What does the Catechism of the Catholic Church teach?
It teaches that it is by the conversion of the bread and wine into Christ’s Body and Blood that Christ becomes present in this sacrament.
What did the first Christians believe?
St Ambrose (340-397) writes: “Be convinced that … the power of the blessing prevails over that of nature, because by the blessing nature itself is changed … Could not Christ’s word, which can make from nothing what did not exist, change existing things into what they were not before? It is no less a feat to give things their original nature than to change their nature.”
