Emails go to Patrick at Relevantradio.com. Let's go to John in Chanhassen, Minnesota. Good morning, John.

Good morning, Patrick. I have a question about the Eucharist that I've always wanted an answer to,

and I've never quite understood. At the last supper, when Jesus confected the bread and wine to his body and blood, why wasn't that

confection just for that one time? And how did that then apply to all of the subsequent masses

until the present day? Does that make sense?

I think so, yeah. It's a good question too. Well, in the Last Supper narrative,

so you can look at this not only in Matthew chapter 26, but also Mark chapter 14 and Luke chapter 22.

Those are the three parallel narratives of the Last Supper.

Matthew was present.

Mark and Luke were not present.

So keep that in mind.

Now, as you consider the narrative of what we're given in Matthew's Gospel,

now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, take eat, this is my body.

And he took a cup. And when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, drink of it, all of you.

For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many and for the forgiveness

of sins. I tell you that I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day

when I drink it in you with you in my father's kingdom. So that's the Mithaean version of it.

Now let's look at the Markin version of it. So we see the same thing, and it's almost verbatim

word for word until verse 25. Now let's look at the Luke in version of it, Luke 22. And here he says

the same thing, and then he identifies Judas as the one who will betray him.

So when Jesus says to the apostles these words, he has a particular meaning in mind.

St. Augustine in his narrations on the Psalms, he says that when Jesus held the bread in his hands and said, this is my body,

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