Hey Protestants: If It's Symbolic, Why Did Judas Get Condemned for It?

From Totus Catholica

If the Eucharist is just bread and wine—just a symbol to help you remember Jesus—why does St. Paul warn that whoever eats and drinks unworthily is "guilty of the body and blood of the Lord"? Why does he say that failing to "discern the body" brings judgment, sickness, and even death on the Corinthians? Symbols don't strike people dead. You don't incur divine judgment for mishandling a memorial. That only makes sense if what looks like bread and wine is in fact the real Body and Blood of Christ. 📌 Many Protestant traditions treat the Lord's Supper as a mere memorial—bread remains bread, wine remains wine, and Christ is only "spiritually" or generally present. But Scripture, the early Church, and 2,000 years of Catholic teaching tell a radically different story: the Eucharist is Jesus truly, really, and substantially present—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—under the appearances of bread and wine. ✨ What You'll Discover John 6 – Why Jesus doubles down on "eat my flesh, drink my blood" instead of correcting a "misunderstanding" The Last Supper – "This is my Body… this is my Blood" and why the Church never read that as "this represents" 1 Corinthians 11 – Paul's terrifying warning about eating and drinking judgment on yourself if you don't discern the Body The Early Fathers – Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr on the Eucharist as the real flesh and blood of Jesus, not common bread and wine The Catholic Explanation – Transubstantiation: how the substance changes while the appearances remain How to Respond Worthily – Confession, examination of conscience, and Eucharistic reverence in daily life ⏳ Chapters 0:00 – If It's Just Symbolic, Why Judgment? 1:23 – The Corinthian Crisis: Sick, Weak, and Dying 2:35 – John 6: "Eat My Flesh, Drink My Blood" 3:58 – "This Is My Body": The Last Supper 5:10 – What the Early Church Believed 6:22 – What the Catholic Church Teaches (Transubstantiation) 7:35 – How to Receive Worthily 8:20 – Answering Protestant Objections 🌐 Stay Connected 📿 Daily Holy Hour – https://totuscatholica.org/rosary 🌍 Website – https://totuscatholica.org ✉️ Contact me – https://totuscatholica.org/contact 📖 Key Teaching & References John 6;51–58 – Jesus: "My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink" Matthew 26;26–28 – "This is my Body… this is my Blood of the covenant" 1 Corinthians 11;23–30 – Eat and drink "without discerning the body" = eating and drinking judgment Ignatius of Antioch, Smyrnaeans 6–7 – Heretics "abstain from the Eucharist… because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ" Justin Martyr, First Apology 66 – The Eucharistic food "is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh" CCC 1374 – The whole Christ—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—is "truly, really, and substantially contained" under the appearances of bread and wine Council of Trent – Defined the doctrine of transubstantiation CCC 1385 – To receive in mortal sin requires going to Confession first 💬 Reflection Question If the Eucharist were only symbolic, why would St. Paul speak of being "guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" and warn that some had died from receiving unworthily? What does that imply about what—or who—is really present on the altar?