What happens to Jesus when received in a unworthy manner in the Eucharist?
score:6
The short answer: nothing “happens to Jesus” when a person receives the Eucharist unworthily, when the Eucharist is inadvertently stepped on, or even when it is desecrated deliberately.
As the O.P. correctly points, out, when Catholics (and Orthodox) say that Jesus is really present in the Eucharist, they affirm that he is present both in his divinity and in his humanity. Jesus is one and whole (he is the Divine Person of the Son), and he cannot be divided. (See Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 1377.)
It should be clear that nothing can “happen” to Jesus as regards his divinity, because the Divine Nature cannot be changed or influenced by anything, least of all the actions of one of His creatures. (If He allows Himself to be influenced by prayers and so forth, that is a deliberate choice on His part that does not produce a change in Him of any kind; see, e.g., Hebrews 13:8, and a long Patristic tradition.)
On the other hand, Jesus in his human nature can (like any other man) undergo changes of various kinds.
As regards unworthy reception of the Eucharist and similar situations, however, there are two important considerations.
First of all, Jesus retains his human nature in Heaven and will retain it for all eternity. (See CCC 659.) However, because he has ascended into Heaven, he is now glorified and therefore impassible; that is, he can no longer suffer. (This is a property of all glorified bodies, including Christ’s; see Revelation 21:4.) Therefore, much as Jesus does not approve of unworthy reception or desecration of the Eucharist, he is not “pained” by it, at least not any longer.
(It is possible that, with his divine foreknowledge, he was aware of future unworthy receptions of the Eucharist, even as he walked this earth 2000 years ago, and that these caused him pain back then, but they do so no longer.)
Second, it should be noted that, although the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is real and substantial (that is, the consecrated bread and wine are no longer actual bread or wine, but Jesus), it is a sacramental presence. (See CCC 1353 and 1369.) One is not to imagine that our consumption of the sacred species causes harm to Jesus physical body that is in Heaven. In a similar way, it is not as though Jesus feels a physical discomfort or anything like that when someone receives him unworthily.
It follows that no action on our own part can harm or otherwise grieve Jesus in the Eucharist (although, of course, deliberately receiving Christ unworthily or desecrating the Eucharist is extremely harmful for the person who does it).
(Naturally, people are not responsible inadvertently stepping on small particles—provided it is truly inadvertent and not due to negligence or something like that. In that case, it does not even harm or affect the persons who do it, still less Jesus.)
More post
- 📝 Did Saint Patrick actually explain the Trinity using a shamrock?
- 📝 Does God's knowledge increase in time?
- 📝 How do the Catholic and LDS views of what a prophet is differ?
- 📝 What 'cubit' did the Lord refer to in Genesis 6:15?
- 📝 Between Sola Scriptura Churches, has it happen that there is a difference interpretation to the same verse?
- 📝 How did all the animals fit into Noah's ark?
- 📝 How did Reformed Theologians view works-based "Heavenly Rewards"?
- 📝 Is holding hands and forming a circle around the altar during eucharistic prayer allowed?
- 📝 Was Jesus a poor man, in economic sense?
- 📝 Should we love Satan since he is our greatest enemy?
- 📝 How do Lutherans pray for the dead?
- 📝 Why did Jesus predict martyrdom of some of his disciples?
- 📝 How come Good and Evil fruit brought from same tree of knowledge in the garden of Eden?
- 📝 Will (or "do") people in heaven get to interact with Jesus, independent of massive crowds?
- 📝 What was G.K. Chesterton's proof of original sin, and what is so unique about it?
- 📝 Why do Young-Earth Creationists make such a big deal about the YEC view
- 📝 What is the biblical basis that Jesus could not sin?
- 📝 Why is foot washing so uncommon nowadays
- 📝 In what ways do human beings reflect God?
- 📝 Matthew/Luke Generations missing between Rahab and David
- 📝 Assuming the Gospels are eye-witness accounts, how were certain events recorded where Jesus was alone?
- 📝 Were we to remain in the Garden of Paradise forever if Adam had not sinned?
- 📝 What is the definition of Moral Good in God's omni-benevolence
- 📝 How do Protestants view the prophecy and birth of Jesus
- 📝 Rapture according to Mid-Tribulation Theory
- 📝 Meaning of the Parable of the Talents
- 📝 How old was Timothy when he became a Christian?
- 📝 What is omitted from the current Western, Catholic Psalter?
- 📝 Are there different Trinitarian foundations?
- 📝 When was infant baptism rejected in the development of Pentecostalism?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What happens to Jesus when received in a unworthy manner in the Eucharist?
- 📝 When Jesus gave Peter his name (rock) what is the significance that he then said upon a ‘different’ kind of rock he would build his church?
- 📝 What did Paul mean when he called Jesus the "firstborn from the dead"?
- 📝 According to Protestants following the Reformation, what did Jesus mean when he said "do this and you will live"?
- 📝 Can a priest give a Mass in American Sign Language (ASL)? What does he do when he is supposed to lift up the Eucharist while speaking in ASL?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Christian denominations to believe in a visible appearance of Christ Jesus when he returns?
- 📝 What does the Bible say about this question- Why do Jesus and God have two seats in heaven when they are the same God?
- 📝 What happens to the Vicar of Christ when Christ returns?
- 📝 What is the extra value of the body of Christ in the Eucharist when someone is already full of the Holy Spirit?
- 📝 What do non-trinitarians mean when they call Jesus the "Son of God"?
- 📝 Does transubstantiation occur when the Eucharist is received by one barred from sacraments?
- 📝 In what manner does the Father draw men to Jesus Christ? John 6:44
- 📝 What was the amount of bread and wine used when Jesus did communion?
- 📝 What did Jesus mean by his apparent racial taunt to the Canaanite woman in Matt 15 when he inferred that they were "dogs"?
- 📝 What is the meaning when Jesus said "I commend my spirit" in Luke 23:46?
- 📝 What did Jesus mean when He said “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me”
- 📝 What were the ages of the Apostles Peter and John when Jesus was crucified?
- 📝 What does it mean when Jesus cannot be separated from the Father and the Holy Ghost?
- 📝 According to the Catholic church everyone has a Guardian Angel,but what happens when you get married?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the concept that Jesus spent time in Hell?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for Jesus being God incarnate?
- 📝 As a protestant, may I participate in the Eucharist (Communion) when visiting a Catholic church?
- 📝 What extrabiblical sources support the existence of Jesus in history?
- 📝 What was it about the death of Jesus that allows God to forgive us?
- 📝 How could Jesus be born during the reign of Herod, and when Quirinius was governor of Syria, if those periods were not contemporary?
- 📝 What does it mean that Jesus fulfilled the law but did not abolish it?
- 📝 Where can I find out more about other people rising from the dead, when Jesus died on the Cross?
- 📝 What exactly does it mean that Jesus Christ is the son of God?
- 📝 What is the significance of Jesus seeing Nathanael under the fig tree?
- 📝 What did Jesus mean when he said ‘Go and sin no more’ if sinlessness is impossible?
