If You Believe in Photosynthesis but Not the Eucharist, You're Scientifically Illiterate and Theologically Blind

With Fr Thomas Joseph White, OP, DPhil (Oxon), STL.

Let me explain... Protestants love to say: "The Eucharist can't be Jesus. It still looks like bread!" As if what something looks like determines what it is. But even high school biology destroys it. Enter: Photosynthesis 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙗 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙤𝙭𝙞𝙙𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙡𝙪𝙘𝙤𝙨𝙚—𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡, 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙜𝙖𝙧. Yet the leaf looks exactly the same. 𝘕𝘰 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘸. 𝘕𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴. 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. The appearance stays the same. The substance changes. Sound familiar? It should. Because that’s exactly what 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 means. God literally built Eucharistic theology into every leaf. So if you're okay believing in invisible scientific processes that change what a thing is… 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘂𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁? 😶 Because the God who created photosynthesis can handle a little bread and wine. Jesus didn’t say: “This represents My Body.” He said: “𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗦 𝗠𝘆 𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆.” (𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗲 𝟮𝟮:𝟭𝟵) And for 1500 years, every Christian took Him literally. Until some men with printing presses and pride came along. Protestantism says: “If it still looks like bread, it’s still bread.” But the leaf still looks like a leaf, and it’s now full of sugar. Your theology can’t even beat a plant cell. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗿. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱. 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁. That’s not superstition. That’s God using His creation to point to His Real Presence. Creation isn’t just poetic—it’s sacramental. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝘾𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩. 𝙎𝙩. 𝙄𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙪𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙘𝙝 (110 𝘼.𝘿.) 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚: “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙪𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙎𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙅𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙩.” That’s not metaphor. That’s martyr-level faith. So what’s the real issue? You don’t want to kneel. You don’t want to admit that Jesus made Himself that vulnerable… and that Catholics were right. Again. Your lettuce believes in Transubstantiation. Why don’t you? God gave you a brain and a soul. Use both. The Eucharist isn’t a symbol. It’s a scandal. And if you believe in photosynthesis but deny the Eucharist, your problem isn’t intellectual—it’s spiritual. 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗞𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗹. 𝗔𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗲.