The Eucharist
Does the Eucharist forgive sins?
Regarding the Eucharist, the Catholic Catechism teaches,
“...the Eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins. . . . ‘I should always receive it, so that it may always forgive my sins’ ” (para. 1393).
In contrast, the Bible states,
“If we acknowledge our sins, he [God] is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing” (1 John 1:9).
The Bible tells us here that it is God—not the Eucharist—who forgives us our sins and cleanses us from every wrongdoing. It also tells us that God is faithful to do this if we acknowledge our sins to Him. The Bible does not teach that receiving the Eucharist will forgive our sins; it teaches that our sins are forgiven through confession to God.
Additionally, the Catholic Catechism states,
“ ‘In this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered Himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner’ ” (para. 1367).
This may sound nice, but there is a problem when it comes to forgiveness through the Eucharist “offered in an unbloody manner,” because the Bible says,
“...without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22).
Since the Eucharistic sacrifice is “unbloody,” there is no shedding of blood; therefore there is no forgiveness through the Eucharist.
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