The Semper Reformata Podcast
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Catechism Class: LD29, Transubstantiation
The doctrine of the Lord’s Supper, (or Holy Communion) was a major issue at the time of the Reformation, and I suggest that it still is, even today. The Roman Catholic Church, (that church from which many of the reformers had been expelled, because of their objections to Catholic doctrine) - stressed what was to them, the vital importance of their sacramental masses. So for the reformers, and for our instructor in the catechism, the errors of Rome in regard to Holy Communion needed to be thoroughly dealt with, and Ursinus himself deals with the differences between the protestant, reformed teaching on the Lord’s Supper and the Roman Mass, over three separate Lord’s Days, 28-30. In Lord’s Day 29 Q78: We are asked, Are then the bread and wine changed into the real body and blood of Christ? The answer is No! Just as the water of baptism is not changed into the blood of Christ and is not the washing away of sins itself but is simply God's sign and pledge so also the bread in the Lord's supper does not become the body of Christ itself, although it is called Christ's body in keeping with the nature and usage of sacraments. (Sacraments being signs that point us to the reality indicated by the sign).
So in this episode we shall think about the Roman Catholic belief in TRANSUBSTANTIATION.