T4P Member Luke Haskell dropped this brilliant defense in the T4P Facebook group. It's worth reproducing here.
It’s simply a lack of belief in scripture because it’s Catholic to believe.
Think about this: the acts that Christ and Paul performed, and what the early Church lived, proves the real presence. These acts and defenses would never have been placed in Scripture if the faith in the real presence was not present among the apostles.
Behold Israel according to the flesh, are not those who offer the sacrifice partakers of the altar? (1 Corinthians 10:18) He would never have said, "We have an altar at which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat." (Hebrews 13:10) He never would have said, "O you foolish Galatians, who before your very eyes Christ is portrayed as crucified before you." (Galatians 3:1) He never would have said, "Christ our true pasch (Passover Lamb) has been sacrificed; let us keep the feast." (1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
Did the Israelites eat the Lamb before the angel of death passed over? Is Jesus the Lamb of God? Is it bread before the blessing or flesh? Did God say His flesh is real food? Is bread real food?
The Apostles and early believers recognized the sacrificial character of Jesus' instruction, "Do this in remembrance (Gr. anamnasin) of me" is better translated "Offer this as my memorial sacrifice."
Anamnesis ("remembrance") has sacrificial overtones. It occurs only eight times in the NT and the Greek OT. All but once (Wisdom 16:6) it is in a sacrificial context (Hebrews 10:3, Leviticus 24:7, Numbers 10:10 and Psalm 38 [39] and 70 [70]). In these cases the term anamnesis can be translated as "memorial portion," "memorial offering," or "memorial sacrifice."
Thus in the remaining two occurrences of anamnesis (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24), Christ’s words "Do this in remembrance of Me," can be translated as "Offer this for my memorial sacrifice." The types are fulfilled in the heavenly reality of the Eucharist.
I have not come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law. (Matthew 5:17) And thou shalt put upon them the dearest frankincense, that the bread may be for a memorial of the oblation of the Lord. (Leviticus 24:7)
If at any time you shall have a banquet, end on your festival days, and on the first days of your months, you shall sound the trumpets over the holocausts, and the sacrifices of peace offerings, that they may be to you for a remembrance of your God. I am the Lord your God. (Numbers 10:10)
Future fulfillment in the Eucharist. For from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles, and in every place there is sacrifice, and there is offered to my name a clean oblation: for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:11)
Leviticus 7:11-15 describes the sacrifice of peace offerings, which includes the Eucharistic sacrifice.
But how can God place His glorified body in the form of bread and wine? The answer lies in the omnipotence of God. God can do what seems impossible to us. He can take His glorified body, which exists in heaven, and make it present in a sacramental way, under the appearance of bread and wine.
This does not mean that the bread and wine cease to exist or lose their natural properties. Rather, God adds a new reality to the bread and wine, namely, the reality of His glorified body. This new reality is not something that we can see or touch, but it is nonetheless real.
In this way, God can be said to be present in the Eucharist, not just symbolically or spiritually, but really and substantially. This is the mystery of the real presence, which has been believed and celebrated by Christians for centuries.
The Didascalia, an early Christian text (A.D. 225), states: "The apostles further appointed: On the first day of the week let there be service, and the reading of the holy scriptures, and the oblation [sacrifice of the Mass], because on the first day of the week [i.e., Sunday] our Lord rose from the place of the dead, and on the first day of the week he arose upon the world, and on the first day of the week he ascended up to heaven, and on the first day of the week he will appear at last with the angels of heaven."
The cumulative evidence from Scripture, Jewish tradition, and patristic writings supports the Catholic understanding of the Eucharist as a sacrificial meal, where believers partake of Christ's body and blood. This understanding is rooted in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, which is a fundamental aspect of Catholic doctrine. Which was Catholic Christianity from the beginning.
In the Eucharist, God's glorified body is present in a way that transcends our ordinary experience of space and time. While we see only bread and wine, God sees the reality of His Son's body and blood. This is not a contradiction, but rather a manifestation of God's omnipotence and transcendence.
This is how the Holy Mass becomes the true Passover for the general redemption of the world before the Father.
As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, "The body of Christ is in this sacrament in a way that is proper to God, that is, in a way that is beyond human comprehension" (Summa Theologica, III, q. 75, a. 1).
The Eucharist is not just a symbol or a reminder of Christ's sacrifice, but a real participation in that sacrifice. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, "The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life" (CCC, 1324).
In conclusion, the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a fundamental aspect of Catholic doctrine, supported by Scripture, tradition, and the writings of the early Church Fathers. While it may seem mysterious or even contradictory to our ordinary experience, it is a manifestation of God's omnipotence and transcendence. As believers, we are called to participate in this sacrament with faith, reverence, and gratitude. Paul tells us that God uses the base things, and contemptible, so that we do not glory in mans wisdom but glory in God. The Eucharist includes a life long conditioning of humility.
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