
THE CASE FOR CHRIST
IN THE EUCHARIST
EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS



DR. THOMAS CARR
"What you see is the bread and the chalice;
that is what your own eyes report to you.
But what your faith obliges you to accept
is that the bread is the body of Christ,
and the chalice is the blood of Christ."
​
St Augustine
received his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and his Master and Doctorate in Philosophy & Theology from the University of Oxford. His master’s thesis, Newman and Gadamer: Towards a Theory of Religious Knowledge, was published by Oxford University Press. A convert to Catholicism and a Lay Dominican, Dr. Carr served as Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of Mount Union for seventeen years. His passions are defending the Truth, combatting falsehood, understanding the true nature of worship, along with study of apologetics, history, and the writings of St. Thomas Aquinas.
INTENDED AUDIENCE
PRIMARY
SECONDARY
Protestants thinking about becoming Catholic
Lapsed Catholics, Catholics wanting to learn better apologetics, Catholics wanting to deepen their understanding of the Eucharist, anti-Catholic Protestants
WHY THIS BOOK?
Polls indicate that as much as 70% of Catholics today do not believe that Christ is truly present in the Eucharist. At the same time, we are witnessing tremendous numbers of people converting to Catholicism from various Protestant churches, other religions, even atheism. Why? Because there is a hunger for what is on offer only in the Catholic Eucharist: the substantial presence and sanctifying graces of Christ Himself.
SYNOPSIS
Dr. Carr's apologetic for the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist is divided into two parts: Evidence that the Eucharist is the true presence of Christ (Part One), and the implications of that evidence (Part Two). In Part One, Dr. Carr defends the reliability of Sacred Scripture, then demonstrates that Old Testament prototypes, claims made by Christ in John 6 and at the Last Supper, the reiteration of those claims by St. Paul in 1 Cor. 11, and the Eucharistic teachings of the early Church Fathers, all point to the same reality: that when bread and wine are consecrated by a validly ordained priest in the context of the Catholic Mass, they become the body and blood of Christ. Dr. Carr then turns to verify the cogency of these claims by harnessing the explanatory powers of both Aristotelian metaphysics and quantum physics, before examining in detail the most prominent of the Eucharistic miracles, along with miracles recorded in response to Eucharistic reception, including displays of heroic virtue, supernatural strength, and dramatic conversion. Part One ends by answering the question, Why do satanists almost exclusively attack the Catholic Church, and the Eucharist in particular?
Part Two unfolds the implications of the Catholic view of the Eucharist. Here the patristic doctrine of theosis (divinization), repudiated by most Protestants, suggests that if one desires the fulness of sanctifying grace, and thus maximal preparation for one's judgment by Christ, one must receive the Eucharist. Two primers are then given on how to become a Catholic and, once Catholic, in what manner the Eucharist ought best to be received.

"I have no taste for corruptible food
nor for the pleasures of this life.
I desire the bread of God,
which is the flesh of Jesus Christ,
who was of the seed of David;
and for drink I desire his blood,
which is love incorruptible."
​
St. Ignatius of Antioch
Letter to the Romans (c. 110 A.D.)

CONTENTS
Introduction
About the Author
PART ONE: EVIDENCE
​
Chapter One: Is the Bible Reliable?
Chapter Two: The Eucharist in the Old Testament
Chapter Three: The Eucharist in the New Testament
Chapter Four: The Eucharist in the Church Fathers
Chapter Five: The Metaphysics of the Eucharist
Chapter Six: The Physics of the Eucharist
Chapter Seven: Scientific Evidence for Christ in the Eucharist
Chapter Eight: The Power of the Eucharist to Heal and Transform
Chapter Nine: The Eucharist and the Demonic
PART TWO: IMPLICATIONS
​
Chapter Ten: Theosis and the Necessity of the Eucharist
Chapter Eleven: How to Become a Catholic in Good Standing
Chapter Twelve: How the Eucharist Ought to be Received
Appendix I: The Life of St. Peter Julian Eymard, “Apostle of the Eucharist”
Appendix II: Prayers Related to the Eucharist
Appendix III: Private Revelation and the Eucharist
Appendix IV: Resources for Further Study
Appendix V: The Author’s Conversion to Catholicism

“The Eucharist is the sacrament of love:
it signifies love,
it produces love.
The Eucharist is the consummation
of the whole spiritual life.”
​
St Thomas Aquinas