebrants are understood as the sacrifice offered to God. Comparatively, in the Old Testament, the lamb is sacrificed to take away sins. It is nowhere stated that this means that the celebrants are given as sacrifice. After all, considering that their burden is taken away, they are the benefactors of the sacrifice, not its victims.
This book attempts to destroy the ecumenical efforts of the Catholic and Lutheran churches by highlighting archaic and naive sides of Catholicism and by a nonsensical critique of Luther. There are much better Catholic books than this. The only plus is that the author has not been lazy but made a real effort. There is much information about the views of popes and theologians, such as John Paul II and Thomas Aquinas.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews