The Sacrament of the Eucharist
The Eucharist is treated as a principle of Christian life in chapter thirty-three of Christian Moral Principles, and as the object of specific, Christian moral responsibilities in chapter three, question B, of Living a Christian Life.
“Has the Sacrament Become Just a Symbolic Reminder?”
By 1994, opinion polls were making it clear that the majority of American Catholics no longer believed that they eat and drink Jesus' body and blood when they receive Holy Communion. Regarding that collapse of faith as a major disaster, Russell Shaw and Grisez tried to clarify what had happened and to suggest what various groups of Catholics might do about it.
This brief and readable article was meant primarily for Catholic lay people. It is copyright © 1994 Our Sunday Visitor Inc.; all rights reserved.
“The Crisis in Eucharistic Faith”
The background and motivation of this article was the same as the preceding one. However, Shaw and Grisez meant this article primarily for pastors and catechists.
The article is copyright © 1995 Catholic Polls Inc.; all rights reserved.
“An Alternative Theology of Jesus’
Substantial Presence in the Eucharist”
For many years, Grisez was troubled by what he regarded as the unintelligibility of St. Thomas Aquinas’s theological account of Jesus’ substantial presence in the Eucharist. By the late 1990s, he became convinced that he could articulate a simpler and more satisfying account no less consonant with the truth of faith that in receiving Holy Communion one eats the body and drinks the blood of the Lord. Still, in publishing this article, Grisez presented it as a theological hypothesis that might be found in some respect at odds with the truth of faith regarding the Eucharist.
The article is copyright © 2000 Irish Theological Quarterly; all rights reserved.
“An Alternative Theology of Jesus’ Substantial Presence
in the Eucharist” (Original Manuscript)
The manuscript that was submitted to Irish Theological Quarterly was accepted only on condition that Grisez cut its length, mainly but not only by entirely eliminating a final section of expected objections and replies to them. Grisez publishes the complete, original manuscipt of the article here, copyright © 1999, and reserves the right to make and distribute copies for sale. However, he hereby grants everyone the right to print out and distribute without charge copies of the entire work provided the source is identified and this copyright information included.